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 Continue reading
How The Queen of The Sea Punished Greed
(Central Java)
It was a very dark night. On the beach everything was quiet. Only the song of the waves broke the deep silence. There was nobody to be seen on the sand. There was not a single man or a single animal.
At one place near the sea there rose a high rock. The waves had been throwing themselves for centuries against the walls of this rock and had made holes in them. Some of the holes were small, but some were big and formed Continue reading
Loro Jongrang
Loro Jongrang was the daughter of King Prabu Baka, who reigned over the ancient Javanese kingdom of Prambanan. Prabu Baka was a cruel, powerful king who ruled by sheer terror, and for a long time none dared challenge him; but finally, in a fierce battle, he was killed by the King of Pengging.
This victory was due to the King’s first minister Bandawasa, who fought with a weapon possessing supernatural powers. Bandawasa had named his magic weapon Continue reading
Once upon a time, in a certain country, right in the middle of the gamarala’s field, lay a huge rock. It was the time to plough the field, and the gamarala wanted to get the rock out.
He tried to lift it himself. But the rock was too large and too heavy. He called his neighbours to help. But the couldn’t lift the rock either. They tied a rope around it and yoked it to ten oxen. The rope snapped, but the rock didn’t move.
Finally the gamarala offered a large Continue reading
