The story of Lutung Kasarung

 Long ago there was King Tapa Agung and he had many daughters. 

When King Tapa Agung had aged he decided to crown one of his daughters as the queen after him.

King Tapa Agung's eldest daughter was Purbararang and the king's youngest daughter was Purabasari.

Though it was custom to appoint the eldest daughter as the queen after him, King Tapa Agung wanted to appoint his youngest daughter Purbasari as the Queen. 

Purbasari was very kind and wise and loved by all the people in the kingdom.

When Purbararang learnt of her father's choice she was furious. 

Purbararang had a fiance Indrajaya. 

Purbararang and Indrajaya went looking for a witch. Purbararang and Indrajaya found one and the witch gave Purbararang an ointment. 

Purbararang smeared the ointment on Purbasari's skin. A few days after that Purbasari's skin had black spots everywhere.

Purbararang managed to convince everybody that this was because Purbasari was cursed. Purbasari had to be exiled to the forests after that.

One of the ministers of the king accompanied Purbasari to the forests to leave her there. The minister even built a hut for Purbasari to live in. The minister encouraged Purbasari and advised her not to give up hope.

With those words the minister went back to the kingdom leaving Purbasari alone in the forests. 

Purbasari was not lonely in the forest as all the animals in the forest became her friend. One specific animal which became Purbasari's friend was a black monkey. However this was not an ordinary monkey. This animal could speak like a human. Purbasari called this monkey Lutung Kasarung.

Once Lutung Kasarung went to a quiet place and meditated for a long time. After that Lutung Kasarung dug the mud and created a small lake.

Lutung Kasarung asked Purbasari herself in the waters of this lake.

Purbasari was shocked because her skin turned out as beautiful and clean without the spots as she had been before.

The news of Purbasari’s cure reached everyone in the palace. 

Purbararang was very afraid that Purbasari would come back and take her throne. 

So Purbararang created many difficult tasks for Purbasari so that if Purbasari could not fulfill the tasks, Purbararang could behead her. 

Purbararang asked Purbasari to clear a huge field, tame a buffalo and even build a dam and drain a river. 

Purbasari could finish all these tasks with Lutung Kasarung’s help. 

Feeling desperate, Purbararang compared the length of her hair with Purbasari. Purbasari won that round too.

Finally, Purbararang challenged Purbasari about whose fiance was more handsome. Purbararang was sure she would win because Purbasari did not have a fiance.

However Purbasari did not even hesitate and she announced that Lutung Kasarung was her fiance. Lutung Kasarung had always been with Purbasari all throughout her troubles and Purbasari loved the black monkey.

Purbararang laughed and ridiculed Purbasari for her choice.

But it was shocking because at that time Lutung Kasarung transformed into a handsome strong man.

In reality Lutung Kasarang was Prince Guruminda from heaven who had come to the land of humans looking for a wife.

Prince Guruminda was naturally more handsome than Indrajaya and Purbararang had to admit defeat and she returned the throne to Purbasari.

Purbasari became the queen and she and her husband Prince Guruminda ruled the kingdom happily and well. 

Adapted from folk tales of Indonesia

Tenali Raman and the Great Scholar

Once there came a great scholar to the kingdom of Vijayanagar. 

King Krishnadevaraya was the ruler of Vijayanagara and he welcomed the scholar to his kingdom. 

However the scholar was a very arrogant man. The scholar challenged other scholars in the court of Vijayanagara and he was easily able to prove that he was more knowledgeable than the ministers and scholars in Krishnadevaraya’s palace. 

All the other ministers and scholars in King Krishnadevaraya’s court admitted defeat.

Finally it was the chance of Tenali Raman to have a debate with the scholar.

Tenali Raman was the court jester and the minister of the court of Vijayanagara and he was a very clever man and one of the confidantes of King Krishnadevaraya. 

When Tenali Raman heard that the king had wanted him to have a debate with the scholar he came up to the palace the next day with a cloth covering what seemed like a book. 

Tenali Raman placed the book before the great scholar. “This book is called “Tilakshata Mahisha Bandhanam”. I shall read this and this is the topic that we shall have a debate on tomorrow.”

The scholar was given one night to prepare.

However the scholar had not even heard of such a book, let alone capable of having a debate on it. He was worried that he would lose the debate and he quietly packed his things and left the kingdom that night. 

The next morning king Krishnadevaraya was surprised when he found the scholar had left the kingdom. 

The king was impressed with Tenali Rahman and asked about the book that had scared the scholar away. 

Tenali Raman unpacked the cloth only to reveal that it did not have books at all. The cloth had some ‘til’ sticks and some sheep dung tied together by a rope to tie buffaloes. All these names combined together in Sanskrit gave the name as “Tilakashta Mahesha Bandhanam.” 

The king was very happy with Tenali Raman and rewarded him.

Adapted from Indian folk tales

The Elves and the Cobbler

Long ago there was a cobbler who had become very poor. All he had left was a little leather to make one pair of shoes. 

The cobbler cut the leather and decided to work on the leather the next morning. He went to bed after cutting the leather. 

When he woke up in the morning he was surprised to see that there were two pairs of shoes on the table. 

The cobbler picked up the shoe and studied it closely and realized that there was not even one bad stitch in the entire shoe.

The cobbler did not know what to think. 

Even more surprising was that a man came to buy the shoes. The man was so impressed with the shoes that he paid more money to the cobbler than the shoes were worth. 

With that the cobbler was able to buy leather for two pairs of shoes. 

That night too the cobbler cut the leather and went to bed. 

When he woke up, again he found two excellently stitched pairs of shoes. 

The cobbler sold these shoes very easily and he was able to buy leather for four pairs of shoes.

Soon this went on and the cobbler had become very wealthy. 

One night the cobbler and his wife decided to find out who had been making their shoes. 

That night they lit a candle and hid in the shop. 

At night two tiny elves came into the shop and they started working on the leather. 

The cobbler and his wife were astonished as they saw the elves work on the leather flawlessly. 

The next day the cobbler's wife had an idea. 

So that night when the two elves came to work they were surprised because there was no leather in the shop. Instead there were lovely shirts, pants and shoes made to their size.

The elves were delighted and they wore the shirts and pants. 

This was the cobbler and his wife's thanks to the elves for doing such flawless work on the shorts. 

After taking the shirts, pants and shoes the elves never came back to the cobbler's shop.

However the cobbler had never been poor after that and became quite wealthy.

Adapted from the Grimm Brothers Household Tales

The Maiden of the Moon

There was once a man called Také Tori. He was a bamboo cutter. He and his wife lived very happily with the little money that the two of them made. However they did not have any children and were a little unhappy about it. 

As usual Také Tori went to the mountains and on the top he came across a bamboo grove. 

He was surprised to see a bright light shining among the green stems of the bamboo. Také Tori took his axe and cut down the green bamboo and he was surprised to find a fine shining green jewel the size of his fist.

Then Také Tori took the jewels in his hands. He was shocked when the jewel split into two and from it came a little person who stood on Také Tori’s hands. 

“Greetings!” The young person told Také Tori. 

Také Tori was taken aback. “Are you a fairy?” 

The girl nodded. “Yes. I have come to live with you and your wife for a little while.”

Také Tori was however sad. “Our cottage is not good enough and that is not a proper place for a girl like you.”

The fairy smiled. “Where is the big green jewel that you found?” 

When Také Tori picked up the two halves of the jewel he was surprised to see that it had gold coins. The fairy nodded. “Take it and me with you.” 

When they went home Také Tori joyously told his wife everything that had happened.

The little fairy grew up very happily in their house. She was very beautiful and Také Tori called her Beaming Bright because she came out of a shiny jewel.

Také Tori lived in a fine house and Beaming Bright lived like a queen there. 

Her beauty spread far and wide and many people came to want to marry her. 

However, Beaming Bright did not want to marry any of them. She wanted to stay with her parents as their daughter.

Three happy years went by. 

At that time a man called Micado came to woo Beaming Bright. 

Sadly when Beaming Bright heard Micado tears stood in her eyes and she shook her head. “I cannot marry you.” 

Mecado was surprised. “Why not?” 

That night the moon was especially bright. 

Také Tori, his wife and Micado were outside. “I cannot believe how big and bright the moon is tonight. It seems like there is a highway from the moon to the Earth.” 

At that time, Beaming Bright came forward. “You speak the truth father because it is a highway. On the highway there will be many beings to take me home because my father is the King of the Moon. He sent me to Earth in exile for the last three years . My exile is now over and I have to go back home.”

Také Tori and his wife and Micado were numb with shock. 

Také Tori looked around. “The mist is descending.” Také Tori said in anguish. 

Micado shook his head. “It is not the mist. It is not the king of the moon and his cohorts.” 

Many beings came down from the beam which was the highway from the moon.

The chief of them presented Beaming Bright with a feathery robe. 

When Beaming Bright wore the robe she rose up in the air. “Goodbye Také Tori. Goodbye mother. I will leave you my jewel behind for the two of you.” Beaming Bright turned to Micado. “I do not have any feathery robe to give you. So you cannot come up there. But I will leave you some elixir. If you drink it you will be one of the Immortals.” 

Saying this Beaming Bright spread her bright wings and with the cohorts of the king of the moon she went back to the moon and she was seen no more. 

Micado took the phial but he did not consume it. 

He realized that there was no point in living forever if he was parted from Beaming Bright. He threw the elixir of life into the fire and its blue vapour floated up to the moon.

Micado looked at the fire and nodded. “Let my message float up and reach the ears of Beaming Bright.”

Beaming Bright was also very sad on leaving her family on Earth and she wept. 

These shiny tears of Beaming Bright carried a message of love and comfort. To this day the tears of Beaming Bright can be seen on small ponds along with the blue vapour around it.

Adapted from Japanese folk tales

The Prince and the Horse- Part Four

Soon after this the neighbouring country attacked the kingdom. 

The king had to go out on a battle and he was accompanied by the husbands of the two eldest daughters. 

The Prince also wanted to go to the war but he had nothing which could help him work for the king. 

Besides, the king, who was ashamed of his third son-in-law, did not give him any good horse or weapons to help him fight the war. 

The Prince was determined not to be left behind and he got on the sad horse that he had been given for carting the leaves away from the garden. 

No sooner had the Prince left the garden the horse stumbled and fell. 

The Prince then went down the brook and went to where the black horse lived in the hall. 

The horse nodded at the Prince after hearing what he had to say. “Bring my saddle and bridle. You will find a suit of armour in the next room. Put them on and we will write together in battle.”

The Prince did as he was told and he and his horse sped away to the battlefield. 

By the time the two of them had reached the battlefield the king had been losing the battle. 

However the Warrior who had been covered in his armour came with his black horse and soon the tide of the battle changed. 

The man in the armour with his black horse fought so ferociously that the enemy fled in all directions. 

The king and his two sons-in-law saw the man but did not know who he was. 

Before they could come any closer the black horse rose in the air and took its master away from there. 

The king and everybody else in his army believed that a god had come to their rescue. 

Some time later a part of the country rose in rebellion against the king. 

Exactly like the previous time the king did not want his third son-in-law to help him and did not give him any weapons or horses. 

This time too the Prince and the black horse went to the rebellion when the king was almost losing and turned tired of the battle. 

This time too the king and his two sons- in-law could not know who had come and saved them. 

The third time there was another attack by another neighbouring country. 

This time too the king did not take the third Prince with him. 

While fighting the third battle the Prince was stuck in the leg with a sword. 

The king then pulled out his own pocket handkerchief and bound it around the man's leg. 

After this the Prince and his horse disappeared from there after winning the battle for the king. 

Still no one knew who had come and saved them. 

The prince reached his home and he and his wife where he and his wife were living. He lay down on his bed and slept. 

That was when his wife noticed the handkerchief around her husband’s leg and realized that it belonged to her father.

The princess immediately took the kerchief to the king. 

Then the king and the two elder sons-in-law realized that this had been the man who had come and saved them in all the three battles. 

They all recognised him as the hero who had saved their life.

There was great rejoicing throughout the land and the king rewarded his third son-in-law with half of the kingdom. 

The Prince and his wife ruled over the kingdom happily ever after.

Adapted from Greek folk tales

The Prince and the Horse - Part Three

The horse now turned to the Prince. “You may get down there is nothing more to fear because the magician is dead.” The horse nodded at a brook nearby. “You will find a willow wand there. Strike it on the earth and you will see a door at your feet.” 

The Prince did as he was told and he saw a large door leading to a vaulted stone hall.

“Lead me into the hall,” the horse told the Prince. “I will stay there. You must go through the fields and you will reach a garden. There you will find a king's palace. If you go into the king's service you will be able to help me. But please do not forget me.” 

The Prince also promised the horse that he would not let anyone see his golden hair. The prince bound a cloth around his hair like a turban so that no one could see it. 

He walked ahead and saw the gardener of the palace and wanted to enter into service with the gardener. 

The Prince was naturally dressed like a poor man and the gardener did not think that he was a king's son. So the gardener accepted the king's son as his apprentice.

The Prince was given the job to weed the ground, sweep the dead leaves and for that the king’s son was paid a florin a day and a horse was given to him to take the leaves away. The Prince was also given food and drinks. 

The Prince agreed to the conditions and he set about to work. 

Every day half of the food that he got was all he ate. He took the remaining to the horse. The horse was very happy and thanked the Prince for his friendship.

The horse then one day told the Prince something very important. “Tomorrow a lot of princes and kings will come to this king's palace. The king has three princesses. Each of the three princesses will throw a diamond apple in her hand into the air. Any person at whose feet the apple falls will be the bridegroom of that princess. You must be close by in the garden at your work. If you do that the apple of the youngest princess would fall near your feet. Pick it up and put it in your pocket.” 

The next day exactly as the horse had said many wooers of the three princesses came from across many kingdoms to the castle. 

The princesses threw the apple in the air and the diamond apple of the youngest princess fell near the garden where the Prince was working. 

He immediately picked up the apple and put it in his pocket. 

However as the prince stooped to pick up the apple the scarf around his head slipped a little and the third princess saw some of his golden hair. 

From that moment the princess fell in love with the man in the turban.

The king however was very sad that his youngest daughter had to be married to a commoner. However the king had no choice and he celebrated the three marriages with great pomp and show. 

The youngest princess and the Prince returned to their broken down hut near the gardener's house. 

However the king was very ashamed of his third son-in-law and did not want him to meet the others.

Adapted from Greek fairy tales

The Prince and the Horse - Part Two

One day the Prince forgot to keep the stove burning and let the fire burn low. 

Just as the flame was flickering the old man stormed into the castle. “What do you mean by letting the fire burn so low? I just arrived at the nick of time to stop you from committing this foolishness.” 

After that the Prince hastily threw a log on the stove and he blew on the ashes to kindle the glow. 

His master hit him on the ear and warned him that if he ever did this again it would be worse. 

The Prince was sitting at the stable when he was surprised. 

The black horse could speak. “Come to my stall,” the black horse told the prince. “Bring my bridle and saddle from the cupboard and put them on me. Take the bottle that is beside the bridle and the saddle. The bottle contains an ointment which would make your hair shine like gold. Then put all the wood that you can gather together on the stove. Pile the wood very high up.” 

Though the Prince did not understand the reason for the horse’s instructions he trusted the horse and did what he was told. 

He saddled and bridled the horse. He put the ointment on his hair and was stunned to see that his hair was now shining like pure gold. He built a big fire in the stove and the flames sprang forth and it started burning through the roof of the castle.

A few minutes later the entire palace was beginning to burn up like a bonfire. 

The Prince ran to the stables and the horse nodded. “There is one more thing that you must do. In the cupboard you will find a looking glass, a brush and a riding whip. Bring all these three items and then mount on my back and we will ride away from this place.”

No sooner had the Prince got on the saddle then the horse was off and the horse kept at a furious pace. 

In a short time the black horse and the prince were far away from the forest and the country belonging to the magician. 

Meanwhile the magician returned to his palace and found it in smoldering ruins. 

He looked around the castle and found that his servant and his black horse were both missing. 

He mounted another horse and set off to find the black horse and his servant.

As the Prince rode on, he heard a horse follow him. 

The horse nodded with the Prince. “Look behind you and see if the old man is following you.” 

The Prince nodded back. “But the magician is at a distance.”

They gathered some more speed and found that now the magician had reached very close.

“Throw the looking glass on the ground,” the horse instructed the Prince. 

When the Prince threw the looking glass on the ground, the magician and his horse came up and his horse stepped on the mirror and crashed. The foot of the horse went through the glass and the horse stumbled and fell. 

So there was nothing that the old man could do but go back slowly to the stables and put new shoes on for the horse.

However the magician then again set out in pursuit of the Prince and the black horse. This time when the magician came very close the Prince was able to see the flames of the magician.

The horse advised the Prince to throw the brush on the ground. 

When the prince threw the brush, the brush changed into a thick forest which even a bird could not get through. 

The magician and his horse went back to the castle to bring an axe. 

The magician came back to the thick forest and cut his way through the forest with the axe. 

By the time the musician was finished the Prince and the black horse were much further away. 

But the magician with his power was still able to catch up with the two of them. 

“Throw your whip down.” The horse urgently told the Prince. 

The Prince did as he was asked and he was shocked to see that the whip changed into a broad river. 

This time when the magician urged his own horse into the water the water mounted higher and higher and finally the magic flame which surrounded the magician and all his power was fizzled out in the fire. 

Soon the magician and his horse disappeared in the river.

Adapted from Greek fairy tales