Long time ago, lived a farmer and his wife in a village by the side of a forest. They lived simply and they like to help other people, especially one who in afflictions. One night, the farmer and his wife were resting in their house. The farmer was sitting beside his sleeping wife. Suddenly, a white centipede came out from the wife’s head. The farmer was amazed. He then followed the centipede until they reach a small pond not far from their house. Then the centipede suddenly disappeared. The farmer went home and found his wife still soundly asleep.

In the morning, the wife told his husband about the dream she had last night. “I was walking through a vast field, and I came to a lake. I saw a giant hedgehog in the lake. It was glaring at me, so I ran away.” After he heard his wife’s dream, the farmer went back to the small pond. In the pond, he saw something very shiny. He came to the shiny object and took it. It was a golden hedgehog statue. It was very beautiful. Its eyes were made of diamond. The farmer then brought the statue home.

At night, the farmer had a dream. A giant hedgehog came to him, “Please let me stay in your home. As return, I will give you everything you want. Just caress the statue’s head and say the prayer. There are two kinds of prayers, one is to start your wish and the second is to stop your wish. Now memorize the prayers.”

In the next day, the farmer told his wife about his dream. They really wanted to prove it. The farmer slowly caressed the statue's head. He said the prayer and asked for rice. Suddenly, rice came out of the mouth of the statue. The rice kept on coming out from the statue's mouth. The farmer immediately said the prayer to stop it. The rice then stopped coming out from the statue.

The farmer and his wife then asked for other things, jewelry and other stuff they needed. They became very rich. But they still like to help other people. A lot of poor came to them for help. Unfortunately, a thief found out about the secret of the golden hedgehog statue. Pretending to be a poor asking for help, he stole the statue from the farmer’s house.

The thief blurred to the district area of Ngabang. There was a drought in the area. The thief wanted sympathy from the people, so he said to them that he would provide them with water. The thief then caressed the hedgehog statue and said the prayer. Water came out of the statue’s mouth. All the people were so happy. But the water kept on coming out. The thief didn’t know the prayer to stop the wish. People who saw the incident were really scared. They ran away to avoid the water as it was started to flood the area. The thief also wanted to run away, but he cannot move his legs. In his vision, there was a giant hedgehog holding both his legs. Water kept coming from the statue and slowly it became a river. The thief was drowned in the river. People then named the river as Hedgehog River or Sungai Landak.

sumber:http://wardiastina.blogspot.com/2012/01/origin-of-landak-river.html

One upon a time, lived a poor old widow in a small village. She lived with her daughter. Her daughter was very beautiful but also very lazy and arrogant. She never helped her mother and didn’t want to know what problem her mother had. Everyday, she put make up and wears her best clothes. She always wanted to look rich and beautiful.

One day, the mother and her daughter went to the market to buy some food. At first, the daughter refused to accompany her mother, but finally she agreed. “I’ll go with you, but you must walk behind me,” said the daughter. She didn’t want to walk side by side with her mother. Although her mother was very sad, she agreed to walk behind her daughter.

On the way to the market, everybody admired the girl’s beauty. But they were also curious. Behind the beautiful girl, there was an old woman with a simple dress. The girl and her mother looked very different. “Hello, beautiful girl. Who is the old woman behind you? Is she your mother?” they asked. “No, she is not my mother. She is my servant,” the girl answered. Her mother was very sad to hear that, but she didn’t say anything. She could understand that her daughter was ashamed.

The girl and the mother met other people. Again they asked who the woman behind the beautiful girl. And again the girl answered that her mother is her servant. She always said that her mother is her servant every time people asked.

At last, the mother cannot hold the pain anymore. She prayed to God to punish her daughter. Suddenly, the girl’s leg turns into stone. Slowly, the process continues to the upper part of the girl’s body. The girl was in panic. “Mother, please forgive me! Mother!” she cried and asked her mother to forgive her. But it’s already too late. Her whole body finally becomes a big stone. Until now, people can still see tears falling down from the stone. People then call it batu menangis (it mean the crying stone).

sumber:http://wardiastina.blogspot.com/2011/06/crying-stone.html

Once upon a time, there was a sage who traveled from one forest to another. He was so kind and wise, never hurt any creatures and has profound religious knowledge.One day he traveled to Mount Mandara, along the way, he found a crab, writhing in pain on a rock. It could not move an inch. The sage felt sorry for him and took it. He brought it to the nearest river and set it free into the river. The crab waved his pincers as if saying “thank you” to the sage.

After releasing the crab, the sage took a rest under a tree and soon fell asleep. A crow was watching all the sage movements from a branch of the tree. It called its friend, the snake. The responded, “keep your voice down or he will wake up” and he added “it is the party for us, I will bite his neck and you peck his eyes; come on let’s do it,”

The crab overheard this conversation and out of its grateful feeling to the sage, it tried to find a way to save the sage. Finally it came up with an idea and approached the crow and the snake and said, “Hi you there, the man who lays down here is very dangerous and mean, he killed all my family; I want to get revenge for a long time, but he is too clever; he cannot be killed from short distance, you have to kill him from long distance to ensure your safety”.

“How we can do that?” said the crow. “I do not see any way I can do that”, added the snake.“If you want to cooperate with me, I will show you how, but I have to get my share, I want that man ears” said the crab.The crow and the snake agreed to this condition and said, “tell us now how to kill him”.

“Ok, do not you ever dare to get close to that man, to reach that man from longer distance I will make your neck longer, put your necks on my pincers so I can make them longer that before”, explained the crab.The crow and the snake believed the crab and put their neck on its pincer.The crab without wasting any time pinched both of their necks as hard as it could. The crow and the snake could not breathe and finally died. The crab retreated to the river.

After few moments, the sage woke up from his sleep and saw the carcass of crow and snake, with his divine power he knew what happen. He expressed his gratitude to the crab and praised it for his daring feat. The crab understood the sage feeling and nodded then the sage bade farewell to continue his journey.

sumber:http://wardiastina.blogspot.com/2012/05/grateful-crab.html

A long time ago, lived a rich man named Begawan Sidi Mantra. He was very famous for his kindness and also for his supernatural power. He had a son named Manik Angkeran who liked to gamble. Because of Manik Angkeran’s bad habit, his father soon bankrupt. Begawan Sidi Mantra had spent all of his money to pay his son‘s debts. But, Manik Angkeran still liked to gamble and he still owed some people a lot of money.

Begawan Sidi Mantra wanted to help his son to pay the remaining debts. He meditated for days, and finally he got a clue from the gods to go to Agung Mountain. He went to the mountain. There, he met with a dragon named Naga Besukih. It is said that Naga Besukih could provide gold and jewelries to those who could say

a certain prayer and ring the sacred bell. Fortunately, Begawan Sidi Mantra had the bell, and he also knew the prayer from his meditation. “My name is Sidi Mantra. I have a problem. My son likes to gamble. I’ve spent all of my money to pay his debts, but it’s still not enough. I came here to ask for your help,” explained Begawan Sidi Mantra after he met with Naga Besukih. “I’ll help you, but you have to advise your son so he would not gamble again,” said Naga Besukih. The dragon then shakes his body and cause some of his scales fall of. Magically, the scales turn into gold and diamonds.

Begawan Sidi Mantra took the gold and diamonds and return home. He paid all the remaining debt and advised his son about his gambling habit. Manik Angkeran promised to stop gambling, but soon he broke the promise. Bagawan Sidi Mantra had to go to the dragon for help once again. “What brought you here again?” asked Naga Besukih. “I’m very sorry, Naga Besukih. My son had disappointed me; he broke his promise to me. I beg for your help once again,” said Begawan Sidi Mantra to the dragon. “I’ll help you, but this is the last time,” said Naga Besukih.

Begawan Sidi Mantra once again paid Manik Angkeran’s debts and advised him not to gamble again. Manik Angkeran promised and soon he broke his promise again. This time, Begawan Sidi Mantra didn’t want to help him anymore. He was too ashamed to meet with the dragon.

Manik Angkeran knew that his father got the jewelries from the dragon. So, he stole his father’s sacred bell and went to Agung Mountain. After he arrived, Manik Angkeran rang the bell. Naga Besukih heard the bell but there’s no prayer. He decided to see who was calling him. “Hey, Manik Angkeran. What are you doing here with your father’s bell? Did you steal it?” asked Naga Besukih angrily when he saw Manik Angkeran. “Please help me, Naga Besukih. I really need the money to pay my debts. Those people would kill me if I don’t pay them in time. Please, I beg for your mercy,” said Manik Angkeran to the dragon. “Okay, I’ll help you. But this is the last time, and you have to promise to stop gambling,” Naga Besukih then give him the jewelries.

But suddenly, Manik Angkeran had a bad idea. He wanted to kill the dragon and take all the jewelries. So he drew his keris and attacked Naga Besukih. He managed to cut the dragon’s tail, but he was no match for Naga Besukih. With his great power, Naga Besukih burned Manik Angkeran and killed him instantly.In his home, Begawan Sidi Mantra couldn’t find his sacred bell. He knew that his son had stolen it, so he went to Agung Mountain. He was so sad when he found out what happened in the mountain. “I’m very sorry, Naga Besukih. But he was my only son. I beg you, please bring him back to life,” Begawan Sidi Mantra begged the dragon for mercy. Naga Besukih agreed with one condition, Manik Angkeran had to stay at Agung Mountain. Naga Besukih said some prayer and after few moments, Manik Angkeran lived again. Begawan Sidi Mantra then used a stick to make a big line between them on the ground. From the line, water flowed. Soon it became a river. Finally it became a strait. It separated Java and Bali. People then named the strait as Bali Strait. 

sumber:http://wardiastina.blogspot.com/2011/03/manik-angkeran.html

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom in Lombok Island that was ruled by a king named Raja Tonjang Beru. He was a wise king. He had a queen named Dewi Seranting. He also had a beautiful daughter named Princess Mandalika. It is said that princess Mandalika was the prettiest girl in the whole island. Everybody knew about Princess Mandalika’s beauty and kindness, even the people from other kingdom around the island.

Princes from all over the place wanted to marry her. One by one, they came to propose her. Princess Mandalika was a kind girl. She hated to make people sad. So, when those princes came to propose her, she was very confused. She could not decide, and she didn’t want to make them sad. She also didn’t want to cause a war to happen because of her.

To solve the problem, Raja Tonjang Beru then held a competition in Seger Kuta beach. He asked all the princes to take part in archery competition. The rule was simple; whoever shot the target perfectly will be accepted as Princess Mandalika’s future husband. One by one, all participants tried their best. After some time, there was no winner. All the participants were great in archery.

Because there was no a winner, all the participants started to argue. They claimed to be the best. The argument was getting hotter. Finally, they all were fighting. Soon, the fighting got bigger. It was like a war, because all the princes brought their soldiers in the archery competition. Princess Mandalika was really worried. She did not want the war to get bigger and hurt many people. Finally, she had an idea. "Everybody, listen up! I know you all love me and want me to be your wife. But I don't want you to fight because of me. And I don't want you to be sad either. I want you all to have me, but not as your wife. I want to be someone that everybody can have," said Princess Mandalika.

Raja Tonjang Beru and all other people in the beach did not understand what she meant. The king then came to her. But suddenly, Princess Mandalika jumped to the sea. She disappeared in the big waves. Everybody was surprised. It was chaos on the beach. All the princes tried to swim to find the princess, but they found nothing.

After several hours trying to search the princess, suddenly they found a lot of colorful sea worms on the beach. Raja Tonjang Beru then realized that his daughter had returned as sea worms. The worms were then called nyale. Until now, people in Lombok always try to catch nyale. Nyale is very delicious and that is why a lot of people come to Lombok to catch it. However, they can only find it once a year, in February or March. The tradition to catch the sea worms is called Bau Nyale.

sumber:http://wardiastina.blogspot.com/2010/07/princess-mandalika.html

PRABU Maha Sila was a king. He had a beautiful daughter. Her name was Putri Luh Cendrasari. Many young men fell in love with her. They wanted to propose her to be their wife. The king asked his daughter to choose carefully. Some of the men were princes from other kingdom. The king did not want to make the men disappointed and it would start a war.

Putri Luh Cendrasari understood. She held a competition. She would marry a man who could bring her the eyes and the scales of a white dragon. All the participants agreed. They started to look for a white dragon.

It was not easy to find a white dragon. Some of them climbed the mountains and some of them swam in the sea. However they still could not find the white dragon. One by one the participants gave up.

One of the participants was Manik Angkeran. He was not a prince. He was just a villager. Manik Angkeran really wanted to marry Putri Luh Cendrasari. Actually the princess also fell in love with Manik Angkeran. She really hoped he could win the competition. Manik Angkeran went to his teacher in his cave. The teacher was meditating. Manik Angkeran told his teacher about Putri Luh Cendrasari and the competition "What will you do to win the competition?" asked the teacher. "I will do anything, Master. If I have to sacrifice my soul, yes... I will do it, said Manik Angkeran. "I really admire your persistence. I can see that you really love her. And I also really love you, Manik Angkeran. And I will do anything to make you happy." The teacher continued, "Actually I am a white dragon. Gods allowed me to be human," said the teacher.

Later an amazing things happened. The teacher slowly turned into a white dragon. Manik Angkeran was very surprised. He did not know that his teacher actually a white dragon.
The white dragon took out his eyes and shook his body. The scales fell off. He gave his eyes and his scales to Manik Angkeran. Then the white dragon disappeared. He went back to heaven.

Manik Angkeran was very sad. He lost his beloved teacher. He immediately went to the palace. The princess was happy. The winner was Manik Angkeran. They soon got married.
Not long after that the princess was pregnant. Everybody was happy except Manik Angkeran. He knew he had to fulfill his promise. He would die soon.

Manik Angkeran was talking to Putri Luh Cendrasari. Suddenly he fell down. Putri Luh Cendrasari saw the gods took manik Angkeran's spirit.
She cried. She asked gods not to take her husband. She told gods that she wanted to follow her husband. She also wanted to die.

The Gods answered, "It's not your time to die. You are pregnant."
"But I really want to be with my husband," said the princess. Actually the gods did not want to take Manik Angkeran's spirit. They just want to test the princess if she really loved him, knowing that he was just a villager, The gods answered her request. Slowly Manik Angkeran came back to life. He lived again. Since then Manik angkeran and Putri Luh Cendrasari lived happily ever after.

sumber:http://wardiastina.blogspot.com/2011/07/putri-luh-cendrasari.html

One upon the time, there lived a man and a woman who always wished for a child, but could not have one.  These people had a little window at the back of their house from which a splendid garden could be seen.  The garden was full of the most beautiful flowers and herbs.  It was, however, surrounded by a high wall, and no one dared to go into it because it belonged to an witch, who had great power and was feared by all the world. 

One day the woman was standing by the window and looking down into the garden, when she saw a bed which was planted with the most tasty rapunzel.  It looked so fresh and green that she longed for it and had the greatest desire to eat some.  This desire increased every day.  The woman knew that she could not get any of it and grew more pale and miserable each day.  

Her husband was worried about her and asked "What is wrong my dear?"

"Ah," she replied, "if I can't eat some of the rapunzel from the garden behind our house I think I shall die."  
 

The man, who loved her, thought, "Sooner than let my lovely wife die, I will bring her some of the rapunzel myself, no matter what the cost." 

In the twilight of the evening, he climbed over the wall into the garden of the witch, hastily grabbed a handful of rapunzel and took it to his wife.  She at once made herself a salad and ate it happily.  She, however, liked it so much -- so very much, that the next day she longed for it three times as much as before.  If he was to have any rest, her husband must once more descend into the garden.  In the gloom of evening, therefore, he set out again; but when he had climbed over the wall he was terribly afraid, for he saw the witch standing before him. 

"How dare you," she said with angry look, "sneak into my garden and steal my rapunzel like a thief?  You shall suffer for this!"

"Ah," the frightened husband answered, "please have mercy, I had to have the rapunzel.  My wife saw it from the window and felt such a longing for it that she would have died if she had not got some to eat." 

Then the witch allowed her anger to be softened, and said to him, "If this is true, I will allow you to take as much as you like, only I make one condition.  You must give me the baby daughter your wife will bring into the world; she shall be well treated, and I will care for it like a mother."  The man in his fear consented and when the baby was born the witch appeared at once, gave the child the name of Rapunzel and took the baby away with her.

Rapunzel grew into the most beautiful child beneath the sun.  When she was twelve years old, the witch shut her into a tower, which lay in a forest.  The tower had no stairs or doors, but only a little window at the very top. When the witch wanted to go in, she stood beneath the window and cried,

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down your hair."

Rapunzel had magnificent long hair, fine as spun gold, and when she heard the voice of the witch she wound her braids round one of the hooks of the window, and then the hair fell down the side of the tower and the witch climbed up by it.
 

After a year or two, it came to pass that the Prince rode through the forest and went by the tower.  He heard a song which was so lovely that he stood still and listened.  This was Rapunzel who in her loneliness passed her time singing.  The Prince wanted to climb up to her, and looked for the door of the tower, but none was to be found.  He rode home, but the singing had so deeply touched his heart, that every day he went out into the forest and listened to it.  
 

Once when he was standing behind a tree listening to Rapunzel's song, he saw the witch come and heard how she cried,

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down your hair."

Then Rapunzel let down the braids of her hair, and the witch climbed up to her.  

"If that is the ladder by which one mounts, I will for once try my fortune," thought the Prince and the next day when it began to grow dark, he went to the tower and cried,

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down your hair."

Immediately the hair fell down and the Prince climbed up.

At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man such as her eyes had never seen, came to her; but the Prince began to talk to her quite like a friend and told her that his heart had been so stirred by her singing that it had let him have no rest.  Then Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her if she would take him for her husband -- and she saw that he was kind and handsome, she said yes, and laid her hand in his. 
 

She said, "I will willingly go away with you, but I do not know how to get down.  Bring a bit of silk with you every time you come and I will weave a ladder with it.  When that is ready I will climb down and we shall escape together."  They agreed that until that time he should come to her every evening, for the old woman came by day.  

The witch knew nothing of this, until once Rapunzel said in her distraction, "Oh my, you are so much heavier when you climb than the young Prince." 

"Ah! you wicked child," cried the witch "What do I hear thee say! I thought I had separated you from all the world but you have deceived me."

In her anger she clutched Rapunzel's beautiful hair, seized a pair of scissors -- and snip, snap -- cut it all off.  Rapunzel's lovely braids lay on the ground but the witch was not through.  She was so angry that she took poor Rapunzel into a desert where she had to live in great grief and misery. The witch rushed back to the tower and fastened the braids of hair which she had cut off, to the hook of the window, and when the Prince came and cried,

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down your hair,"

she let the hair down. The Prince climbed to the window, but he did not find his dearest Rapunzel above, but the witch, who gazed at him with a wicked and venomous look. 

"Aha!" she cried mockingly, "You've come for Rapunzel but the beautiful bird sits no longer singing in the nest; the cat has got it and will scratch out your eyes as well.  Rapunzel is banished and you will never see her again!" 

The Prince was beside himself and in his despair he fell down from the tower.  He escaped with his life, but the thorns into which he fell pierced his eyes.  Then he wandered quite blind about the forest, ate nothing but roots and berries and did nothing but weep over the loss of his dearest Rapunzel. 

In this way, the Prince roamed in misery for some months and at length came to the desert where the witch had banished Rapunzel.  He heard a voice singing and it seemed so familiar to him that he went towards it.  When he approached, Rapunzel knew him and fell into his arms and wept.  

Two of her tears fell on his eyes and the Prince could see again.  He led her to his kingdom where he was joyfully received, and they lived for a long time afterwards, happy and contented.

sumber:http://wardiastina.blogspot.com/2012/05/rapunzel_3721.html

One fine evening a young princess put on her bonnet and clogs, and went out to take a walk by herself in a wood; and when she came to a cool spring of water with a rose in the middle of it, she sat herself down to rest a while. Now she had a golden ball in her hand, which was her favourite plaything; and she was always tossing it up into the air, and catching it again as it fell.

After a time she threw it up so high that she missed catching it as it fell; and the ball bounded away, and rolled along on the ground, until at last it fell down into the spring. The princess looked into the spring after her ball, but it was very deep, so deep that she could not see the bottom of it. She began to cry, and said, 'Alas! if I could only get my ball again, I would give all my fine clothes and jewels, and everything that I have in the world.'
     Whilst she was speaking, a frog put its head out of the water, and said, 'Princess, why do you weep so bitterly?'
     'Alas!' said she, 'what can you do for me, you nasty frog? My golden ball has fallen into the spring.'
     The frog said, 'I do not want your pearls, and jewels, and fine clothes; but if you will love me, and let me live with you and eat from off your golden plate, and sleep on your bed, I will bring you your ball again.'

     'What nonsense,' thought the princess, 'this silly frog is talking! He can never even get out of the spring to visit me, though he may be able to get my ball for me, and therefore I will tell him he shall have what he asks.'
     So she said to the frog, 'Well, if you will bring me my ball, I will do all you ask.'
     Then the frog put his head down, and dived deep under the water; and after a little while he came up again, with the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the edge of the spring.

     As soon as the young princess saw her ball, she ran to pick it up; and she was so overjoyed to have it in her hand again, that she never thought of the frog, but ran home with it as fast as she could.
     The frog called after her, 'Stay, princess, and take me with you as you said,'
     But she did not stop to hear a word.
     The next day, just as the princess had sat down to dinner, she heard a strange noise - tap, tap - plash, plash - as if something was coming up the marble staircase, and soon afterwards there was a gentle knock at the door, and a little voice cried out and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,
Open the door to thy true love here!
And mind the words that thou and I said
By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

 
     Then the princess ran to the door and opened it, and there she saw the frog, whom she had quite forgotten. At this sight she was sadly frightened, and shutting the door as fast as she could came back to her seat.
     The king, her father, seeing that something had frightened her, asked her what was the matter.
     'There is a nasty frog,' said she, 'at the door, that lifted my ball for me out of the spring this morning. I told him that he should live with me here, thinking that he could never get out of the spring; but there he is at the door, and he wants to come in.'
     While she was speaking the frog knocked again at the door, and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,
Open the door to thy true love here!

And mind the words that thou and I said
By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

     Then the king said to the young princess, 'As you have given your word you must keep it; so go and let him in.'
     She did so, and the frog hopped into the room, and then straight on - tap, tap - plash, plash - from the bottom of the room to the top, till he came up close to the table where the princess sat.
     'Pray lift me upon chair,' said he to the princess, 'and let me sit next to you.'
     As soon as she had done this, the frog said, 'Put your plate nearer to me, that I may eat out of it.'
     This she did, and when he had eaten as much as he could, he said, 'Now I am tired; carry me upstairs, and put me into your bed.' And the princess, though very unwilling, took him up in her hand, and put him upon the pillow of her own bed, where he slept all night long.

     As soon as it was light the frog jumped up, hopped downstairs, and went out of the house.
     'Now, then,' thought the princess, 'at last he is gone, and I shall be troubled with him no more.'
     But she was mistaken; for when night came again she heard the same tapping at the door; and the frog came once more, and said:

'Open the door, my princess dear,
Open the door to thy true love here!
And mind the words that thou and I said
By the fountain cool, in the greenwood shade.'

     And when the princess opened the door the frog came in, and slept upon her pillow as before, till the morning broke. And the third night he did the same. But when the princess awoke on the following morning she was astonished to see, instead of the frog, a handsome prince, gazing on her with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen and standing at the head of her bed.

     He told her that he had been enchanted by a spiteful fairy, who had changed him into a frog; and that he had been fated so to abide till some princess should take him out of the spring, and let him eat from her plate, and sleep upon her bed for three nights.

     'You,' said the prince, 'have broken his cruel charm, and now I have nothing to wish for but that you should go with me into my father's kingdom, where I will marry you, and love you as long as you live.'

     The young princess, you may be sure, was not long in saying 'Yes' to all this; and as they spoke a brightly coloured coach drove up, with eight beautiful horses, decked with plumes of feathers and a golden harness; and behind the coach rode the prince's servant, faithful Heinrich, who had bewailed the misfortunes of his dear master during his enchantment so long and so bitterly, that his heart had well-nigh burst.

     They then took leave of the king, and got into the coach with eight horses, and all set out, full of joy and merriment, for the prince's kingdom, which they reached safely; and there they lived happily a great many years. 

sumber:http://wardiastina.blogspot.com/2010/11/frog-prince.html

Long ago, the Sky was quite low. If you stood on a stool and stretched your hands up as high as they would go, you could touch the Sky. At that time, far on the Horizon, where the Sky was always especially low, there was a village. In that village, in a little mud hut thatched with straw, there lived a bent Old Woman.

 

This bent Old Woman was the oldest woman in that village, possibly the oldest woman in the world. She was so old she no longer remembered any other way of being. She lived all alone in her little mud hut, for she had neither friend nor family left in this world. She had nowhere to go and no one to talk to. So all day long, she would potter round her hut, first cleaning this corner, now dusting that, now scrubbing this bit of floor, now sweeping that. The bent Old Woman thought of nothing else any more, except more and more ways of sweeping and scrubbing her little mud hut.

One hot summer, the land was dry with thirst. There was dust everywhere - on the trees, on the roofs of huts and houses, in people's throats and eyes, even in the air. All over the village people were coughing and sneezing and choking with the dust. Even the poor old Sky was not spared - it was so close to the ground that the slightest bit of wind would set it coughing with the dust that rose from the parched land.

The bent Old Woman's hut too was covered with dust. The old woman swept and swept and swept the little hut with her broom. She swept the inside of her hut, she swept the outside of her hut, she swept the front step and she swept the front yard. But the dust rose all around her in great brown clouds - the more she swept and plied her broom, the more the dust that rose from the earth. 

The poor Sky began to choke with all the dust that the bent Old Woman was raising with her broom. The dust got into its throat and tickled its nose and made it sneeze - a great big sneeze that shook the world with its thunder. People covered their heads and ran indoors in fright. But the bent Old Woman barely noticed - she kept on sweeping with her broom.

The Sky sneezed again - the dust was becoming unbearable. It got into its eyes and made them water - so that great heavy drops of rain began falling into the dry dust below. The bent Old Woman barely noticed - till finally a big splodgy raindrop fell right on to the patch she had just swept.

The bent Old Woman glared at the Sky and scrubbed the splodgy raindrop away. But then another raindrop fell, and another, till her swept and scrubbed front step was blotchy with raindrops.

This was more than the bent Old Woman could bear. She stood up as straight as she could with her bent old back and shook her fist at the Sky yelling at it to stop raining on her nice clean front step. She cursed the Sky and threatened it, but the poor old Sky couldn't stop raining - its eyes were still so full of dust with all her sweeping.

At last, the bent Old Woman was so angry, that she picked up her broom, and thwacked the Sky with it.

The Sky gave another great sneeze and jumped out of her way. But the bent Old Woman kept thwacking it with her broom, again and again and again. 

Finally the Sky could take it no more - the dust, the Old Woman's cursing, and especially her broom, thwacking it again and again and again. Sneezing and coughing, thundering and raining, the Sky flew up, up and away - out of reach of the Old Woman's broom and swore never to come down again.

So that is why the Sky is so high. Even on the Horizon, where it seems to be touching the earth, it really isn't any more.

sumber:http://wardiastina.blogspot.com/2011/05/why-sky-is-high.html

Once upon a time, there lived a woman who had no children. She dreamed of having a little girl, but time went by, and her dream never came true.

She then went to visit a witch, who gave her a magic grain of barley. She planted it in a flower pot. And the very next day, the grain had turned into a lovely flower, rather like a tulip. The woman softly kissed its half-shut petals. And as though by magic, the flower opened in full blossom. Inside sat a tiny girl, no bigger than a thumb. The woman called her Thumbelina. For a bed she had a walnut shell, violet petals for her mattress and a rose petal blanket. In the daytime, she played in a tulip petal boat, floating on a plate of water. Using two horse hairs as oars, Thumbelina sailed around her little lake, singing and singing in a gentle sweet voice. 

Then one night, as she lay fast asleep in her walnut shell, a large frog hopped through a hole in the window pane. As she gazed down at Thumbelina, she said to herself: "How pretty she is! She'd make the perfect bride for my own dear son!" 

She picked up Thumbelina, walnut shell and all, and hopped into the garden. Nobody saw her go.Back at the pond, her fat ugly son, who always did as mother told him, was pleased with her choice. But mother frog was afraid that her pretty prisoner might run away. So she carried Thumbellna out to a water lily leaf ln the middle of the pond.

"She can never escape us now," said the frog to her son.

"And we have plenty of time to prepare a new home for you and your bride." Thumbelina was left all alone. She felt so desperate. She knew she would never be able to escape the fate that awaited her with the two horrid fat frogs. All she could do was cry her eyes out. However, one or two minnows who had been enjoying the shade below the water lily leaf, had overheard the two frogs talking, and the little girl's bitter sobs. They decided to do something about it. So they nibbled away at the lily stem till it broke and drifted away in the weak current. A dancing butterfly had an idea: "Throw me the end of your belt! I'll help you to move a little faster!" Thumbelina gratefully did so, and the leaf soon floated away from the frog pond.

But other dangers lay ahead. A large beetle snatched Thumbelina with his strong feet and took her away to his home at the top of a leafy tree. 

"Isn't she pretty?" he said to his friends. But they pointed out that she was far too different. So the beetle took her down the tree and set her free.

It was summertime, and Thumbelina wandered all by herself amongst the flowers and through the long grass. She had pollen for her meals and drank the dew. Then the rainy season came, bringing nastyweather. The poor child found it hard to find food and shelter. When winter set in, she suffered from the cold and felt terrible pangs of hunger.

One day, as Thumbelina roamed helplessly over the bare meadows, she met a large spider who promised to help her. He took her to a hollow tree and guarded the door with a stout web. Then he brought her some dried chestnuts and called his friends to come and admire her beauty. But just like the beetles, all the other spiders persuaded Thumbelina's rescuer to let her go. Crying her heart out, and quite certain that nobody wanted her because she was ugly, Thumbelina left the spider's house. 

As she wandered, shivering with the cold, suddenly she came across a solid little cottage, made of twigs and dead leaves. Hopefully, she knocked on the door. It was opened by a field mouse.

"What are you doing outside in this weather?" he asked. "Come in and warm yourself." Comfortable and cozy, the field mouse's home was stocked with food. For her keep, Thumbelina did the housework and told the mouse stories. One day, the field mouse said a friend was coming to visit them.

"He's a very rich mole, and has a lovely house. He wears a splendid black fur coat, but he's dreadfully shortsighted. He needs company and he'd like to marry you!" Thumbelina did not relish the idea. However, when the mole came, she sang sweetly to him and he fell head over heels in love. The mole invited Thumbelina and the field mouse to visit him, but . . . to their surprise and horror, they came upon a swallow in the tunnel. It looked dead. Mole nudged it wi his foot, saying: "That'll teach her! She should have come underground instead of darting about the sky all summer!" Thumbelina was so shocked by such cruel words that later, she crept back unseen to the tunnel. 

And every day, the little girl went to nurse the swallow and tenderly give it food.

In the meantime, the swallow told Thumbelina its tale. Jagged by a thorn, it had been unable to follow its companions to a warmer climate. 

"It's kind of you to nurse me," it told Thumbelina. But, in spring, the swallow flew away, after offering to take the little girl with it. All summer, Thumbelina did her best to avoid marrying the mole. The little girl thought fearfully of how she'd have to live underground forever. On the eve of her wedding, she asked to spend a day in the open air. As she gently fingered a flower, she heard a familiar song: "Winter's on its way and I'll be off to warmer lands. Come with me!" Thumbelina quickly clung to her swallow friend, and the bird soared into the sky. They flew over plains and hills till they reached a country of flowers. The swallow gently laid Thumbelina in a blossom. There she met a tiny, white-winged fairy: the King of the Flower Fairies. Instantly, he asked her to marry him. Thumbelina eagerly said "yes", and sprouting tiny white wings, she became the Flower Queen! 

One upon a time, there lived a King and Queen who said every day, "If only we had a child!"  But for a long time they had none.

One day, as the Queen was bathing in a spring and dreaming of a child, a frog crept out of the water and said to her, "Your wish shall be fulfilled.  Before a year has passed you shall bring a daughter into the world."

And since frogs are such magical creatures, it was no surprise that before a year had passed the Queen had a baby girl.  The child was so beautiful and sweet that the King could not contain himself for joy.  He prepared a great feast and invited all his friends, family and neighbours.  He invited the fairies, too, in order that they might be kind and good to the child.  There were thirteen of them in his kingdom, but as the King only had twelve golden plates for them to eat from, one of the fairies had to be left out.  None of the guests was saddened by this as the thirteenth fairy was known to be cruel and spiteful.

 An amazing feast was held and when it came to an end, each of the fairies presented the child with a magic gift.  One fairy gave her virtue, another beauty, a third riches and so on -- with everything in the world that anyone could wish for.

 After eleven of the fairies had presented their gifts, the thirteenth suddenly appeared.  She was angry and wanted to show her spite for not having been invited to the feast.  Without hesitation she called out in a loud voice,

"When she is fifteen years old, the Princess shall prick herself with a spindle and shall fall down dead!"

Then without another word, she turned and left the hall.

The guests were horrified and the Queen fell to the floor sobbing, but the twelfth fairy, whose wish was still not spoken, quietly stepped forward.  Her magic could not remove the curse, but she could soften it so she said,

"Nay, your daughter shall not die, but instead shall fall into a deep sleep that will last one hundred years."

Over the years, the promises of the fairies came true -- one by one.  The Princess grew to be beautiful, modest, kind and clever.  Everyone who saw her could not help but love her.

The King and Queen were determined to prevent the curse placed on the Princess by the spiteful fairy and sent out a command that all the spindles in the whole kingdom should be destroyed.  No one in the kingdom was allowed to tell the Princess of the curse that had been placed upon her for they did not want her to worry or be sad.

On the morning of her fifteenth birthday, the Princess awoke early -- excited to be another year older.  She was up so early in the morning, that she realized everyone else still slept.  The Princess roamed through the halls trying to keep herself occupied until the rest of the castle awoke.  She wandered about the whole place, looking at rooms and halls as she pleased and at last she came to an old tower.  She climbed the narrow, winding staircase and reached a little door.  A rusty key was sticking in the lock and when she turned it, the door flew open.

In a little room sat an old woman with a spindle, busily spinning her flax.  The old woman was so deaf that she had never heard the King's command that all spindles should be destroyed.

"Good morning, Granny," said the Princess, "what are you doing?"

"I am spinning," said the old woman.

"What is the thing that whirls round so merrily?" asked the Princess and she took the spindle and tried to spin too.

But she had scarcely touched the spindle when it pricked her finger.  At that moment she fell upon the bed which was standing near and lay still in a deep sleep.

The King, Queen and servants had all started their morning routines and right in the midst of them fell asleep too.  The horses fell asleep in the stable, the dogs in the yard, the doves on the roof and the flies on the wall.  Even the fire in the hearth grew still and went to sleep.  The kitchen maid, who sat with a chicken before her, ready to pluck its feathers, fell asleep.  The cook was in the midst of scolding the kitchen boy for a mess he'd made but they both fell fast asleep.  The wind died down and on the trees in front of the castle not a leaf stirred.

Round the castle a hedge of brier roses began to grow up.  Every year it grew higher until at last nothing could be seen of the sleeping castle.

There was a legend in the land about the lovely Sleeping Beauty, as the King's daughter was called, and from time to time Princes came and tried to force their way through the hedge and into the castle.  But they found it impossible for the thorns, as though they were alive, grabbed at them and would not let them through.

After many years a Prince came again to the country and heard an old man tell the tale of the castle which stood behind the brier hedge and the beautiful Princess who had slept within for a hundred years.  He heard also that many Princes had tried to make it through the brier hedge but none had succeeded and many had been caught in it and died.

The the young Prince said, "I am not afraid.  I must go and see this Sleeping Beauty."

The good old man did all in his power to persuade him not to go, but the Prince would not listen.

Now the hundred years were just ended.  When the Prince approached the brier hedge it was covered with beautiful large roses.  The shrubs made way for him of their own accord and let him pass unharmed.

In the courtyard, the Prince saw the horses and dogs lying asleep.  On the roof sat the sleeping doves with their heads tucked under their wings.  When he went into the house, the flies were asleep on the walls and the servants asleep in the halls.  Near the throne lay the King and Queen, sleeping peacefully beside each other.  In the kitchen the cook, the kitchen boy and the kitchen maid all slept with their heads resting on the table.

The Prince went on farther.  All was so still that he could hear his own breathing.  At last he reached the tower and opened the door into the little room where the Princess was asleep.  There she lay, looking so beautiful that he could not take his eyes off her.  He bent down and gave her a kiss.  As he touched her, Sleeping Beauty opened her eyes and smiled up at him.

Throughout the castle, everyone and everything woke up and looked at each other with astonished eyes.  Within the month, the Prince and Sleeping Beauty were married and lived happily all their lives.
sumber:http://wardiastina.blogspot.com/2012/05/sleeping-beauty.html