10/40 Window Stories

The Donkey of Guizhou

A Chinese Fable Story

Once upon a time there was no donkey in Guizhou. So someone officious shipped one there, but finding no use for it, he set it loose at the foot of the mountain.

A tiger ran out from the mountains. When he saw this big tall thing, he thought it must be divine. He quickly hid himself in the forest and surveyed it from under cover. Sometimes the tiger ventured a little nearer, but still kept a respectful distance.

One day the tiger came out again. Just then the donkey gave a loud bray. Thinking the donkey was going to eat him, the tiger hurriedly ran away. After a while he sneaked back and watched the donkey carefully. He found that though it had a huge body it seemed to have no special ability.

After a few days the tiger gradually became accustomed to its braying and was no longer so afraid. Sometimes he even came near and circled around the donkey.

Later the tiger became bolder. Once he walked in front of the donkey and purposely bumped it. This made the donkey so angry that it struck out his hind legs and kicked wildly.

Seeing this, the tiger was very gleeful, 'Such a big thing as you can do so little!' With a roar he pounced on the donkey and ate it up.

www.chineseculture.about.com

 

The Musical Donkey

A Tale from India

Once upon a time, there was an old thin donkey that worked for a washerman by day. At night he was free to wander as he liked.

One night, he made friends with a jackal and they both went out in search of food. They found a garden filled with cucumbers and helped themselves to a delicious meal. After that they returned every night to the garden to eat cucumbers. And so the donkey started looking healthy and fat. 

One night, after a particularly tasty meal, the donkey was overwhelmed with happiness. So happy was he, that he told the jackal he wanted to sing a song. The jackal immediately told him not to do any such thing! He warned the donkey that they were thieves so it was not a good idea to make noise and attract the farmer's attention. If they were caught, they would be beaten. 

But the donkey insisted on singing. The jackal told him that his voice was not sweet. The donkey was upset and thought that the jackal was jealous of him. The jackal warned that donkey again that if he did sing, the farmers would come and reward him in a way that he would not like. 

But the donkey started singing, and the jackal decided to wait outside the garden. When the farmers heard the donkey braying, they rushed out to beat him. The donkey fell down and the farmers tied a heavy stone around his neck.
Somehow the donkey dragged himself out to the waiting jackal. The jackal congratulated him on his reward. The donkey realized his mistake and apologized to the jackal for not listening to good advice.

http://www.indiaparenting.com

 

The Green Frog

A Korean Folktale retold by Heinz Insu Fenkl

Long ago, the green frog lived with his widowed mother in a small pond. The green frog never listened to his mother, and when she told him to do something, he always did the opposite. If his mother told him to play in the hills, he went to the river. If she told him to go up, he went down. If she told him left, he went right. If she told him this, he did that.

The mother frog worried about what she would do with her son, he caused her so much distress and embarrassment. "Why can’t he be like other frogs?" she said to herself. "Why can’t he respect his elders and do what he’s told?" She worried about what would happen to him when she was gone. She knew she would have to do something to break his bad habits.

Day after day, week after week, the mother frog scolded the green frog and tried to teach him the proper way to behave, but he continued to ignore her and did just as he wished. The mother frog was growing old, and she worried so much that eventually she became sick. But even then the green frog did not change his ways.

Finally, when the mother frog knew she was going to die, she called her son to her side. She wanted a proper burial on the mountain, and since she knew that the green frog would do the opposite of what she told him, she chose her words carefully. "I don’t have much longer to live," she said. "When I die, do not to bury me on the mountainside. You must bury me on the bank of the river."

The green frog looked at her forlornly with his head bowed.

"Promise me," said the mother frog. "You must promise."

"I promise," said the green frog.

Four days later, the mother frog died and the green frog was terribly sad. He blamed himself for her death and he was sorry for all the heartache he had caused her. He knew it was too late to undo all of his past misdeeds, but he could become a good frog for her now. He resolved finally to listen to his mother’s instructions. "I always did the opposite of what she told me when she was alive," he said to himself, "but now I will do exactly as she told me."

So, even knowing that it was unwise, the green frog buried his mother by the river. And when it rained, he stood watch, praying to heaven that the water would not rise. But when the monsoon rains came that summer, the river rose higher and higher – it flowed over its banks and washed his mother’s grave away.

The green frog sat in the pouring rain by the river bank, crying and crying for his mother. And that is why, to this day, the green frogs cry when it rains.

http://www.geocities.com/ifenkl/kft/greenfrog.html

 

The Trial

A Cambodian tale retold by Tony Shapiro

A long time ago in the kingdom of Cambodia, a young man fell in love with a young woman and so he set off to ask her parents for permission to marry her. "If you want the hand of our daughter in marriage," said the parents, "then you must first undergo an ordeal. Your legs must be bound and you must be submerged up to your neck in the water of a lake for three days and three nights. However cold you may be, you must not move to warm yourself. If you survive this trial of your courage then you may have the hand of our daughter in marriage." The young man agreed to the ordeal and so he was tied up and submerged in the water.

After he had been standing in the lake for two days and two nights, he looked up and saw a fire burning on top of a hill some way off. By now he was tired and cold. He lifted his hands out of the water and held them up towards the distant flames. At that moment the girl's parents came down to the water and saw what he was doing. They decided that he was trying to warm himself with the flames from the distant hill and so he had not fulfilled their conditions. They refused to give him their daughter in marriage.

The young man was very angry about this and went off to lay a complaint before a Magistrate. The official invited the girl's parents to come and be judged. The parents agreed and because they were rich, they were able to give the Magistrate several presents. However, the young man was poor and gave nothing to the Magistrate, who then pronounced the judgment. "The young man broke the conditions of the ordeal by warming himself. He has lost his case. He cannot marry this girl. In addition, he must repay the defendants by preparing a banquet for us all." When the young man heard this judgment he was very angry and upset and went off complaining bitterly. On the way home he ran into Judge Rabbit. "Why are you so miserable, Brother?" asked Judge Rabbit. The young man told him the whole story as it had happened. "Where are you off to now, Brother?" asked Judge Rabbit. "I have to go and prepare the banquet," replied the young man. "Ah" said Judge Rabbit, "Go ahead and prepare the feast; then come and fetch me and take me along to the meal as well. I will win the case for you for sure if you do what I say. When you prepare the meal, make the soup without any salt in it. Put the salt by itself in a separate dish."

The young man was very happy when he knew that Judge Rabbit would help him. He went off to prepare the banquet, making sure the soup had no salt as he had been told. Then he went along with Judge Rabbit, to offer food to the Magistrate and the parents. The Magistrate saw Judge Rabbit coming and asked him: "Brother Rabbit, what have you come here for?" "I have come to help you with this trial" said Judge Rabbit. "Ahh," said the Magistrate, "Then why not stop and have a meal with us?"

When the banquet was served, the Magistrate was the first to start the meal. He took two mouthfuls of the soup and then called out, "Well, why is it that this soup is not salted?" Judge Rabbit quickly answered him,"The fire burning on top of the hill, far away from the young man was supposed to warm him up. How is it that the salt for the soup, which is placed far from the soup does not flavor the soup?" The Magistrate was embarrassed and was silent. The case was reversed and the young man was declared to have won his action and married the couple's daughter immediately.

http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/southeastasia/outreach/resources/cambodiawebunit/folktales.html

 

Talaga Warna

A Tale from Indonesia, retold by Renny Yaniar

Long long ago there was a kingdom in West Java. The kingdom was ruled by a king. People called their king His Majesty Prabu. Prabu was a kind and wise king. No wonder that country was prosperous. There was no hunger in this kingdom.

It was a very happy condition. But it was a pity that Prabu and his queen hadn't any children. It made the royal couple very, very sad. Some old men and women who were respected by Prabu suggested the king adopt a child. But Prabu and the queen didn't agree. "No, thank you. For us, our own daughter or son is better than adopted children."

The queen was very sad. She often cried. That was why Prabu decided to go. He went to the jungle. There he prayed to God. Everyday he begged for a child. His dream came true. A few months later, the queen got pregnant. All the people in the kingdom felt happy. They sent many presents to the palace to express their happiness.

Nine months later a princess was born. People sent their presents again as a gift to a little princess. This baby grew to be a beautiful teenager.

Prabu and Queen loved their daughter so much. They gave whatever she wanted. It made Princess a very spoiled girl. When her wish couldn't be realized, she became very angry. She even said bad things often. A true princess wouldn't do that. Even though the princess behaved badly, her parents loved her, so did the people in that kingdom.

Day by day, the princess grew more beautiful. No girls could compare with her. In a few days, Princess would be 17 years old. So, the people of that kingdom went to the palace. They brought many presents for her. Their gifts were very beautiful. Prabu collected the presents. There were many presents. Then Prabu stored them in a building. Some times he would take them to give to his people.

Prabu took some gold and jewels. Then he brought them to the goldsmith. "Please make a beautiful necklace for my daughter," said Prabu. "My pleasure, Your Majesty," the goldsmith replied. The goldsmith worked with all his heart and his ability. He wanted to create the most beautiful necklace in the world because he loved his princess.

Her birthday came. People gathered in the palace field. When Prabu and queen appeared, people welcomed them happily. Prabu and his wife waved to their beloved people.

Cheers grew louder and louder when the princess appeared with her fabulous pretty face. Everybody admired her beauty. Prabu got up from his chair. A lady gave him a small and glamorous pillow. A wonderful necklace was on it. Prabu took that necklace. "My beloved daughter, today I give this necklace to you. This necklace is a gift from people in this country. They love you so much. They presented it for you to express their happiness, because you have grown to be a woman. Please, wear this necklace," said Prabu.

Princess accepted the necklace. She looked at the necklace. "I don't want to accept it! It's ugly!" shouted the princess. Then she threw the necklace. The beautiful necklace was broken. The gold and jewels were spread out on the floor
Nobody could say anything. They never thought that their beloved princess would do that cruel of a thing. Nobody spoke. In their silence people heard the queen crying. Every woman felt sad and began crying too. Then everybody was crying.
Then there was a miracle. Earth was crying. Suddenly, from the underground, a spring emerged. It made a pool of water. The place was getting full. Soon the place became a big lake. The lake sank the whole kingdom.

Nowadays the water on that lake is not as full as before. There is only a small lake now. People called the lake "Talaga Warna". It means "Lake of Color". It's located in Puncak, West Java. On a bright day, the lake is full of color, so beautiful and amazing. These colors come from shadows of forest, plants, flowers, and sky around the lake. But some people said that the colors are from the princess's necklace, which spreads at the bottom of the lake.

http://www.geocities.com/kesumawijaya/ceritarakyat/westjava1.htm