The Greedy Mouse

A greedy mouse saw a basket full of corn. He wanted to eat it, “Wow, they look
delicious. I want to eat them.” So he made a small hole in the basket. He
squeezed in through the hole. He started to eat the corn, “yum yum yum.”He
ate a lot of corn until he felt full. He was very happy.
Now he wanted to come out. “whoaaa, I feel full. I think I have to get out now.”
He tried to come out through the small hole. He could not. “I can’t get out. The
hole is too small.” His belly was full. He tried again. “What should I do? I still
can’t go out.” He tried, and tried again, but it was of no use.
The mouse started crying. A rabbit was passing by. It heard the mouse’s cry
and asked: “Why are you crying my friend?”
The mouse explained: “I made a small hole and came into the basket. Now I
am not able to get out through that hole.”
The rabbit said: “It is because you ate too much. Wait until your belly shrinks”.
The rabbit laughed and went away.
The mouse fell asleep in the basket. Next morning his belly had shrunk. But
the mouse wanted to eat some corn. So he ate and ate. His belly was full once
again. He thought: “Oh! Now I will go out tomorrow”.
The cat was the next passerby. He smelt the mouse in the basket. “ I smell
mouse. Where is it?” then, he lifted its lid. He saw the mouse there. The mouse
felt scared. But because of her greediness, he couldn’t run away. So finally, he
was eaten by the mouse.
 The Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one summer’s day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and
singing to its heart’s content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great effort
an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
“Why not come and chat with me,” said the Grasshopper, “instead of toiling
and moiling away?” said grasshopper to the ant
“I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the Ant, “and recommend
you to do the same.” Replied the ant.
“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper; “we have got plenty of food
at present. Just enjoy the moment now. Winter is still far ahead. ”
But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.
When the winter came the Grasshopper found itself dying of hunger, “I can’t
find any food. What should I eat? Where can I find food?”
Then, he remembered when the ant collecting food during summer.
The ant saw the grasshopper. He could see that the grasshopper was starving.
So, he came to grasshopper to ask him to his nest. “You look terrible, my
friend. Let’s go inside.” Inside the nest of the ants, he saw corn and grain they
had collected in the summer.
Then the Grasshopper knew. The grasshopper felt sorry why he didn’t collect
food for winter too, why he could only have fun during summer.
 The Crying Stone

Once upon a time, in a small village in Borneo Island, there lived a mother and her daughter.
The daughter was popular among villagers because of her beautiful face but she has bad
behavior. She always spent her time in front of the mirror admiring her beautiful face. :I always
look beautiful. My hair is so good.”
She never helped her mother to fulfill their daily needs. The daughter always made her mother
sad. However, the mother still loved her very much.

One day, the girl asked her mother to buy her a new gown. “Mother, I need a new gown. You
have to buy me one.” The mother refused it because she had no money. “But, I don’t have the
money, dear. How can I buy you the dress?” The girl insisted “I don’t want to know how. I just
want a new gown.” Because the mother loved her daughter so much, she finally bought her a
new gown.

Both went to the market. But the daughter asked her mother to walk behind because she was
embarrassed if people saw them together. “Just walk behind me. I don’t want people see us
together.” Once again, because of her love, the mother obeyed the daughter's request.

Along the way home, the daughter still walked in front of her mother. People passing asked
about the woman behind her. “Who is that woman behind you?” The daughter answered that
she was not her mother but her servant. “oh, she is just my servant.” The mother kept silent. But
inside her deep heart, she prayed to God to punish her daughter. “God, she is so mean. Just
give her punishment.”

Suddenly, her daughter's legs turned into stone. The daughter realized that it was because she
had hurt her mother's feelings. “What’s wrong with me? Why I couldn’t move my legs. Mother,
I’m so sorry. Forgive me, please!” She begged her mother to forgive but it was too late.

Slowly, her body also turned into stone. Though the daughter had become a stone, the tears
were still seen, which was why the stone was called Batu Menangis.
 The Story of Toba Lake
Once upon a time, there was a man who was living in north Sumatra. He lived in a simple hut in
a farming field. He did some gardening and fishing for his daily life.

One day, while the man was fishing, he caught a big golden fish in his trap. It was the biggest
catch he ever had in his life. “Wow, the fish is so big.” Surprisingly, this fish turned into a
beautiful princess. He fell in love with her and proposed to her as his wife. She said; "Yes, but
you have to promise not to tell anyone about the secret that I was once a fish, otherwise there
will be a huge disaster". The man made the deal and they got married, lived happily and had a
daughter.

Few years later, this daughter would help bring lunch to her father out in the fields. One day, his
daughter was so hungry that she ate his father's lunch. “I’m so hungry. Let me eat a little from
my Dad’s lunch.” Unfortunately, he found out and got furious, and shouted; "You damned
daughter of a fish". The daughter ran home and asked her mother. The mother started crying,
feeling sad that her husband had broken his promise.

Then she told her daughter to run up the hills because a huge disaster was about to come. “My
dear, go and run to the hills up there. Don’t come down or look back. Just go.” When her
daughter left, she prayed. Soon there was a big earthquake followed by non-stop pouring rain.
The whole area got flooded and became Toba Lake. She turned into a fish again and the man
became the island of Samosir.

Moral of the story: Never break a promise.

A lone elephant wandered the forest looking for friends. She came across a monkey and asked,
“Will you be my friend, monkey?” “You are too big and cannot swing on trees as I do. So I
cannot be your friend”, said the monkey.

The elephant them came across a rabbit and asked him if she could be his friend. “You are too
big to fit inside my burrow. You cannot be my friend”, replied the rabbit.

Then the elephant met a frog and asked if she could be her friend. The frog said “You are too big
and heavy. You cannot jump like me. I am sorry, but you cannot be my friend”.

The elephant asked a fox, and he got the same reply, that he was too big. The next day, all the
animals in the forest were running in fear. The elephant stopped a bear and asked what was
happening and was told that a tiger has been attacking all the animals.

The elephant wanted to save the other weak animals and went to the tiger and said “Please sir,
leave my friends alone. Do not eat them”. The tiger didn’t listen and asked the elephant to mind
her own business. Seeing no other way to solve the problem, the elephant kicked the tiger and
scared it away.

She then went back to the others and told them what happened. On hearing how the elephant
saved their lives, the animals agreed in unison, “You are just the right size to be our friend”.

Moral
Friends come in all shapes and sizes!
"Situ Bagendit"

Once upon a time, in West Java there was a widow. Her name was Nyai Bagendit. She
was the richest person in the village. She had a very big house filled with a lot of jewelry. She
also had many servants working for her. Nyai Bagendit was also known for her bad attitude.
She did not like to help others.
Whenever the villagers needed some money, they borrowed the money from her.
However, when they returned it, the villagers had to pay double. If they were not able to return
the debt, Nyai Bagendit would ask her servants to take the villagers belongings. Nyai Bagendit
also hated beggars. She thought that beggars were lazy people. She never felt sorry to any
beggars coming to her house.
So when the old beggar came to her house, Nyai Bagendit immediately to ask her to go.
“Go away you lazy old woman! Go out of my house!”
“Please, Nyai, give me some money or just give me some food. I’m so hungry,” said the beggar.
“Food? You asked for food? This is my house not a restaurant. Go now I don’t want to see you
here!” Nyai Bagendit than threw a stone to the old beggar, The old beggar was very sad.
She then said, “Nyai Bagendit, I know you are the reachest person in the village, You have
anything but you never help other people. You are not grateful to God. Wait for the punishment
from God. You will be punished!” The old beggar then left Nyai Bagendit’s house.
“Ha ha ha! You are right. I’m the reachest person here. So no one can punish me,not even God
can punish ne!” Nyai Bagendit was very arrogant. Nyai Bagendit then went back to her big
house. Not long after that, an earthquake happened. Her house fell down. Nyai Bagendit cried
to help.
“Help me! Somebody please help me!” But nobody listened her crying for help. Nobody in the
village felt the earthquake. Amazingly, the earthquake only happened in Nyai Bagendit’s house.
The land was opened. It was so big that the entire Nyai Bagendit house , and all her wealth
were gone.
The villagers just watch what happenend to Nyai Bagendit and her house. They were
amazed. They knew that God punished Nyai Bagendit for behaving badly and never helped
other people.
Slowly, the place where Nyai Bagendit’s house stood became a lake. Since then, people
named the lake as Situ Bagendit. It means Lake of Bagendit.

***
From the story,we can learn be kindness person and don’t arrogant.
 Roro Jonggrang
Long time ago, there was a kingdom named Prambanan. All the people of Prambanan lived peacefully.
But then, Prambanan kingdom was attacked and occupied by the Pengging kingdom. Prambanan then
was ruled by Bandung Bondowoso of Pengging kingdom. He was a mean king. He also had great
supernatural power. His soldiers were not only humans, but also genies.
The king of Prambanan had a beautiful daughter named Loro Jonggrang. Bandung Bondowoso fell in
love with her and wanted to marry her.
“You’re very beautiful. Would you be my queen?” asked Bandung Bondowoso.
Loro Jonggrang was shocked. She didn’t like Bandung Bondowoso because he was a mean person. She
wanted to refuse, but she was afraid that Bandung Bondowoso would be angry and endangered the
people of Prambanan.
Then, she came up with a plan.
“If you want to marry me, you have to build a thousand temples for me in just one night,” said Loro
Jonggrang.
“What? That’s impossible!” said Bandung Bondowoso.
But he did not give up. He consulted with his advisor. “Your Majesty can asked the genies to help built
the temples,” said the advisor.
So, Bandung Bondowoso summoned his entire genies soldier and commanded them to help him built a
thousand temples. The genies worked in unbelievable speed. Meanwhile, Loro Jonggrang heard from
her servant that the building of a thousand temples was almost finished. She was so worried. But again,
she came up with a great idea. She asked all of her servants to help her.
“Please prepare a lot of straw and mortar. Please hurry up!” said Loro Jonggrang.
“Burn the straw and make some noise pounding the mortar, quickly.” All those servants did what Loro
Jonggrang ordered them; burning straw and pounding the mortar, making the genies think that the sun
is going to rise.
“It’s already dawn. We have to go,” said the leader of the genies to Bandung Bondowoso. All the genies
immediately stopped their work and ran for cover from the sun, which they afraid of. They didn’t know
that the light was from the fire that burning the straw, not from the sun.
Bandung Bondowoso can’t stop the genies from leaving. He was angry. He knew Loro Jonggrang had just
tricked him.
“You cannot fool me, Loro Jonggrang. I already have 999 temples. I just need one more temple. Now, I
will make you the one-thousandth temple.” He pointed his finger to Loro Jonggrang and said some
mantras. Magically, Loro Jonggrang’s body turned into stone. Until now, the temple is still standing in
Prambanan area, Central Java. And the temple is called Loro Jonggrang temple.
 The Ant and the Dove
One hot day, an ant was seeking for some water.
“Aah, I feel so thirsty.”
After walking around for a moment, she came to a spring. To reach the spring, she had to climb up a
blade of grass. While making her way up, she slipped and fell unintentionally into the water.
“Help, help, help.. I’m drowning. Help!”
She could have sunk if a dove up a nearby tree had not seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble, the
dove quickly put off a leaf from a tree and dropped it immediately into the water near the struggling
ant.
“Climb up to the leaf!” Then the ant moved towards the leaf and climbed up there. Soon it carried her
safely to dry ground.
“Thank you Dove, I’ll never forget the help you have given me.!”
Not long after at that, there was a hunter nearby who was throwing out his net towards the dove,
hoping to trap it in this way.
“My friend Dove is in trouble. I have to help her.”
Guessing what he should do, the ant quickly bit him on the heel. Feeling the pain, the hunter dropped
his net
“AAAwww!’
Hearing the scream and see the hunter, the dove flew away quickly from this net.
The ant was happy that he could save the dove.
The morality: One good turn deserves another.

The Golden Snail (Keong Emas)

Long time ago there was a couple of husband and wife, they are Prince Raden Putra and Dewi
Limaran. They lived in a palace. The father of Prince Raden Putra was the king of the kingdom.

One day, Dewi Limaran was walking around in the palace garden. Suddenly she saw a snail. It was ugly
and disgusting.

"Yuck!" said Dewi Limaran and then she threw it away into a river.

She did not know that the snail was actually an old and powerful witch. She could transform herself
into anything. The witch was angry to Dewi Limaran.
“You are a bad girl. I’ll turn you into a snail.” The witch put a spell on her and changed her into a
golden snail. The witch then threw it away into the river.
The golden snail was drifting away in the river and got caught into a net. An old woman was fishing and
used her net to catch some fish. She was surprised to see a golden snail in her net.
“Hey, What is this? A golden snail?”
She took it and brought it home.
When the old woman woke up in the morning, she was surprised that the house was in the good
condition. The floor was mopped. And she also had food on the table. She was thinking very hard.

"Who did this to me? The person is very kind." It happened again and again every morning.

The old woman was very curious. One night she decided to stay up late. She was peeping from her
room to know who cooked for her. Then, she could not believe what she saw. The golden snail she
caught in the river turned into a beautiful woman. The old woman approached her.

"Who are you, young girl?"

"I am Dewi Limaran, Ma'am. A witch cursed me. I can change back as a human only at night," explained
Dewi Limaran.

"The spell can be broken if I hear the melody from the holy gamelan," continued Dewi Limaran.

The old woman then rushed to the palace. She talked to Prince Raden Putra about her wife.

Prince Raden Putra was so happy. He had been looking for his wife everywhere.

He then prayed and meditated. He asked the Gods to give him the holy gamelan. He wanted to break
the witch's spell. After several days praying and meditating, finally Gods granted his wish. He
immediately brought the holy gamelan to the old woman's house. He played it beautifully. And then
amazingly the golden snail turned into the beautiful Dewi Limaran.
“My princess..I’m so happy to meet you again.”

The couple was so happy that they could be together again. They also thanked the old woman for her
kindness. As a return, they asked her to stay in the palace.