|
The Indonesian tale
of the Golden Snail Princess
Once upon a time,
there was a beautiful Princess "Dewi Galuh Chandra Kirana" from the
Kingdom of Daha.
When she grew older she met Prince "Inu Kertapati" from the Kingdom of Kahuripan and they fell in love. Much to the happiness of everyone and with the support of the Kings from both Kingdoms, they became engaged.
When she grew older she met Prince "Inu Kertapati" from the Kingdom of Kahuripan and they fell in love. Much to the happiness of everyone and with the support of the Kings from both Kingdoms, they became engaged.
The people of both
Kingdoms celebrated the good news of the engagement and every one was happy,
except one. The jealous Lady Galuh Ajeng did not enjoy the news as she wanted
to become the wife of the Prince. She said to herself: "I need to find a
way to separate the Prince and the Princess before they get married".
Desperate as she was and willing to do everything to avoid a marriage, Lady
Galuh Ajeng went to an evil Witch and asked the Witch to put a spell on
Princess Dewi Galuh Chandra Kirana. "Your request, Lady Galuh Ajeng, will
be fulfiled . I'll put a spell on the Princess", said the bad Witch. "That's
good news. After the Princess is cursed, the Prince will marry me!",
exclaimed Lady Galuh Ajeng with joy and laughter.
Under Lady Galuh
Ajeng's influence, the King of Daha started to despise the Princess.
"Get out of this palace, you are not worth to be my daughter anymore. You will not marry Prince Inu Kertapati!", screamed the King in anger to Princess Dewi Galuh Chandra Kirana. So it was, the King told his own daughter to leave the Kingdom.
"Get out of this palace, you are not worth to be my daughter anymore. You will not marry Prince Inu Kertapati!", screamed the King in anger to Princess Dewi Galuh Chandra Kirana. So it was, the King told his own daughter to leave the Kingdom.
Since then on, the
Princess roamed the country without direction. She wandered through forests and
walked through the fields. Until one day she found herself all alone on a
deserted beach. " Dear God, what will happen to me. What will I
become?", cried the Princess in tears as she fell on her knees. It was at
that moment, that the spell of the bad Witch fell on her and the Princess
turned into a Golden Snail. A large wave came and dragged the Golden Snail into
the sea.
Finally, after days,
the Golden Snail washed ashore on a beach nearby the village of Dadapan. There
an old lady from the village of Dadapan saw the Golden Snail on the white sandy
beach. "What a beautiful snail you are", said the old lady.
"Come with me, I will take well care of you", and she took the Golden
Snail to her humble home near the beach. As soon as she arrived home, the old
lady placed the Golden Snail in a pot with fresh clean water. "Stay here,
beautiful snail" she said with a large smile on her old and wrinkled face,
and then as usual she went to the beach to catch fish. The old lady had no luck
that day and went home with empty hands and a rumbling stomach. However, when
she came home she was surprised to find her table laid with delicious and tasty
food.
The following day,
when she came back from the beach, she saw smoke coming out of her house and
wondered "What is going on in my house?". The old lady took a peek
into the house and there she saw a young lady cooking in her kitchen. "Who
is she?", asked the old lady to herself, and then rushed in to ask the
young lady. Princess Dewi Galuh Chandra Kirana told her story about the curse
and how she turned into a Golden Snail. "Jealousy is indeed a terrible
thing and can cause other people to suffer" said the old lady, feeling sad
to hear the Princess' story. The old lady prayed: "Dear God, please listen
to my humble pray, take the curse off the Princess".
Meanwhile, the news
of the missing of Princess Dewi Galuh Chandra Kirana came to the ears of Prince
Inu Kertapati. The Prince felt unhappy and immediately went of to search his
beloved Princess.
Months passed by and
the Prince roamed the country and roved the seas and one day he came to the
village of Dadapan, where he found his Princess. The Prince and Princess had
finally found each other again and from that moment on the curse vanished from
the Princess forever. Prince Inu Kertapati took the Princess back to his
palace, and they brought the old lady from the village of Dadapan with them.
At the end, the
Prince and the Princess got married, and later on Prince Inu Kertapati was
crowned as King Kameswara I of the Kindom of Kahuripan (Kediri).
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar