The Chickens from Kamal
The Chickens from Kamal
( a tale from Madura )
It is well-known that there are many strong chickens around the town of Kamal on the south coast of Madura. This story tells you why.
Long ago, when the gods were still on earth, a gang of cruel pirates attacked a rice ship which was on its way to Java from the Sunda islands. The pirates The Chickens from Kamal ( a tale from Madura )
It is well-known that there are many strong chickens around the town of Kamal on the south coast of Madura. This story tells you why.
Long ago, when the gods were still on earth, a gang of cruel pirates attacked a rice ship which was on its way to Java from the Sunda islands. The pirates threw the sailors into the sea and sailed the rice ships to the north coast of the island of Madura, where they lived.
While they were taking the rice off the ship, one of the men discovered a dwarf who had been hidden himself in a corner of the ship. The poor dwarf had hidden in the darkest corner, and in his arms he held a cage in which were a cock and a hen. When he saw that he was discovered, he said in a trembling voice
to his chickens, “My dear friends, I don’t think we’ll ever see the King of Majapahit. Soon you and I will die in the waves like all the others.”
“Majapahit.. ? What are you talking about Majapahit? Who are you? How did you get here among the bags of rice?” asked the pirate curiously.
“The King of my country sent me, with my cock and my hen to the King of Majapahit so that I can amuse him with my jokes,” answered the dwarf. “You see, I used to entertain my king at meal times. The cock and hen are also presents for His Majesty. The cock and hen are also presents for His Majesty. The cock
crows at sunrise and sunset, showing the hour when man has to start work and the time when he can rest. The hen lays a fresh egg every day. Please good man, take the rice, but let me go to the King of Majapahit with my friends.”
The pirate, however, had other ideas. He thought that the dwarf might as well amuse him with some jokes. After all, the life of pirate is not always full of fun. And he did not mind eating fresh eggs every day either. So the man took the dwarf, the cock and the hen to the pirate village. But since he was afraid that the dwarf might run away, he put the poor man and his chickens in a big wooden cage.
The dwarf, who missed his freedom, forgot all his jokes and tricks. Day after day he sat in the corner of the cage, crying and sighing. The cock refused to crow and the hen did not lay a single egg.
“We should let the dwarf free,” said one pirate. “When he stops crying and sighing, he’ll remember his jokes, and he’ll make the cock crow and the hen lay eggs.
And so it happened. The pirate let the dwarf free, but left the cock and hen in the big wooden cage. Soon the dwarf could laugh again, and he amused the men in the village with his jokes and tricks. The cock crowed at sunrise and sunset, and the little hen laid an egg every day.
For a while, everything went well. But when the pirates’ children got used to the cock and hen they started to be cruel to the chickens. They pulled feathers out of the cock’s beautiful tail, and they threw stones at the hen. And when the dwarf tried to help his friends, they beat and kicked him. So the dwarf decided to run away. He waited until the time arrived for the pirates to go to the sea again.
One dark night, when the pirates had gone out in their ships, the dwarf silently left his bed. He took the cock and the hen in his arms and ran to the beach.
There he stepped into a rowing boat and tried to row to Java. The poor fellow did not know how far Java was and he had no idea how to get there. He just rowed and rowed until his arms and shoulders hurt so much that he could not hold the oars any longer. Then the winds turned and blew the little boat back to the beach.
When the pirates returned and discovered that the dwarf had tried to run away, they got very angry. “That’s how you thank us. Now we’ll kill you and your chickens!” shouted one.
“We’ll throw you into the sea and let you drown!”
“No. Let us tie him up and starve him to death.”
The pirates like this last idea, so the cruel men tied up the dwarf with the cock and hen to a piece of wood in their ship. The dwarf looked sadly up at the blue sky and prayed to Lord Vishnu, the great god of Hindu people.
“Oh mighty god Vishnu, please save us from this terrible death. You, who help the good and destroy the evil, save us.”
“Stop crying!” shouted one of the pirates. “Do you really think the great god Vishnu will listen to a miserable creature like you?”
“He’s your god as well as mine, and he’s known to help those are innocent,” answered the dwarf.
Then suddenly, a great storm rose out of the ocean. The wind roared and the waves hits the sides of the ship. The sails were torn and the rope that held the anchor broke. The storm pushed the ship to the middle of the ocean and the men could do nothing. The piece of wood which the dwarf and his chickens were tied to, cracked and fell into the sea.
Soon the current swept it out of sight. Then the ship, with all its contents, sank. But the wind blew the piece of wood onto the south coast of the island of Madura, near the town of Kamal, and pushed it gently onto the beach. The poor dwarf thought time and time again that his last hour had come, but he did not
die. And neither did the cock and the little hen. The rope which tied them to the piece of wood stopped them from falling into the water. Finally, when the piece of wood was pushed onto the sand, the dwarf and his chickens fell into a deep sleep.
The dwarf dreamt that a beautiful lady appeared before him and said,”I am Lakshmi, the wife of the god Vishnu. He has heard your prayer and has rescued you from a cruel death. Now, I give you one wish. Think carefully before you make it.”
The people who lived near the beach were simple fishermen. Some of them saw the piece of wood and ran towards it. The dwarf and his chickens were soon released from the rope that tied them up. Soon they were surrounded by many people; men, women and children. The people in that place had never seen a cock and a hen, and they wondered what those strange animals were. So the dwarf told them what his little friends could do.
“This is a cock. He crows at sunrise to wake people up, and he crows at sunset to tell them that evening is near and that people can rest. And this is a hen,” he continued, pointing at the little hen. “She lays an egg every day, which you can eat. We are on the way to the court of the King of Majapahit.”
The poor people became very excited at the words of the dwarf, and the headman shouted. “All right, let them show us now what they can do. Let him crow, and let that animal there lay an egg!”
“You have to wait until tomorrow, my friend,” said the dwarf. “Then the cock will crow at sunrise and perhaps the hen will lay an egg.”
But the headman, who did not understand that one cannot force a cock to crow or a hen to lay eggs, did not believe the dwarf. “I don’t want to wait until tomorrow. Let them do it now,” he said.
“Yes, yes, let them do it now!” shouted the other people.
“Otherwise we will throw you all back into the sea!” They crowded around the poor dwarf and some tried to pull the feathers from the cock’s tail.
This made the dwarf very angry, and in his anger he yelled out. “You stupid people! I wish that all of you would turn into cocks and hens!”
Wuzzz…. suddenly the dwarf was alone on the beach. All the people had dissapeared. But there was a loud cackling and crowing around him. All the people had been turned into cocks and hens! The dwarf had forgotten his one wish.
Fortunately for him, a ship then arrived near the beach. The captain felt sorry for the dwarf, and since he was going to Java he took the poor fellow, with his cock and his hen, with him.
And so at long last, the dwarf reached the court of the King of Majapahit. There they lived happily ever after.
The dwarf, until the end of his life, told jokes; the cock crowed at sunrise and sunset; and the little hen laid a fresh egg every day. But to this very day, the chickens in Kamal are said to be the strongest and noisiest in the world.
threw the sailors into the sea and sailed the rice ships to the north coast of the island of Madura, where they lived.
While they were taking the rice off the ship, one of the men discovered a dwarf who had been hidden himself in a corner of the ship. The poor dwarf had hidden in the darkest corner, and in his arms he held a cage in which were a cock and a hen. When he saw that he was discovered, he said in a trembling voice
to his chickens, “My dear friends, I don’t think we’ll ever see the King of Majapahit. Soon you and I will die in the waves like all the others.”
“Majapahit.. ? What are you talking about Majapahit? Who are you? How did you get here among the bags of rice?” asked the pirate curiously.
“The King of my country sent me, with my cock and my hen to the King of Majapahit so that I can amuse him with my jokes,” answered the dwarf. “You see, I used to entertain my king at meal times. The cock and hen are also presents for His Majesty. The cock and hen are also presents for His Majesty. The cock crows at sunrise and sunset, showing the hour when man has to start work and the time when he can rest. The hen lays a fresh egg every day. Please good man, take the rice, but let me go to the King of Majapahit with my friends.”
The pirate, however, had other ideas. He thought that the dwarf might as well amuse him with some jokes. After all, the life of pirate is not always full of fun. And he did not mind eating fresh eggs every day either. So the man took the dwarf, the cock and the hen to the pirate village. But since he was afraid that the dwarf might run away, he put the poor man and his chickens in a big wooden cage.
The dwarf, who missed his freedom, forgot all his jokes and tricks. Day after day he sat in the corner of the cage, crying and sighing. The cock refused to crow and the hen did not lay a single egg.
“We should let the dwarf free,” said one pirate. “When he stops crying and sighing, he’ll remember his jokes, and he’ll make the cock crow and the hen lay eggs.
And so it happened. The pirate let the dwarf free, but left the cock and hen in the big wooden cage. Soon the dwarf could laugh again, and he amused the men in the village with his jokes and tricks. The cock crowed at sunrise and sunset, and the little hen laid an egg every day.
For a while, everything went well. But when the pirates’ children got used to the cock and hen they started to be cruel to the chickens. They pulled feathers out of the cock’s beautiful tail, and they threw stones at the hen. And when the dwarf tried to help his friends, they beat and kicked him. So the dwarf decided to run away. He waited until the time arrived for the pirates to go to the sea again.
One dark night, when the pirates had gone out in their ships, the dwarf silently left his bed. He took the cock and the hen in his arms and ran to the beach.
There he stepped into a rowing boat and tried to row to Java. The poor fellow did not know how far Java was and he had no idea how to get there. He just rowed and rowed until his arms and shoulders hurt so much that he could not hold the oars any longer. Then the winds turned and blew the little boat back to the beach.
When the pirates returned and discovered that the dwarf had tried to run away, they got very angry. “That’s how you thank us. Now we’ll kill you and your chickens!” shouted one.
“We’ll throw you into the sea and let you drown!”
“No. Let us tie him up and starve him to death.”
The pirates like this last idea, so the cruel men tied up the dwarf with the cock and hen to a piece of wood in their ship. The dwarf looked sadly up at the blue sky and prayed to Lord Vishnu, the great god of Hindu people.
“Oh mighty god Vishnu, please save us from this terrible death. You, who help the good and destroy the evil, save us.”
“Stop crying!” shouted one of the pirates. “Do you really think the great god Vishnu will listen to a miserable creature like you?”
“He’s your god as well as mine, and he’s known to help those are innocent,” answered the dwarf.
Then suddenly, a great storm rose out of the ocean. The wind roared and the waves hits the sides of the ship. The sails were torn and the rope that held the anchor broke. The storm pushed the ship to the middle of the ocean and the men could do nothing. The piece of wood which the dwarf and his chickens were tied
to, cracked and fell into the sea.
Soon the current swept it out of sight. Then the ship, with all its contents, sank. But the wind blew the piece of wood onto the south coast of the island of Madura, near the town of Kamal, and pushed it gently onto the beach. The poor dwarf thought time and time again that his last hour had come, but he did not
die. And neither did the cock and the little hen. The rope which tied them to the piece of wood stopped them from falling into the water. Finally, when the piece of wood was pushed onto the sand, the dwarf and his chickens fell into a deep sleep.
The dwarf dreamt that a beautiful lady appeared before him and said,”I am Lakshmi, the wife of the god Vishnu. He has heard your prayer and has rescued you from a cruel death. Now, I give you one wish. Think carefully before you make it.”
The people who lived near the beach were simple fishermen. Some of them saw the piece of wood and ran towards it. The dwarf and his chickens were soon released from the rope that tied them up. Soon they were surrounded by many people; men, women and children. The people in that place had never seen a cock
and a hen, and they wondered what those strange animals were. So the dwarf told them what his little friends could do.
“This is a cock. He crows at sunrise to wake people up, and he crows at sunset to tell them that evening is near and that people can rest. And this is a hen,” he continued, pointing at the little hen. “She lays an egg every day, which you can eat. We are on the way to the court of the King of Majapahit.”
The poor people became very excited at the words of the dwarf, and the headman shouted. “All right, let them show us now what they can do. Let him crow, and let that animal there lay an egg!”
“You have to wait until tomorrow, my friend,” said the dwarf. “Then the cock will crow at sunrise and perhaps the hen will lay an egg.”
But the headman, who did not understand that one cannot force a cock to crow or a hen to lay eggs, did not believe the dwarf. “I don’t want to wait until tomorrow. Let them do it now,” he said.
“Yes, yes, let them do it now!” shouted the other people.
“Otherwise we will throw you all back into the sea!” They crowded around the poor dwarf and some tried to pull the feathers from the cock’s tail.
This made the dwarf very angry, and in his anger he yelled out. “You stupid people! I wish that all of you would turn into cocks and hens!”
Wuzzz…. suddenly the dwarf was alone on the beach. All the people had dissapeared. But there was a loud cackling and crowing around him. All the people had been turned into cocks and hens! The dwarf had forgotten his one wish.
Fortunately for him, a ship then arrived near the beach. The captain felt sorry for the dwarf, and since he was going to Java he took the poor fellow, with his cock and his hen, with him.
And so at long last, the dwarf reached the court of the King of Majapahit. There they lived happily ever after.
The dwarf, until the end of his life, told jokes; the cock crowed at sunrise and sunset; and the little hen laid a fresh egg every day. But to this very day, the chickens in Kamal are said to be the strongest and noisiest in the world.
