Narrative Text

Turtle and Anansi

One day Turtle stopped to rest at the house of Anansi, the Spider. Turtle was tired and hungry. It was dinner time, but Anansi didn’t want to share his food. Anansi saw that Turtle had dirty feet, so he sent him to the lake to wash before dinner. Anansi then ate all the food.
When Turtle returned, there was no food left for him. Turtle was hungry as he left. But he invited Anansi to visit him some day.
Months later, Anansi came to see Turtle. Turtle invited Anansi to dinner. He then went to his underwater home to make the meal.
Anansi put rocks in his coat to make himself heavier. He jumped into the water and swam down to Turtle’s house. Turtle asked Anansi to take off his coat before he ate. When Anansi took off his coat, he floated up to the top of the lake. Turtle smiled and ate all the food.

Snow Maiden

Once upon a time there lived a couple in a village. They had got married for a long time, but so far they did not have a baby yet. Every single minute they prayed to God, begged for a baby, but it never came true.
Oneday, they went to a snow mountain. They made a girl from snow and they dressed her beautifully. When it got dark, they decided to go home and left the snow girl alone. The following morning, someone knocked the door. "Any body home?" she said. The old women inside opened the door and asked, "Who are you?" The girl said "I'm Snow Maiden, your daughter". The old woman was surprised and happy. "Oh really? Thanks God! Come in, please!" Since that meeting, Snow Maiden lived with her parents. She was beautiful, kind, diligent and helpful. Her parents and all of her friends loved her very much.
Oneday, Snow Maiden played with her friends. They played fire. At first, Snow Maiden just looked at their play. Suddenly, her friends asked her to jump on the fire. Of course she refused it because one thing that made her afraid was the fire. It's because Snow Maiden was made of snow, so she should avoid the fire. But her friends kept on forcing her to jump on.
Finally, she could not do anything, andd then she did it. She jumped on the fire and as result she melted. Her friends were sorry about this, they cried and cried hoping Snow Maiden could live again, but it was useless. Snow Maiden would not be back anymore.
Her mother tried to entertain Snow Maiden's friends and asked them to make a new Snow Maiden again. They went to a snow mountain and started making it. They expected to have the new Snow Maiden. Days passed but their dreams never came true. Poor them!

Van Winkle and Little Funny Men

One day Rip van Winkle didn’t want to work. So he went walking in the woods. There he met some funny little men who danced and sang:
“Come, van Winkle, dance and sing. You don’t have to do a thing. Having fun is what we do. We want you to have fun too.”
Rip danced all day with the funny little men. At the end of the day, he was very tired. He slept and he slept and he slept. When he got up, all the little men were gone.
Rip went back to town. Everything was different! His house wasn’t there! His friends weren’t there! Rip asked, “Where is everyone I know?” A woman said, “Rip, you went away twenty years ago. Where did you go?” He told the story about the funny little men. He told about sleeping. “Rip,” said the woman, “Look at your beard. It’s all white. You slept for twenty years!”

The Grasshopper and the Ant

One summer day, a grasshopper and an ant were in the woods. The grasshopper played all day long. The ant worked very hard all day.
The ant said, “Grasshopper, all you do is play. You need to work. You should put away food for the winter.” The grasshopper looked at the ant and smiled. He said, “Work is no fun. I like to play. I can work another day.”
All summer, the ant worked very hard. He put food away for the winter. The grasshopper played everyday and didn’t put away any food.
In a very short time, it was winter. The snow fell in the woods, and it was very cold. The grasshopper knocked on the ant’s door. He said, “I’m hungry. It’s cold. What should I do? Do you have enough food for two?” The ant answered, “There’s time for work and time for fun. I saved food for only one. “The ant closed his door. The grasshopper said, “I didn’t work. What did I play? Where can I find food on this winter day?” He walked away and started to look for food in the woods.

A Mouse Deer and Mr. Farmer

One day, Mouse Deer went to the edge of the forest. He looked out at row after row of vegetables.
“Mmm,” said Mouse Deer. “Juicy cucumbers! Yummy yams!” he started into the garden.
Mouse Deer loved to eat the fruits and roots and shoots of the forest. But he loved something else even more. He loved the vegetables in Mr. Farmer’s garden.
Snap! “Oh!”
His leg was caught in a snare! Mouse Deer pulled and pulled. But he could not get away.
“Oh, no!” he said. “Mr. Farmer will have me for dinner!”
Then he saw Mr. Farmer coming. Mouse Deer thought fast. He lay on the ground and made his body stiff.
Mouse Deer laughed. “Mr. Farmer is smart, but Mouse Deer is smarter.”
“Well, well,” said Mr. Farmer. “Look what I caught. A mouse deer! But he looks dead.”
Mr. Farmer pushed him with his foot. Mouse Deer didn’t move.
“May be he’s been dead a long time,” said Mr. Farmer. “Too bad! I guess we can’t eat him.”
He pulled Mouse Deer’s leg out of the snare. Then he tossed Mouse Deer back into the forest. Mouse Deer landed with a soft plop. Then he jumped up and ran. Behind him, he heard Mr. Farmer yelled, “Hey, you trick me!”

The King’s New Clothes

Once there was a king who loved new clothes.
One day two men came to the castle and told the king, “For two bags of gold, we are going to make you some beautiful, magic clothes. Only you are going to be able to see them.”
The king was very excited. The men said, “Your clothes are going to be finished in two weeks, on July 14.” The king went to his calendar and marked July fourteenth to be a holiday. “Everyone is going to celebrate my new clothes with me,” he said.
On July sixth, the king went to see the two men. They worked fast and hard, but the king didn’t see any clothes. The men said, “Remember, these are magic clothes.”
On July fourteenth, the king’s magic clothes were ready. After two men helped the king get dressed, the king rode into town. He wanted everyone to see his magic clothes. The people were surprised. There were no clothes to see! A small boy said, “The king isn’t wearing any clothes!” The king looked at himself and quickly rode back to his castle. He looked for the two men, but they and the gold were gone. “I was very foolish,” said the king.

Snow White

Once upon a time, there lived a little girl named Snow White. She lived with her Aunt and Uncle because her parents were dead.
One day she heard her Uncle and Aunt talking about leaving Snow White in the castle because they both wanted to go to America and they didn’t have enough money to take Snow White.
Snow White did not want her Uncle and Aunt to do this so she decided it would be best if she ran away. The next morning she ran away from home when her Aunt and Uncle were having breakfast. She ran away into the woods.
She was very tired and hungry.
Then she saw this little cottage. She knocked but no one answered so she went inside and fell asleep.
Meanwhile, the seven dwarfs were coming home from work. They went inside. There they found Snow White sleeping. Then Snow White woke up. She saw the dwarfs. The dwarfs said, “What s your name?” “I am Snow Said,” she said.
The dwarfs said, “If you wish, you may live here with us.” Snow White said, “Oh, I could? Thank you.” Then Snow White told the dwarfs the whole story and Snow White and the seven dwarfs lived happily ever after.

Snail, Dragonfly and Toad

One day Snail, Dragonfly, and Toad decided to race around the lake. Dragonfly said, “I’m the fastest.” Toad said, “I think I’ll win. This is going to be easy.” Snail knew he was the slowest, but he wanted to race. He said, “I know I’m slow but I can walk for a long time. Let’s go!”
After Dragonfly flew for a short time, he got tired. He sat on a branch and slept. Toad hopped away, but after a short time he felt very hungry. He found and ate some delicious bugs. Snail slowly made his way around the lake at a steady pace. He said to himself, “It’s hard to be in a race. I know I’m slow. I’ll keep walking. I’ll just go and go.”
When Dragonfly woke up and Toad finished his lunch, they looked at the other side of the lake. Snail was there. He won the race! Dragonfly and Toad said, “This race was a silly idea.”
Snail just smiled and said to himself, “This race was great fun. Maybe that’s because I won!”

Buttons

In a small village called Calumpton there was a boy called Harry. Harry was always fighting and during fights his buttons were ripped off. His mother always nagged him about sewing on his buttons but Harry never did.
One day all his buttons had been ripped off so he had to hold his trousers up. The bell went to go home from school and Harry raced out of the classroom and his pants fell down. All the other children laughed.
Now Harry sews his buttons on all the time, without even being asked.

The Bears and the Two Travelers

Two men were traveling together when a bear suddenly met them on their path.
One of them quickly climbed up a tree and hid among the branches. The other, feeling that he would be attacked, fell flat on the ground.
The Bear came up and felt him with his snout, and smelt him all over. The man held his breath, and pretended to be dead.
The Bear soon left him, because it is said that bears will not touch a dead body.
When the Bear was quite gone, the other traveler came down out of the tree. With a clever grin he inquired of his friend, “Just what was it that the Bear whispered in your ear?”
His companion replied, “He gives me this advice: Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger.”

Tangkuban Parahu

Long time ago in West Java, there lived a woman named Dayang Sumbi. She was thirsting for a husband. Along her life she kept praying and praying. At last, God heard her pray. A male dog picked her up and Dayang Sumbi got married to the dog and called the dog ‘Tumang’. After years, Dayang Sumbi gave a birth to baby and named him Sangkuriang. Unfortunately, Dayang Sumbi never told Sangkuriang who his father was.
One day, Sangkuriang was hunting with Tumang in the forest and he found nothing except a little animal. He blamed Tumang for the failure and then he killed Tumang. When Dayang Sumbi knew that she hit Sangkuriang’s head with a big spoon and expelled him.
Many years later, Sangkuriang wandered and found an old house in the forest. Sangkuriang came closer to the house and there was an old beautiful woman. The woman, Dayang Sumbi, recognized the wanderer as Sangkuriang.
Unintentionally, Sangkuriang forced Dayang Sumbi to marry him. Dayang Sumbi agreed to marry him but Sangkuriang had to build a vast boat, just in one night.
At night, Sangkuriang called his friends, ghosts and fairies to help him. Feared with the boat to complete, Dayang Sumbi asked other women in her village to help her. Then the women punched the grains with grain puncher to make noise which disturbed the ghosts and fairies.
The morning came before Sangkuriang completed the boat. Unfortunately the fairies and the ghosts also left Sangkuriang alone. Finaly Sangkuriang got very angry and kicked away the boat to the downside, which finally turned into a mountain, called Tangkuban Parahu.

Hidden Treasure

Once upon a time, a farmer had three sons. The farmer was rich and had many fields.
When the farmer was dying, he called his three sons to him. "I have left you treasure which will make you rich", he told them. "But you must dig in all our fields to find the place where the treasure was buried".
After the old man died, his three lazy sons went out into the fields. They began to dig. "I'll dig the first to find the place where the treasure was buried", cried the eldest one. "That's the field where our father put the treasure", said another son.
The three sons dug all the fields for several years, but they found no treasure.
However, many plants grew in the fields because the sons had dug. The vegetables made them very rich.

Snow White

Long ago, in the Nederland, there lived a very beautiful princess, Snow white. The Queen was her stepmother. She was very jealous of her beauty. So she wanted her to die.
Snow White knew about her evil plan. She escaped into a forest. There she made a friend with seven dwarfs.
The Queen turned into a witch. Snow White did not realize it. The witch gave her poisoned apple. As a result, Snow White was put into sleep for years.
Fortunately, in the end, Prince Charming received her with a kiss. They lived together happily ever after.

The Vain Little Mouse

Little Mouse lived in a little house. One day, when she was sweeping the floor, she found a coin.
She said, “With this coin, I’m going to buy a nice red bow for my hair. I’ll look beautiful!”
She was really beautiful with the red bow in her hair. She sat next to the window so that everybody could see her.
“Little Mouse, you do look pretty,” said the donkey. “Will you marry me?”
And she asked, “What will you do at night?”
“I will bray like this,” said the donkey. And he brayed.
“Oh, no. I’ll get frightened,” said Little Mouse.
Then the dog asked her, “Little Mouse, you do look beautiful. Why don’t you marry me?”
“What will you do at night?” asked Little Mouse.
“I will bark like this,” said the dog. And he barked.
“Oh, no. I’ll get frightened,” said Little Mouse.
Finally the cat asked her, “Beautiful Little Mouse, will you marry me?”
“And what will you do at night?” asked Little Mouse.
“I’ll sing like this,” said the cat. And he sang a beautiful song.
“Yes, I will marry you,” said Little Mouse.
So they get married, but on their wedding night, guess what! The cat didn’t sing his beautiful song. He ate the vain little mouse.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Once upon a time there were three bears, a Papa Bear, a Mama Bear and a Baby Bear.
One day, the three bears sat down to breakfast. “This porridge is too hot!” said Papa Bear. “This porridge is too hot!” said Mama Bear. “This porridge is too hot!” said Baby Bear. “Let’s go for a walk,” said Mama Bear. “When we come back, our porridge will be just right.”
Along came Goldilocks. She walked into the houses. She saw three bowls of porridge. “This is too hot,” said Goldilocks. “This is too cold, “said Goldilocks. “This is just right!” said Goldilocks. And she ate all up. She ate the Baby Bear’s porridge.
Then Goldilocks went into the living room. She saw three chairs. “This is too hard,” said Goldilocks. “This is too soft,” said Goldilocks. “This is just right!” said Goldilocks. Then CRASH, the chair broke.
Goldilocks felt tired. She went into the bedroom. She saw three beds. “This bed is too hard,” said Goldilocks. “This bed is too soft,” said Goldilocks. “This bed is just right!” said Goldilocks. And she fell fast asleep.
The three bears came home. They went into the kitchen. “Someone’s been eating my porridge,” said Papa Bear. “Someone’s been eating my porridge,” said Mama Bear. “Someone’s been eating my porridge,” said Baby Bear. “And they ate it all up!”
The three bears went into the living room. “Someone’s been sitting in my chair!” said Papa Bear. “Someone’s been sitting in my chair!” said Mama Bear. “Someone’s been sitting in my chair!” said Baby Bear. “And now it’s broken!”
The three bears went into the bedroom. “Someone’s been sleeping in my bed!” said Papa Bear. “Someone’s been sleeping in my bed!” said Mama Bear. “Someone’s been sleeping in my bed!” said Baby Bear. “And here she is!”
Goldilocks woke up. She saw three angry bears looking at her. Goldilocks jumped out of bed. She ran out of the house. And she never came back again.

A Wet Night

Late in the afternoon, the boys put up their tent in the middle of a field. As soon as this was done, they cooked a meal over an open fire. They were all hungry and the food smelt good. After a wonderful meal they told stories and sang songs by the camp fire. But some time later it began to rain. The boys felt tired so they put out the fire and crept into their tent. Their sleeping bags were warm and comfortable, so they all slept soundly.
In the middle of the night, two boys woke up and began shouting. The tent was full of water! They all leapt out of their sleeping bags and hurried outside. It was raining heavily and they found that a stream had formed in the field. The stream wound its way across the field and then flowed right under their tent.

The Magic Candle

One day a young wanderer got lost in a wood. Suddenly he was a light from an old hut. He knocked on the door, and old woman opened it. She was crying. She said that the devil had stolen her magic candle. The candle could grant anything she asked. The wanderer asked where the devil lived. “In a castle not far from here,” said the old woman.
The wanderer went to the castle. There she found the devil, but he was old and weak. Therefore when the wanderer grabbed the magic candle from the devil’s table and ran away, he couldn’t chase him.
But the wanderer was not a kind man. He didn’t return the candle to the old woman, but kept it for himself. He lit the candle and made a wish, “I want to go far away from here.” Suddenly the genies appeared and took him to a beautiful palace. There was a party in the palace. The wanderer wanted to make some money. So he lit the candle again and wished for some jewellery. He sold them to the guests and was soon making a lot of money. Then the Princess came to buy the jewellery, but there was nothing left.
The wanderer fell in love with her and asked her to marry him. The kind Princess said yes, and they got married the next day. In this happiness, the wanderer told the Princess about his adventure and the magic candle. Hearing that, the Princess got very angry. At night she lit the candle and wished that the wanderer disappeared.
In the morning, the wanderer awoke and found himself back in his ugly house in a village.

The Fox and the Crow

Miss Crow had stolen a big piece of cheese, and flew on to a branch to enjoy it. A sly fox, who invented the cheese for himself, came up and spoke politely to her.
“Oh, Miss Crow, how beautiful you are! What a lovely beak, what lovely feathers you have! What pretty eyes! If only you could sing, you would be the most beautiful bird in the world!”
Very pleased to her all of this about herself, Miss Crow gave a loud croak to show that she could sing. Of course, the moment she opened her beak, the cheese fell down, and Mr. Fox ran away with it, laughing loudly.

The Lost Caterpillar

Seven worms were walking happily. Their mother was leading them. They had just had their breakfast on a big tree near a river. “Come on, children. Let’s go home,” Mama Worm said.
Suddenly, a cricket said, “Your last child is ugly!” “Ugly?” asked Mama Worm. Then she looked at the child. He was not the same as her other children. “Hey, ugly!” she said. “You are not my child. Go away!”
The little brown worm walked away. He was very sad. When he was near a lake, he looked into the water.
“Oh, how ugly I am,” he cried.
“You are not ugly,” said a voice. “Oh, I find you, my child.”
The worm looked around. There was a beautiful big caterpillar and her children. They all looked the same as he.
“They may call you Ugly,” said Mother Caterpillar. “But you are the most beautiful child in the world. One day, you will turn into a beautiful butterfly.”

The Lion and the Mouse

Under the shady tree, Mr. Lion was lying asleep. Suddenly he was awakened by a mouse running over his face. “How dare you are!” he roared and raised his paw to kill the mouse.
“Please, Sir,” begged Miss Mouse. “Let me go and one day I may do something for you in return.”
“You help me! Ha … ha …,” laughed Mr. Lion but he let her go.
One day, Mr. Lion was caught in a net spread by hunters.
“I can’t get out!” he roared angrily.
“But I can help you,” said a tiny voice, and up ran Miss Mouse, who nibbled and gnawed at the ropes until the lion was free.
“There,” she said proudly. “If you had not let me go, I would not have found a way to help you.”

Donald’s New Hat

One day, Daissy decided to buy Donald a new hat. “Your hat is so old-fashioned!” she said. “Come on, I’ll buy you a new one.”
Donald knew that Daisy was right, so he agreed to go to a hat shop. As they went in, Daissy took off his old hat. “Hey, what’s going on?” asked Donald.
I’m taking off your old hat because it’s so ugly. We don’t want the assistant to see you wearing it, do we?” said Daissy. Donald just said. “Er … no, … I mean, you’re right, we don’t”
In fact, Donald was very fond of his old hat, although he didn’t mind getting a new one if Daissy paid for it. The trouble was this: there wasn’t any hat in the shop that Donald liked. He tried many hats, but he felt that all the hats looked silly on him.
The shop assistant was getting tired of serving Donald, but he took another hat and showed it to him. “What about this one, Sir? I’m sure you’ll like it.”
“I quite agree!” said Donald happily. Do you know why? Because that hat looked exactly the same as his old one! Poor Daissy, she wasn’t very happy, but she had to pay for that hat. She promised she would buy a new hat for Donald, didn’t she?

The Hose

There were many beautiful flowers in Bobo’s garden and he was very proud of them, and he loves watering them every afternoon.
Today Bobo was watering his plants when suddenly the water from the hose stopped flowing. Bobo was surprised and when he looked around he saw Giga standing on the hose. Accidentally Giga had stepped on the hose and it broke. Bobo was upset and Giga felt very sorry.
Then she went to a small pond near the garden, filled her trunk with water, and came back. She sprayed Bobo’s garden with water from her trunk. Bobo was happy and he forgave Giga. Giga promised to get Bobo a new watering hose.

Pooh and the Honey Pot

Apart from seeing Christopher Robin, there is nothing Pooh likes better than eating honey. So when Christopher Robin brought Pooh some honey one day, Pooh was doubly happy! “Don’t eat it all at once,” chuckled Christopher. “Put it in a safe place in case a Heffalump comes along and tries to steal it!”
Christopher was only joking, of course, but Pooh wasn’t taking any chances. He did put the honey in a safe place, and then he went to bed and fell fast asleep. But he began to dream that a Heffalump was trying to steal his honey!
Pooh awake with a surprise and ran to his cupboard. And the pot of honey wasn’t there! “Oh, no,” Pooh cried. “I wasn’t dreaming! There really is a Heffalump here in my house!”
Making noises which he hoped would frighten the Heffalump. Winne-the-Pooh looked under the bed. Well, he didn’t find a Heffalump, but he did find his pot of honey!
“Silly me!” he laughed. “That’s where I put the honey to keep it safe! Still, a safer place would be in a tummy!” So he ate the honey, and fell asleep again.

The Naughty Brothers

Kim and Sandra were doing their homework from school. They had to make a cloth puppet and a paper house.
At noon, Kim and Sandra left their room to have lunch in the dining room. While they were busily eating and chatting, their brothers Alex and Tim sneaked into the bedroom. They took the puppets and him them behind the wardrobe.
After lunch, Kim and Sandra couldn’t find the puppets anywhere. They searched everywhere, but still the puppets were missing. Meanwhile, Alex and Tim were playing outside. Kim and Sandra cried, because they would not be able to hand in their puppets the next day.
In the morning, Tim remembered that they hadn’t returned the puppets to the girls. “Here are the puppets. I’m sorry we hid them yesterday,” Tim said. Grandma was very angry. “Don’t ever do that again!” she said. Kim and Sandra handed in their puppets and paper house to their teacher, and they got very good marks.

The Night before My Birthday

One Saturday night I went to bed really early because the next day was my birthday. But that night I couldn’t get to sleep so I decided to go downstairs and have a hot ‘Milo’.

Just when I was about to get out of bed I heard something banging on the window. I slowly walked to the window and opened the curtains. I looked outside and there staring at me was a hairy monster with wings. He was huge.

I opened the window. The monster put his nose down. I think he wanted me to climb on him. So carefully I climbed up. He made this grunting noise and flew away. My heart was pounding really fast. I closed my eyes.

Finally we stopped. I opened my eyes and looked around. There were all these monsters the same as the monster I was on. I jumped off the monster I was on and walked around. Suddenly all the monsters started to gather around me. Then they started singing. Their voices were horrible. I blocked my ears and closed my eyes.

The Clown Who Lost His Laugh

Once upon a time there was a clown. The clown was sad because he had lost his laugh. He didn’t think anything was funny anymore. So he went into the woods to see if he could find his laugh.
In the woods he met the three bears. He asked the bears if they knew what had happened to his laugh. The bears said that a girl with golden hair had come into their house and eaten porridge, broken a chair and slept in their beds. The bears said that the girl might have stolen the clown’s laugh. So the clown went further into the woods to look for the girl with golden hair.
As luck would have it the girl with golden hair was walking through the woods on her way to her grandmother’s house.
When the clown asked if she had seen his laugh she said that all she had see were three very angry, very hairy, growl, grizzly bears.
The clown thought this was very funny and started to laugh.

Landi and His Spikes

There was a porcupine. He was lonely. No one wanted to play with him because they were afraid of his spikes.
“Dear Landi. We don’t want to play with you because your spikes are to sharp. We don’t want you to hurt us,” said Cici, the rabbit one day.
“Cici is right, Landi. It is not because you are bad or rude to us, no, Landi! Just because of your spikes. They will stab us when we come close to you,” said Tito the rooster.
Landi felt lonely. He murmured, “Why don’t they want to play with me?”
Landi spent most of the time day dreaming at the river bank. “I would have lots of friends and play with them if no spikes were on my body. I would be happy. I would not be lonely like this. What a shame!”
Suddenly, Kuku the turtle appeared from the river. He came to Landi and said, “Landi, what are you thinking of?”
“Oh, nothing,” Landi replied.
“Don’t lie to me, Landi. Please tell me your problem. Who knows I can help you,” Kuku said wisely. Then he sat beside Landi. He wasn’t afraid of Landi’s spikes.
Shortly, Landi told Kuku his problem. Kuku nodded his head. He said, “Poor you. But it is not your fault. I know, your spikes are very useful and helpful to you. Your friend will realize it some day. Trust me, Landi.”
“Thanks, Kuku. You’re really my best friend. You are the only one here who wants to be my fellow.”
One day, Sam the frog held his birthday party. He invited all his friends, including Landi. But he decided not to come. He didn’t want to mess up the party.
“I’ll come with you, Landi. I’ll tell everyone that you are harmless,” said Kuku. Finally, Landi attended the party. Everyone enjoyed it.
Suddenly, Tito ran here and there screaming, “Help … help …! The evil wolf is coming. Save yourselves!” Then everyone ran to save their lives, except Kuku and Landi. Kuku pulled his head and legs into his shell. Landi rolled his body into a ball.
Unintentionally, the evil wolf stepped his foot on Landi. Of course, the spikes pricked him. He screamed, “Ouch!” Since his foot was bleeding, he didn’t chase Landi’s friends any longer. Then he ran away.
“Horray … horray …! Long live Landi! He saved our lives, “said Cici and her friends. Everyone shook Landi’s hand and thanked him. From then on, Landi wasn’t lonely anymore. His friends knew that his spikes would not hurt anyone, unless they wanted to hurt Landi.

The Prince and Princess

There once was a prince who wanted to marry a princess, but it had to be a real princess. So he went all over the world looking for a real princess. Everywhere he met young ladies who told him they were real princesses, but he could never be completely sure that this was true. There was always something about them that did not seem quite right. And so, after along time, the prince went back home to his parents and was very sad.
One evening there was a terrible storm. It rained heavily and there was thunder and lightning in the sky above the royal castle. Then there was a knock at the castle gate. The old king went out to see who it could be.
A princess was standing outside the gate. The rain ran down over her hair and clothes and into her shoes. She told the king that she was a real princess, and he asked her to come inside.
“Well, said the old queen. We’ll soon find out if that is true. She went into the guest bedroom and took the mattress and blanket off the bed. Then she put a little green pea on the bed. She put twenty mattress on top of the pea, and then twenty blankets on top of the mattress. This was where the princess was going to spend the night.
The next morning the queen asked the princess how she had slept.
“Oh, it was terrible!” answered the princess. “I didn’t close my eyes all night. I don’t know what was in my bed, but I lay on something hard, and now I am black and blue all over. It was quite a terrible night”
Now, the king, the queen and the prince could be sure that this was a real princess! She had felt the little pea through twenty mattresses and twenty blankets. Only a real princess will be able to do that!
So the prince married the princess, and the pea was put in a museum for everyone to see. And, unless someone has taken it, it is still there today.

The Legend of Jaka Tarub

Jaka Tarub is the hero of a legend that is very popular among the people of Central Java. Although he was only the son of a simple farmer, he was handsome as well as kind, honest and brave. He liked to help other people. He was always sided with those who were weak but innocent and those who were poor but honest.
One day, a long time ago, when he was returning home from hunting, he happened to pass by a lake. How amazed he was to see several beautiful girls bathing in the lake amid a dense jungle.
Jaka Tarub had reached the age of marriage, and he thought of possibility of getting of the pretty girls as his wife.
As he was thinking hard of a way to get acquitted with any one of them, he caught sight of their clothes, which were piled up under a tree on the bank of the lake. He decided to steal one of the garments. That was what he did and then he did.
After they had finished their bath, the girls walked ashore to fetch their garments. One of them, however, screamed suddenly and wept as she found that her own garment was gone. While they were searching for the lost garment, a rainbow appeared in the sky and glided down towards the lake. Now it was time for them to go back to heaven. As the other girls climbed up the rainbow on their way back to the sky, the one whose clothes had been lost was left alone, weeping, for she could not enter heaven without her heavenly dress.
Seeing this, Jaka Tarub was astonished greatly, because he now knew that they were certainly not ordinary women but nymphs. He felt very sorry for the poor nymph and decided to approach her.
How surprised the nymph was when she saw Jaka Tarub standing before her. She at once thought that he must be the thief who had stolen her clothes, so she blamed and scolded him.
He begged her pardon for what he had done and told her the reason. The sympathetic manners of the handsome boy impressed her so much that she was at once willing to forgive him. She begged the gods as well to pardon him and the gods blessed them. The two soon fell in love with each other.
In no time Jaka Tarub and the nymph, who now had been changed by the gods into a very beautiful ordinary maiden, got married and lived happily ever after.

The Legend of Malin Kundang

An old woman and her son lived in a little village. Her son was called Malin Kundang. They were very poor but they loved each other very much.
One day Malin Kundang told his mother that he would go to town and work there. At first his mother did not allow him but finally she let him go with tears.
Malin Kundang worked hard in a big town and in a short time he became a rich man. However he completely forgot his poor old mother.
Some years later he sailed to a harbor near his village. When his mother heard about this news she came to meet him. Malin Kundang pretended not to know her. He said, “You are not my mother. Go away!” His mother became very sad and before she went she said, “Oh, Malin Kundang, you are a wicked son. You’ll never be safe now. You and your money will turn to stone.”
Some days later his ship left the harbor. The sea was calm but when he reached the open sea there was a great storm. The ship was drowned. Malin Kundang and his money changed into a stone.
Now people call it Batu Si Malin Kundang. We can see the stone from Air Manis, a village on the coast of West Sumatra near Padang.

Beauty and the Beast

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Beauty. She lived with her father and her sisters in a small village.
Beauty was a beautiful girl. She was also hard-working. She always helped her father on the farm.
One day, her father set out for the city. He saw an old castle and went in. No-one was in but there was food on the table. Then he walked around the castle. He picked a rose from garden for Beauty. Suddenly an angry Beast appeared. He wanted to kill Beauty’s father unless Beauty was brought to him.
Beauty’s father told her daughters what had happened. Beauty’s sisters ordered her to see the Beast.
Beauty went to see the Beast and had to stay at the castle. She felt scared, lonely and sad. She tried to run away but was stopped by the Beast. The Beast treated Beauty well. Soon, Beauty began to like the Beast.
One day, through the Beast’s magic mirror, Beauty saw that her father was sick. The Beast allowed her to go home. Her father was happy to see her.
One night, Beauty had a dream. A fairly told her that the Beast was sick.
Beauty hurried back and saw the Beast dying. She began to cry. Tears fell onto the Beast. Suddenly, the Beast changed into handsome prince.
Beauty and the Beast got married and lived happily ever after.

The Legend of Lake Toba

There was a fisherman who lived in Batak Land. His name was Batara Guru Sahala. When he was angling, he caught a fish. He was surprised to find that fish because the fish could talk and it begged to set it free. He did accordingly.
After getting free, the fish changed into a beautiful woman and Sahala fell in love with her. Sahala asked her to marry him and the woman received him. However, she asked his promised not to tell anyone the secret that she was once a fish. They were very happily married, and got two daughters.
It was a pity on Sahala. One day when he got very angry with his daughters, he forgot his promise and he broke it. He told his daughters that they were the daughters of a fish.
His wife could not forgive him. Suddenly, the earth began to shake and volcanoes started to erupt. The earth cracked and formed a big hole. People said that the hole became Lake Toba.

Roro Jonggrang (2)

The war between Pengging and Prambanan raged in the battlefield. The commander of Pengging was Prince Bandung Bandawasa and the commander of Prambanan was King Baka, a big giant. The King of Prambanan was killed, and the war was over. His wife, Roro Jonggrang, a very beautiful queen was safe.
Bandung Bandawasa fell in love with Roro Jonggrang and proposed her to be his wife. Roro Jonggrang refused his proposal because she thought it would be better if he proposed her daughter, Nawangsih. But Bandung insisted to marry her. Roro Jonggrang asked him a marriage settlement. She would accept him as her husband if Bandung could make a magnificent temple with a thousand beautiful statues around it and finished them in one night before the sun shone.
He agreed her and prayed for help to Gods. When the night fell a big work began. In the field there was a noise of carving and arranging stones, but no one could see what happened.
Bandung Bandawasa almost finished his temples, but Roro Jonggrang cheated him. She asked villagers to burn ‘paddi’ plants in the East, so the women grinded the rice and the cocks crowed. It signed that the sun shone. Bandung knew about this and became angry. He revenged her and made her a statue.
Bandung Bandawasa was deeply in love with Roro Jonggrang. So he was very disappointed seeing Roro Jonggrang became a statue. He saw the statue from a certain distance, and the statue waved him and smiled. Bandung Bandawasa called her aloud, “Jonggrang, don’t leave me!” He came closer to her but it was a stone. He did it again and again. Bandung broke his heart and came home to Pengging.
Bandung’s father, the King of Pengging asked about the war. But Bandung just smiled and murmured, “Roro Jonggrang, oh, Roro Jonggrang, will you marry me?” His father asked him again about the war, but Bandung did not care his father’s order. His father became very angry and said, “Bandung, you are the commander of Pengging, but you acted as if you were a dog". Suddenly, Bandung became a dog.
The dog ran away to the village. However, in the village the dog met a woman who was weaving clothes. The woman was in trouble with the spin (mata pintal benang). She said, “Whoever could help with my spin, he would be my husband.” No one could help her but the dog.

Roro Jonggrang (1)

Prabu Baka was the King of the Prambanan kingdom. He had a beautiful daughter named Loro Jonggrang. He was killed in a battle by Bandung Bondowoso, the minister of the Pengging kingdom. He was named after his magic weapon “Bandung”
After seeing Loro Jonggrang’s beauty, Bandung fell in love with her and decided to marry her. Unfortunately, Loro Jonggrang didn’t want to marry him. She knew Bandung was the murderer of her father. Then, with the advice of the Patih, Loro Jonggrang accepted Bandung’ proposal on conditions, he could build a thousand temples in one night.
Bandung’s asked his father, Darmamaya, and the king of Pengging for a help. Using their magic of power, they managed to complete 500 temples by midnight. When Loro Jonggrang knew the progress they made, she began to play a trick. She ordered all the girls to pound rice and burn something. As a result, the cocks began to crow and the sky looked red. It was the sign of dawn.
The workers stopped their work. Bandung counted the temples before him. To his surprise, there were only 999. Finally, Bandung found out Loro Jongggrang’s trick. He became very angry and pursed her. She was changed into a statue.

Three Questions

Life, Barda and jasmine, with Kree the raven, are on a perilous quest to find the seven gems stolen from the magic belt of Deltora.
Their journey has brought them to a deep chasm, over which sways a narrow bridge made of rope and wooden planks. Guarding the bridge is a golden-eyed giant.
Life stood stiffly, his heart beating fast, as Jasmine followed him around the bend. He heard her take a sharp breath as she, too, saw what was ahead.
The golden-eyed man had noticed them, but he made no move. He just stood, waiting. He wore nothing but a loincloth, yet he did not shiver in the wind. He was so still you could have thought him a statue, except that he breathed.
“He is bewitched,” Jasmine whispered, and Kree made a small, moaning sound.
They walked cautiously forward. The man watched them silently. But when finally they stood before him, at the very edge of the terrible drop, he raised his sword warningly.
“We wish to pass, friend,” Barda said. “Stand aside.”
“You must answer my question,” replied the man in a low, rasping voice. “If you answer correctly, you may pass. If you answer wrongly, I must kill you.”
“By whose order?” Jasmine demanded.
“By the order of the sorceress Thaegan,” rasped the man. At the sound of the name his skin seemed to quiver. “Once, I tried to deceive her, to save a friend from death. Now it is my doom to guard this bridge until truth and lies are one.”
He looked from one to the other. “Who will meet my challenge?”
“I will,” Jasmine said, shaking off Barda’s restraining hand and stepping forward.
The look of fear had disappeared from her face. It had been replaced by an expression that for a moment Lief did not recognize. And then, with amazement, he realized that it was pity.
“Very well.” The huge man looked down at his feet. A row of sticks lay there in the dust
“Change eleven to nine, without removing any sticks,” he said harshly.
Life felt his stomach turn over.
“This is not a fair question,” exclaimed Barda. “We are not magicians!”
“The question has been asked,” said the man, his golden eyes unblinking. “It must be answered.”
Emily Rodda

Cinderella (3)

Once upon a time there was a young girl named Cinderella who lived with her stepmother and stepsisters.
Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters were very mean and bad tempered. They treated Cinderella very badly. Her stepmother made Cinderella do the hardest work in the house, such as scrubbing the floor and cleaning the pots and pans. She gave Cinderella an old ragged dress to wear. The two stepsisters, on the other hand, did no work about the house. And their mother gave them many nice dresses to wear.
One day the two stepsisters received an invitation to a ball that the king’s son was going to give at the palace. They were excited about this and spent so much time choosing the dresses they would wear. At the last day of the ball came, and away went the sisters to it. Cinderella could not help crying after they had left.
“Why are you crying, Cinderella? a voice asked. She looked up and saw her fairy godmother standing beside her. “Because I want so much to go to the ball,” said Cinderella. “Well,” said her godmother, “you’ve been such a cheerful, uncomplaining, hardworking girl that I’m going to see that you do go to the ball.”
Magically, the fairy godmother changed a pumpkin into a fine coach and mice into a coachman and two footmen. Her godmother tapped Cinderella’s ragged dress with her wand, and it became a beautiful ball gown. Then she gave her a pair of pretty glass slippers. “Now, Cinderella,” she said, “you must leave before midnight.” Then, away she drove in her beautiful coach.
Cinderella was having a wonderfully good time. She danced again and again with the king’s son. Suddenly, the clock began to strike twelve. She ran towards the door as quickly as she could. In her hurry, one of her glass slippers came off and was left behind.
A few days later the king’s son proclaimed he would marry the girl whose foot fitted the glass slipper. The king’s page came to Cinderella’s house. Her stepsisters tried on the slipper but it was too small for them now matter how hard they squeezed their toes into it. The king’s page let Cinderella try on the slipper. She stuck out her foot, and the page slipped the slipper on. It fitted perfectly.
Finally, she was driven to the palace. The king’s son was overjoyed to see her again. They were married and lived happily ever after.

Cinderella (2)

Long time ago, there was a beautiful girl named Cinderella. She lived with a very mean family. She did the dishes. She cooked the meals. She even took out the garbage.
One day the family went to a party at the prince’s palace. Cinderella was sad. She said, “I want to go too!”
Suddenly a fairy princess came and said, “I can help you.” She gave Cinderella a party dress and some glass slippers. Then she said, “Come home early. My magic ends at midnight. I’m just learning this job.”
Cinderella went to the party and danced with the prince. She forgot about time. Then she saw a clock. It was almost midnight! Cinderella ran home, but she lost one of her glass slippers on the way.
The prince wanted to marry Cinderella, but all he had was the glass slipper. Many women tried on the slipper, but it didn’t fit. The prince thought, “Everyone has such big feet!” Then one day, Cinderella tried it on, and it fit!
The prince and Cinderella got married, and they lived happily ever after.

Cinderella (1)

Once upon a time there was a girl named Cinderella. She lived with her stepsisters. They were very bossy. She had to do all the housework.
One day an invitation to the ball came to the family. Her stepsisters would not let her go. Cinderella was sad. The stepsisters went to the ball without her.
Fortunately, the fairy Godmother came and helped her to get to the ball. At the ball, Cinderella danced with the Prince. The Prince fell in love with her and then he married her. They lived happily ever after.

THE FAIRY TULIP

Once upon a time, there was a good old woman who lived in a little house. She had a bed in her beautiful striped tulip garden. One night, she was awakened by the sound of sweet singing and babies laughing. The sounds seemed to come from the tulip bed., but she could see nothing.
On the following night she was again awakened by the sweet singing and the babies' laughing. She arose and walked quietly to the garden. To her surprise, she saw a little fairy mother crooning and rocking athe flower like a cradle. In each cup of the flower lay a little fairy baby playing and laughing.
The old woman walked back to her house, and from that time on she never picked the flowers, nor did she allow her neighbours to touch them.