The legend of n'Daung Snake

Folklore from Bengkulu

ONCE upon a time in Bengkulu, a widow lived with three daughters. They all were beautiful but they had different personalities. The oldest and the middle daughter were lazy but the youngest daughter was diligent.

One day, their mother was terribly ill. She could be cured only by eating special leaves that cooked by magical fire. Unfortunately, the leaves and magical fire were on top of the mountain and were guarded by a snake. It was not just an ordinary snake.

The snake had magical power. The name was n'Daung Snake. The oldest and the middle daughter did not want to go to the top of the mountain.

"I will go there, Mother. I'll take the leaves and the magical fire for you," said the youngest daughter.

Actually she was also very scared of the n'Daung Snake.

Then, after several days climbing the mountain, she finally arrived at the n'Daung Snake's place. It was a cave. The special leaves and the magical fire were inside the cave. Suddenly, she heard some noises. The n'Daung Snake was coming! She was very terrified but she did not want to run. She wanted to talk about her problem to the Snake.

In just a minute, the snake was already in front of her.

"Who are you, young girl? What are you doing here?" asked the snake politely.

She was surprised. Although the snake looked scary, he was very polite. Then, she asked the snake to give her the leaves and the magical fire.

"You can take them, but you have to be my wife. Agree?" asked the snake. She did not think twice. She just wanted her mother to be cured soon. Then, the snake gave her the leaves and the torch burned with the magical fire. She directly went home.

Later, the mother got cured. The youngest daughter knew that she had to keep her promise to n'Daung Snake.

So, she left the house without saying goodbye. When she arrived at the cave, it was already in the evening. She went inside the cave but she could not find the snake. She met a handsome man instead.

"Don't be afraid. My name is Prince Abdul Rahman Alamsjah. My uncle cursed me into a snake only during daylight. In the evening, I became a human. My uncle did not want me to be a king," explained the man.

In the meantime, her mother and her older sisters were looking for her. They finally arrived at n'Daung Snake's cave. It was also already in the evening. They saw the youngest daughter was with a handsome man.

After they knew who the man was, the older sisters were jealous. They burned the snakeskin. They hoped n'Daung Snake could not change back as a human.

However, the result was the opposite. By burning the snakeskin, the spell was broken. Prince Abdul Rahman Alamsjah was free from the curse.

He then asked his wife to go with him to the palace. He would be the next king and sent his uncle to the jail. The youngest daughter also asked her mother to stay with them in the palace. How about the older sisters? They were ashamed with their behaviours, so they stayed at the cave.***

Putri Bungsu and the Dragons

Folklore from Aceh

ONCE upon a time, there were two dragons lived in Aceh. The dragons were male and female, they were husband and wife. The dragons really wanted to have a child. They always prayed to God to give them a child.
One day the dragons were resting at the river side. Suddenly they saw a baby beside a basket. The basket was drifting by the current of the water.
"Myn husband, look! There is a human baby inside the basket. Let's save the baby!" said the mother dragon.
The father dragon immediately swam fast. He brought the baby to the side.
She was a baby girl. The dragons were very happy. They had a child. Although the baby was a human child, the dragons really loved her. They named her Putri Bungsu.
Days passed by, Putri Bungsu was adult. She was very beautiful. The dragons always took care of her. They also always protected her.
In mean time, putri Bungsu real parents were looking for her.
In the mean time, Putri Bungsu real parents were looking for her. There was an incident and accidentally Putri Bungsu was drifting in the river.
After years looking for her, Putri Bungsu's real parents finally found her.
"My child, thank God we finally found you. You are our daughter. We know it from the mark in your hand," said the mother.
The dragons were angry! they said Putri Bunsu was their daugter. "No! She is our daughter! We have raised her since she was a baby. We loved her and she loved us," said the mother dragon.
Putri Bungsu's real parents and the dragons were arguing. They each claimed to be Putri's Bungsu's parents and they asked Putri bungsu to stay with them.
They were arguing and they did not get any solutions. Putri Bungsu's real parents asked for help. They asked Tuan Tapa to help them. Tuan Tapa was a holy man. He also had supernatural power.
Tuan Tapa then asked the dragons to let Putri Bungsu leave and stay with her real parents. The dragons were angry. They asked Tuan Tapa not to interfere.
Tuan Tapa realized that the dragons could not negotiate. Therefore Tuan Tapa challenged them to fight.
"If you win, you can keep her. However you have to let her go and stay with her real parents if you both lose the fight," said Tuan Tapa.
"Ha ha ha...No problem! We will win the fight!"
Then Tuan Tapa and the dragons were fighting bravely. Although he was alone and had to fight with two dragons, Tuan Tapa was very brave. he used all his skills to fight them.
And finally he won the fight! The father dragon was dead. The mother dragon was very sad and angry. She knew she could not win the fight. She escaped.
The mother dragon was very angry. She wagged her tail. It broke an island into two small islands. people named the islands as Pulau Dua.
The tail also wagged another big island into many small islands. People named the island as Pulau Banyak.
While the body of the father dragon changed into a big stone.
People named it as Batu Hitam. And the blood dried into a big red stone, people named it as Batu Merah.***