Story No. 4: The Legend of Banyuwangi

Story No. 5: The Legend of Ancient Vietnam

Story No. 6: The Peasant, the Buffalo and the Tiger: A Tale of Strength and Wisdom

Reading Reflection Logs Instruction: Write your reflection on the messages of the stories that you have read.

NO. TITLE OF THE STORY GRADE

1 The Two Brothers

Egyptian Folktale

2 Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup

(The Devouring Rock)

A Famous Malay Folktale

3 Outwitting a Crocodile (Kisah Sang Kancil dengan Buaya)

A Traditional Malaysian Folktale Retold by Chok Yoon Foo from Malaysia

4 The Legend of Banyuwangi

Adapted from an Indonesian Folktale

5 Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ:

The Legend of Ancient Vietnam

6 The Peasant, the Buffalo and the Tiger: A

Tale of Strength and Wisdom

Notes:

Story no. 1: The Two Brothers

Story No. 2: Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup

Story No. 3: Outwitting a Crocodile

Reading Reflection Logs Instruction: Write your reflection on the messages of the stories that you have read.

Home Reading No. 1

The Two Brothers

Egyptian Folktale

Once there were two brothers. Anpu was the elder, and Bata was the younger. When

their parents died, Anpu was already married and had a house of his own, so he took

his little brother with him and treated him like his son. When the little brother grew to be

a young man, he became an excellent worker. He did the plowing. He harvested the

corn, and there was no one his equal in the whole land. Behold, the spirit of the god was

within him.

Every morning, the younger brother followed his oxen and worked all day in the

fields, and every evening, he returned to the house with vegetables, milk, and wood. He

laid all these before his elder brother, and he took with him his bread, and he drove the

cattle into the field.

Because Anpu loved his younger brother very much, his wife became very jealous

and she wanted to destroy Bata. One day, when Anpu and Bata were in the fields, they

needed some corn, so Anpu sent Bata home to get some. The younger brother found

the wife combing her hair and said to her, “Get up and give me some corn that I may run

to the field for my elder brother is in a hurry. Do not delay.”

At eventide, Anpu returned home earlier than his brother because Bata had much

work to do in the fields. Anpu was met by his wife, who was crying bitterly. She showed

him her arms and legs which he had painted black and blue and accused Bata of having

beaten her up. She pretended to be in great pain. She did not give him water to wash

his hands with. She did not light the fire for him. She pretended that she was very sick.

Anpu became very angry. He sharpened his knife and waited for Bata in the stable.

When the sun went down, Bata came home as usual, loaded with herbs, milk and wood.

As he entered the door, he saw the feet of his brother and the sharp knife hanging by

his side. The brother sprang from him and Bata fled praying to the god Ra. “My good

Lord! Save me from death, thou who divines the evil from the good.” Ra heard his cry.

He made a river flow between one brother and the other and filled it with crocodiles.

Bata asked his elder brother, “Why do you seek to kill me? Am I not your brother

and have you not always treated me as if you were my father? Has not your wife been

as mother to me? Now since you want to kill me, I shall go to the Valley of the Acacia.”

Anpu answered, “Why did you beat up my wife and almost kill her.”

Bata answered, “I did not do such thing. Have I told you that I have always looked

upon her as my mother?”

So, Anpu went home. He found his wife near the river washing off the black and

blue dye with which she had painted herself. Filled with great anger, Anpu killed his wife

and cast her to the dogs. Then, he sat down, poured ashes on his head and mourned

for his younger brother.

Bata reached the Valley of Acacia. Since there was no one with him, he slew wild

beasts for food, built himself a house and met the Nine Gods who knew of his inno-

cence and goodness. Ra said to the god Khunumu, “Behold, frame a woman for Bata

that he may not remain alone.”So Khunumu made for Bata a wife to dwell with him. She

was indeed more beautiful than any other woman in the whole land. She was like a god-

dess, and Bata loved her very much.

ACTIVITY 1: Describe the characters in the story.

ACTIVITY 2:

Compare the story of the “Two Friends” and the “Two Brothers”

TWO FRIENDS TWO BROTHERS

CHARACTERS DESCRIPTION

1. Anpu

2. Bata

you." replied the young peasant.

Delighted by the peasant's words, the tiger agreed. "I will gladly stay and watch over

your water buffalo while you are gone."

But the young man said, "I have heard your stomach rumble and I am greatly con-

cerned over the possibility that you might eat my buffalo while I am gone. I have great

need of it in my daily work. If you agree, I will tie you to a tree so my mind will be free.

Then I would willingly go get the wisdom you want to see."

Eager to see wisdom so badly, the tiger was willing to agree to anything. He strolled

up to the palm tree, held up his legs and said, "Go ahead and tie me up." So the farmer

passed ropes around his body, secured him tightly to the palm tree and left. But sly as

the tiger was, he planned on jumping on the man when he returns to untie him. He then,

would eat his water buffalo, take his magic box of wisdom, and spend the rest of his

days commanding the cows and dears and the delicious wild boars to come and be eat-

en as his meal. He would never have to hunt for food again.

Soon after, the farmer returned carrying bundles of straws behind his back. Eagerly,

the tiger asked, "Did you bring the wisdom for me to see?"

"Oh yes, foolish tiger, and I am about to show you." replied the peasant. "I never

keep my wisdom in a box, it is here in my head all along. Now I will teach you to stay

away from my precious water buffalo." He then piled the straws around the tiger, and

with a burning torch, he set them on fire.

The tiger roared in pain and raged as the ropes burned around his golden body. As

the air filled with smell of the tiger's singed fur and as the fire burned through the ropes,

the beast finally managed to free himself. He quickly leaped away from the flames and

dashed into the jungle. The sight of this spectacle amused the buffalo so greatly that he

laughed so hard and fell, hitting his mouth against a rock. This caused the buffalo to

knock all his front teeth out.

Though his burns have healed after some time, the tiger could no longer rid himself

of the long black stripes that now circle his golden body. But most importantly, the tiger

realized that his strength could never defeat man who has wisdom he knew he could

never have. Up to this day, the tiger has his stripes and the water buffalo never grew

back his teeth.

Source: http://www.motherland-heritage.com/Legend-stories/the-peasant-the-

buffalo-and-the-tiger-a-tale-of-strength-and-wisdom.html

Home Reading No. 6

The Peasant, the Buffalo and the Tiger:

A Tale of Strength and Wisdom

A long time ago, when animals still had the power of speech, the buffalo used to

have sharp front teeth while the mighty tiger was a pure golden beast. A young

peasant was resting under a mango tree one fine afternoon. He and his water

buffalo had plowed the rice field the whole morning and stopped for a while to have

something to eat. While the buffalo grazed and the peasant is enjoying his meal, a tiger

came up to the buffalo, demanding answers for something that had puzzled him for a

long time now.

"I have watched you everyday from the edge of the forest," the tiger said, "I noticed

the quite curious spectacle of your toil. How is it possible that that Man, a small and up-

right being who neither has great strength, sharp vision or a keen sense of smell man-

ages to lead you and make you work for him? You are ten times heavier and stronger.

Your horns are sharp enough to cut him and your hooves are mighty enough to trample

him. The only weapon he carries is a flimsy bamboo stick, yet he rules you and you nev-

er run away."

Calmly, the water buffalo answered, "I have not been able to solve that puzzle my-

self, mighty tiger. No matter how I ponder the situation, I only know of one thing. I can

never free myself from his mastery. Whatever power he possesses, only he has

knowledge of it.

Eager to have such powers, the tiger resolved to ask the peasant. If he could rule all

animals like how the man ruled the buffalo, he would no longer need to hunt for food.

Instead, he could just order the animals to come and then choose a suitable meal.

"Please tell me, Mr. Farmer, what power do you have over the buffalo that makes

him obey you so willingly?" the tiger asked the peasant.

"I will tell you, mighty tiger," he answered, "I posses something that allows me to

rule over all animals, making them do as I say. It is called wisdom."

"I would do anything to see this amazing thing you call wisdom. Would you be kind

enough to show it to me?" asked the tiger.

"Unfortunately, I left it at home. Wisdom is too precious for me to carry around the

fields. Instead, I keep it in a gilded box carved with dragons and a golden phoenix to

make sure it's well protected. But if you want it so badly, I can go back and fetch it for

Home Reading no. 2

Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup

(The Devouring Rock)

A Famous Malay Folktale

This story is about Mak Minah, a widow, and her two children, her daughter Mawar,

and her young son, Bulat. Mak Minah would work hard at several jobs in a day. She

would work in both a field and as a fisherwoman to support her fairly young children as

best as she could.

One morning, while fishing, she catches a tembakul fish (local river fish). She of

course is really happy, and fantasizes all day about eating the fish with her children for

dinner. At noon, Mak Minah goes home and starts to clean the fish, and is even happier

when she realizes that there is fish roe inside. Fish roe back then was very, very expen-

sive and was a delicacy, one that poor people like herself would very rarely be able to

enjoy. She happily fries it before she goes to work in the fields and cuts it into three

equal parts, one for her older daughter, one for her young son, and the other for herself.

As she heads out the door, Mak Minah tells her children that they may each have their

portion, but she asked them to leave her one of the pieces to eat when she comes

home.

Mak Minah spent the entire evening at the field thinking of eating the roe. When she

came home, she finds all three portions eaten. Mawar explained to her that she and her

brother had both eaten their portions, but after finishing his, Bulat demanded the other

portion and threw a horrible tantrum when she said no, and that he had taken the piece

anyway. Mak Minah was so devastated that she didn’t say anything and just went to

bed.

That night Mak Minah was kept awake by the calling of the batu belah batu ber-

tangkup, the eater of suicides. She heard the rock calling her, saying “You never man-

aged to eat your roe because as much as you desired it, it never desired to be eaten by

you. This is the way of the world: what we desire to touch has no desire to be touched

by us. But I am your death and I have longed for you since you were born. And now all I

ask you is that you have the same longing for me.” She then snaps and runs to the rock.

Mawar, hearing the commotion of her mother storming out of the house, wakes up Bulat

and they try to chase her down. They called out after their mother, but it was no use, the

voice of the rock drowned out everything else. Mak Minah stopped only once on her way

to the rock, and just long enough for her children to catch sight of her, right in front of it,

where she made a funnel and filled it with her breast milk for her young son. As she did

so, the rock split, and beckoned her to enter. Mak Minah left the funnel on the floor and

fled deep into the rock.

ACTIVITY NO. 3

Arrange the following pictures to create a story strip for Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup.

Number the pictures from 1 to 15 in the space provided for.

should one be in need.

So, Lạc Long Quân took fifty children to the coast and divided the areas for

them to govern. He taught them the skills of fishing and the art of tattoos to

scare off sea creatures as they dive and hunt for food. He also trained them to

plant and harvest rice, as well as how to cook them in bamboo tubes. Âu Cơ,

who took fifty children to the highlands, also divided her areas for them to gov-

ern. They were taught to live in the jungles and mountains, breed animals and

cultivate the soil to grow fruit trees for food. They learned to build houses

raised on bamboo stilts to keep themselves safe from wild animals.

The children of Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ are believed to be the ancestors

of Vietnam. Today, Vietnamese people call themselves “the children of the

Dragon and the Fairy” referring to Lạc Long Quân’s lineage from the world of

the Dragons and Âu Cơ’s Fairy Clan from the highlands. Therefore, whichever

part of the country one hails from, he belongs to one origin. Just as Lạc Long

Quân and Âu Cơ promised to each other, all Vietnamese should love, honor

and protect one another. This legend, then, has become the pride and bond of

unity for all Vietnamese.

Source: http://www.vietnam.com/article/lc-long-qun-and-u-c-the-legend-of-ancient-vietnam.html

Home Reading No. 3

Outwitting a Crocodile (Kisah Sang Kancil dengan Buaya)

A Traditional Malaysian Folktale Retold by Chok Yoon Foo from Malaysia

Sang Kancil is a clever, tr icky mouse deer who is always finding himself in predica-

ments with animals that want to eat him or harm him, but he cleverly manages to escape each

time. In this story, Sang Kancil outwits a big, bad crocodile.

Sang Kancil was a clever mouse deer. Whenever he was in a bad situation, he always

played a clever trick to escape. In this story, Sang Kancil outwitted Sang Buaya, a big, bad croco-

dile, who wanted to eat him.

There were many trees where Sang Kancil's lived along the river, so he never had trou-

ble finding food. There were always lots of leaves. He spent his time running and jumping and

looking into the river. Sang Buaya, the big bad crocodile, lived in the river with other crocodiles. They were

always waiting to catch Sang Kancil for dinner. One day when Sang Buaya was walking along

the river, he saw some delicious fruit on the trees on the other side of the river.

Sang Kancil wanted to taste the tasty-looking fruit because he was a little tired of eating

leaves. He tried to think of a way to cross the river, but he had to be careful. He didn't want to be

caught and eaten by Sang Buaya. He needed to trick Sang Buaya.

Sang Kancil suddenly had an idea. He called out to the crocodile, "Sang Buaya! Sang

Buaya!" Sang Buaya slowly came out of the water and asked Sang Kancil why he was shouting

his name. He asked Sang Kancil, "Aren't you afraid I will eat you?" Then he opened his big

mouth very wide to scare Sang Kancil.

Sang Kancil said, "Of course, I am afraid of you, but the king wants me to do some-thing. He is having a big feast with lots of food, and he is inviting everyone, including you and

all the other crocodiles. But first, I have to count all of you. He needs to know how many of you

will come. Please line up across the river, so I can walk across your heads and count all of you."

Sang Buaya was excited and left to tell the other crocodiles about the feast with all the

good food. Soon, they came and made a line across the river. Sang Kancil said, "Promise not to

eat me or I can't report to the king how many of you are coming.” They promised not to eat him.

Sang Kancil stepped on Sang Buaya's head and counted one. Then he stepped on the

next one and said, "Two." He stepped on each crocodile, counting each one, and finally reached

the other side of the river. Then he said to Sang Buaya,"Thank you for helping me to cross the

river to my new home."

Sang Buaya was shocked and angry. He shouted at Sang Kancil, "You tricked us! There

is no feast, is there?" All of the crocodiles looked at Sang Buaya angrily. They were angry be-cause he let Sang Kancil trick all of them.

Sang Kancil loved his new home on the other side of the river because he had a lot of

tasty food to eat. Poor Sang Buaya was not so lucky. After that, none of the other crocodiles ever

talked to him again.

Source: http://www.topics-mag.com/folk-tales/folk-tale-cleverness-mayl.htm

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Home Reading No. 6

Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ:

The Legend of Ancient Vietnam

T housands of years ago, during the reign of King Kinh Dương Vương,

the Xích Quỷ kingdom was an unknown stretch of a vast land on the far

East, leaning its back on a range of high mountains while looking out

facing the oceans from a long shoreline. He married princess Long Nữ, the

daughter of Động Đình Vương - sovereign of the Động Đình Lake. They were

then blessed with one child, a boy whom they called Sung Lam, popularly known

in the kingdom as Lạc Long Quân, the "Dragon Lord of Lạc”. Because of Long

Nữ’s origin, their son was believed to be a descendant from the line of the Drag-

ons. And indeed, Lạc Long Quân had extraordinary strength and supreme intelli-

gence. But his succession from his mother’s underwater world developed in him

a strong fascination for the ocean, and the young man is often seen along the

shorelines enjoying the waves and exploring the many sea creatures in sight.

Soon, he succeeded his father’s throne and governed the Lac-Viet tribe.

Meanwhile, another kingdom rules the highlands in the north. Their king, Đế Lai,

has a beautiful daughter named Âu Cơ. Wanting to unite his northern tribe with

Lạc Long Quân’s kingdom; he agreed to give his daughter’s hand for marriage

with the young man. And a lavish feast was prepared as princess Âu Cơ was

wed with Lạc Long Quân. The two kingdoms then celebrated their unity.

Time went by, Âu Cơ gave birth to a pouch filled with one hundred eggs,

which soon hatched into one hundred beautiful children. The children grew up

strong and smart like their father, and as kind-hearted and skilful like their moth-

er. They were taught well how to cultivate their lands and live nobly. But soon

after, the couple started to grow unhappy. Lạc Long Quân always finds his heart

longing for the coasts while Âu Cơ constantly yearns for the highlands.

The couple decided to divide their children, of whom fifty will live with Lạc

Long Quân along the coasts. Âu Cơ will lead the other fifty to dwell with her in

the highlands. However, they made a promise that despite the distance and sep-

aration, they must look after each other and always be there to lend a hand

Home Reading No. 4

The Legend of Banyuwangi

Adapted from an Indonesian Folktale

A long time ago, Banyuwangi is known as Blambangan. Its kingdom has a wise king

who has a handsome and smart son named Raden Banterang. Raden prefers hunting

that he often went to forest around Blambangan to hunt for animals.

One day, when Raden was in a forest he spotted a deer. He chased it and the deer

ran deeper into the forest. His horse was so good and strong that he left his guards be-

hind. Unfortunately, he lost the deer. As he took a rest under a big banyan tree suddenly

a beautiful girl appeared in front of him. She was all alone in the forest.

He suspected that the girl may not be human after all.

So he asked her, “Excuse me, lovely lady, do you live around here?”

“No, I don’t. I’m from Klungkung, Bali. My name is Surati. I’m a princess, the daugh-

ter of the king of Klungkung. The rebels killed my father but I managed to escape. My

guards took me here but I got lost. Now I‘m alone. I don’t know where to go. I have no

relatives here. Please help me,” Surati begged.

“You come to the right person. I’m Prince Banterang from the kingdom of Blam-

bangan. I am going to protect you. Please come with me,” said the prince.

Then, Raden took Surati home. He fell in love with her and then several months later

he married her. One day when Surati was in the street he met a man. The man called

her.

“Surati, Surati.”

She was surprised to see her brother Rupaksa. His brother revealed that it was

Raden Banterang who killed their father. He came to Blambangan to take revenge. At

this time, he asked Surati to join him. Surati refused to join.

“Raden Banterang is now my husband. He’s very kind to me. He never hurts me.

He’s protecting me. As a good wife, I will never betray him. It is my duty to serve him,”

Surati pleaded.

“But he killed our father,” Rupaksa

“It is hard for me to believe it. When I met Raden, he was here and not in Klungkung.”

Rupaksa was disappointed with her sister. He was very angry and upset.

“All right then, I have to go now. But please keep my head dress, put it under your

pillow,” Rupaksa demanded.

Rupaksa gave his head dress to his sister Surati. To respect her older brother, Surati

put it under her pillow. Several days later, Raden was hunting in a forest when he met a

man that looked like a priest. The man greeted him politely. Then he said something.

“You life is in danger. Someone has an evil intention on you,” the man said.

“Who is he?” asked Raden.

“Your wife Surati,” the man quickly replied

“Surati? How do you know?” Raden verified.

“I am a priest. I have a clear spiritual vision. I just want to save you. Search her

room. If you find a head dress under her pillow then my words are correct. It is from a

man who will help her kill you.”

“Thank you your holiness,” Raden uttered.

When he reached the palace, he immediately searched Surati’s bedroom. He found

the head dress under Surati’s pillow. The priest was right.

Raden confronted Surati, “You not faithful to me. I know that you want me dead.

This is the evidence. This is from a man who will help you kill me. Tell me who he is.”

Surati was defenseless, she cried.

“It is my brother’s head dress. I met him several days ago when you went hunting.

He gave me his head dress and told me to put it under my pillow. So I put it there to

show my respect for him. It is Rupaksa who wants to kill you, not me.”

But Raden no longer trust her. He decided to penalize Surati by giving her a death

sentence near the riverbank.

“Before I die, let me say a few words,” Surati pleaded.

“Please do,” Raden granted Surati’s request.

Surati spoke calmly, “When I die, just throw my body into the river. If water be-

comes dirty and smelly, it means that I am guilty. But if the water becomes clear and

fragrant, it means that I am innocent.”

Then as Raden stabbed her wife with a kris, Surati threw herself into the river.

Amazingly the water became clear and fragrant. Surati was innocent!

Raden regretted what he had done. From then on, he changed the name of his

kingdom into Banyuwangi. Banyu means water and Wangi means fragrance.