Random Story To Tell

The Tiger People
(A tale from Sumatra)

In the dark green forests of Sumatra there used to be many tigers. The villagers were frightened of these big cats which, from time to time, stole away their cattle. When they spoke about a tiger, the villagers would never call the animal by its real name. They respectfully called the tiger “Master” or “Grandfather”. They thought the tiger could understand the human language and that they would feel insulted if weak Continue reading

There were once three sisters who lived by themselves in the heart of the thick forest. The two elder sisters were mean and bad tempered, but the youngest sister was very kind hearted and helpful.

Every summer they used to go out into the forest to collect all the different kinds of berries which were there, and there were so many berries to pick that it was often growing dark before they returned home.

One summer evening the eldest sister had just filled her basket when she Continue reading

A group of men from Kadambawa were on their way to Putallam. They had some important business there. They had started early in the morning from Kadambawa and hoped to reach Putallam by nightfall. But when darkness came, they were still quite far from Putallam. So they decided to rest in a clearing in the forest. They cooked and ate their evening meal together. Then each man spread his mat and went to sleep.
Suddenly, in the middle of the night there was a terrible shout, Continue reading

Story from Java

The whole village knew Pa Dungu as a hard worker and an honest man, but his name was “Dungu” and “Dungu” means stupid, and unfortunately Pa Dungu was indeed what his name implied.

One day Pa Dungu’s wife told her husband she wanted to sell their kerbau. “Early tomorrow morning you take the kerbau to the market,” she orderet, “and sell it for two hundred and fifty rupiahs, not a cent less!”
Pa Dungu Continue reading

One day, a man came to King’s court. He waited until it was his turn to speak, then he went up the Lion Throne.

“Your Majesty,” he said, “two days ago a traveller was passing trough our land. I gave him food and shelter in my house. He asked me if you, our King, were a good and wise ruler. I said “Yes.” “If he is a wise man,” the traveller said, “he’ll know the answers of three questions.” Then he told me three Continue reading

A farmer and his wife lived near the edge of a forest. They had a very beautiful daughter. One day, the farmer said, “Wife, I think our daughter is ready for marriage.”

“I’ll tell everyone in the village it is time for our daughter to marry,” said his wife. “She’s very beautiful. The boys will come by the hundreds. There’ll be no problem picking a suitable husband.”

And sure enough, hundreds of young men came to see the Continue reading

Many years ago, lived two Naga princess, Chulodera and Mahodera. Both of them wanted a certain gem studded throne.

Chulodera said that it’s his by inheritance, but Mahodera said that it’s his too by gift and custom.
Chulodera said it’s belong to his family for centuries, but Mahodera said that it was given by Chulodera grandfather and had use it for two generations.
They both just claim that gem, and no one let it go.

Soon there was a battle, many Continue reading

King Duthagamini had only one son. His name was Saliya. Saliya was a gentle person who loved poetry and music. He didn’t care for armies, soldiers and war.

One day Saliya was riding on his elephant in the forest, dreaming, when through the trees he heard a girl singing. It was such a lovely voice that Saliya slid off his elephant and crept toward the sound. What he saw made him stop and gasp.

There, under the Asoka tree, was a young girl. She was filling a basket with Continue reading

Long ago, Anuradhapura was ruled by the good king Gajabuhu. Gajabuhu was a kind and generous king who looked after his subjects well.

One day, an old woman came to his court, “My Lord Gajabuhu, Great Ruler, I’m hungry,” she cried. “I have nobody to bring food for me. My husband is dead. My two sons are with the twelve thousand Lankan soldiers taken prisoner by the King of Chola in your father’s reign. Have pity on an old woman, my Lord.”

King Continue reading

Little Yusuf liked sugar. He liked sugar so much that he ate up all the sugar in the sugar-pot every day. When his mother didn’t put sugar in the sugar-pot, Yusuf opened the cupboard and found the sugar bottle. It didn’t matter that he felt sick. He just ate as much sugar as he could find.

“Oh, Yusuf! What shall I do with you?” his mother cried. “Your teeth will fall out. Your stomach will fill up with worms.” But Yusuf kept eating sugar. When he Continue reading