3. A Person Who Lived Under A Spell
At first she saw nothing unusual in the little room. Then she noticed her snail. The little animal had crept out of the earthen pot and was now in the middle of the room. Then she seemed to grow bigger and bigger. In a moment a lovely, young girl stood in the place where the snail had been. She was dressed in a beautiful sarong and her kebaya shone like silk. The shell lay behind her on the floor.
Quickly the young girl started to work. In no time she had cleaned the house. Then she lit the fire and started cooking. From the old earthen pot she took rice, meat and vegetables. Soon a delicious smell filled the old hut.
Now the old lady understood everything. Her snail was not an ordinary animal, but a person who lived under a spell. She knew what she had to do to break the spell. She crept silently into the hut and quickly took the empty shell from the floor. Then she rushed out of the house to the river and threw the shell as far away into the water as possible. After doing this she went home with joy in her heart.
It was as Bu Aminah had thought. The beautiful young girl was a princess. Her name was Devi Limaran. She told the old woman that she was married to the crown prince of the country, the young and handsome Raden Putra.
One day when she was walking in her garden she discovered a snail among her favorite flowers. She ordered her lady-in-waiting to pick it and throw it away. But the old snail was an old witch who had disguised herself as a snail and was resting when Devi Limaran saw her. Furiously she had cursed the terrified princess; then she changed Devi Limaran into a snail and threw her into the river. The stream had carried her away, but the gods heard her crying and led her safely into the old widow’s net. When Bu Aminah had thrown the shell away she had broken part of the spell. But the rest of the spell had to be broken before she could return to her husband and be a princess again.
“Until that time comes, stay with me, my princess,” said the old woman, “and I shall pray to the gods that the prince might be led to this place.”
So Devi Limaran stayed with Bu Aminah and the old widow was no longer lonely and poor.
And so the months passed …
[...] A Person Who Lived Under A Spell Share : [...]
Pingback by 2. New Friend, New Life | Random Story To Tell — August 12, 2009 @ 7:28 pm