Joko Kendil

Long ago there was a widow who had a son. In that particular place, the pot used for cooking rice was called a kendil. The widow's son's head looked like a kendil so he was named Joko Kendil.

However, the widow loved her son a lot and brought him up with a lot of love and affection. When Joko Kendil was a child he loved to pull pranks on others.

Once when there was a function in their village Joko Kendil lined up along with the pots placed near the cooks who were cooking for the function. 

The busy cook did not differentiate Joko Kendil’s head from the other pots and put some food on his head.

Joko Kendil took the food home with his mother and shared it with all his friends. 

When Joko Kendil became an adult he asked his mother to approach their king to find a good match for him. 

The king had three daughters and Joko Kendil was sure that one of them would marry him. 

Joko Kendil's mother was however a little apprehensive of approaching the king. 

Joko Kendil finally convinced his mother to go.

Having no choice, the mother went to the king about her son's wishes. 

The king then turned to his three daughters. 

The second daughter told the king that she wanted to marry only a handsome prince. The  first daughter did not want to marry a poor man from a village. 

However the third daughter happily accepted the proposal of Joko Kendil's mother.

After this the king told the widow that his third daughter had accepted Joko Kendil's proposal. 

Joko Kendil married the third princess and lived with his wife in the palace. 

The youngest princess loved the witty Joko Kendil and was very happy with him. However, her elder sisters very often made fun of the third sister and the third sister’s husband.

One day the king of the place hosted a competition where all the people could show off their skills. 

Joko Kendil however could not participate in the event because he was sick. 

At that time a young nobleman came and showed off his amazing skills. Looking at this the first two princesses mocked the third princess even more for having a husband who could not do any of this.

Back to the nobleman, he was extraordinarily handsome and rode a fierce horse and had handsome clothes. 

The first two princesses were awestruck looking at the nobleman and tried to get his attention. They were even more stunned when they saw that the noble man was extremely talented in all the competitions set there. 

However the nobleman completely ignored the first two princesses. He went and stood before the third princess who had been unhappy that her own husband could not participate in the event. 

It was at this time that the noble man told the third princess that he was Joko Kendil. Joko Kindle had been cursed to have a head like a pot and the curse could be broken only if a princess married him with her whole heart and lived happily with him. 

That was what the third princess had done after she had married Joko Kendil and lived happily with him.

Adapted from folktales of Java