FABLE

1. The Fox and the Cat

A fox was boasting to a cat of its clever devices for escaping its enemies.
"I have a whole bag of tricks," he said, "which contains a hundred ways of escaping my enemies."
"I have only one," said the cat. "But I can generally manage with that."
Just at that moment they heard the cry of a pack of hounds coming towards them, and the cat
immediately scampered up a tree and hid herself in the boughs.
"This is my plan," said the cat. "What are you going to do?"
The fox thought first of one way, then of another, and while he was debating, the hounds came nearer
and nearer, and at last the fox in his confusion was caught up by the hounds and soon killed by the
huntsmen.
Miss Puss, who had been looking on, said, "Better one safe way than a hundred on which you cannot
reckon."

2. The Fox and the Hedgehog

A fox meeting a hedgehog asked him, "How many wits have you?"
And he replied, "Only three. But how many have you?"
"I," boasted the fox," have seventy-seven."
As they were talking and walking along, not noticing where they were going, they fell into a deep hole
which the peasants had dug.
The fox asked the hedgehog to save him.
The hedgehog said, "I have only three wits. Perhaps you will save me first, then I will see about you
afterwards," and he asked the fox to pitch him out of the hole.
The fox did so, and then asked the hedgehog whether he could help him.
The hedgehog said, "I cannot help you with three, if you cannot help yourself with seventy-seven."
And so the fox was caught in the morning by the peasants and killed.

3. The Foolish Dragon

In years gone by, a dragon living in the great sea saw that his wife's health was not good. He, seeing her
color fade away, said, "My dear, what shall I get you to eat?"
Mrs. Dragon was silent.
"Just tell me and I will get it," pleaded the affectionate husband.
"You cannot do it; why trouble?" she said.
"Trust me, and you shall have your heart's desire," said the dragon.
"Well," I want a monkey's heart to eat."
"Why, Mrs. Dragon, the monkeys live in the mountain forests! How can I get one of their hearts?"
"Well, I am going to die; I know I am."
Forthwith the dragon went on shore, and, spying a monkey on the top of a tree, said, "Hail, shining one,
are you not afraid you will fall?"
"No, I have no such fear."
"Why eat of one tree? Cross the sea and you will find forests of fruit and flowers."
"How can I cross?"
"Get on my back."
The dragon with his tiny load went seaward, and then suddenly dived down.
"Where are you going?" said the monkey, with the salt water in his eyes and mouth.
"Oh! my dear sir! my wife is very sad and ill, and has taken a fancy to your heart."
"What shall I do?" thought the monkey. He then spoke, "Illustrious friend, why did not you tell me? I
left my heart on the top of the tree; take me back, and I will get it for Mrs. Dragon."
The dragon returned to the shore. As the monkey was tardy in coming down from the tree, the dragon
said, "Hurry up, little friend, I am waiting."
Then the monkey thought within himself, "What a fool this dragon is!"
4. The Scorpion and the Tortoise

A scorpion and a tortoise became such fast friends that they took a vow that they would never separate.
So when it happened that one of them was obliged to leave his native land, the other promised to go
with him. They had traveled only a short distance when they came to a wide river. The scorpion was
now greatly troubled.
"Alas," he said, "you, my friend, can easily swim, but how can a poor scorpion like me ever get across
this stream?"
"Never fear," replied the tortoise; "only place yourself squarely on my broad back and I will carry you
safely over."
No sooner was the scorpion settled on the tortoise's broad back, than the tortoise crawled into the water
and began to swim. Halfway across he was startled by a strange rapping on his back, which made him
ask the scorpion what he was doing.
"Doing?" answered the scorpion. "I am whetting my sting to see if it is possible to pierce your hard
shell."
"Ungrateful friend," responded the tortoise, "it is well that I have it in my power both to save myself and
to punish you as you deserve." And straightway he sank his back below the surface and shook off the
scorpion into the water.

5. The Fox and the Crab

The fox went out one beautiful morning, and on the road he met a crab. Seeing the fox, the crab
called out loudly and friendly, "Good morning, fox!"
This angered the proud fox. "What do you want with me, you miserable little rascal?"
"What? I can't even wish you a good morning? Don't be so arrogant. I may be small, but I can beat you
in cleverness."
"Just listen to the twit! You are cleverer than me?" said the fox scornfully.
"For sure, and I am faster afoot than you are as well."
The fox could not let that go unchallenged, so he entered into a wager with the crab. The one of them
who could run the fastest would receive a shiny taler from the other one.
So they both went out to a meadow. Arriving there, the fox positioned himself next to the crab, but the
latter said, "I'll give you a head start of one whole step. Then after I count to three, take off."
The fox moved one step forward and got ready to start. His beautiful bushy tail hung down to the
ground. The crab carefully fastened himself onto the tail, then counted, "One, two, three!"
The fox ran until the meadow shook, and when he arrived at the goal he turned around lightning fast to
see where the crab was. But the crab had quickly dropped into the grass, and said, "What are you
looking for, fox? I've been here a long time!"
What else could the fox do? He had to admit defeat and pay the taler.

6. Belling the Cat

Long ago, the mice held a general council to consider what measures they could take to outwit their
common enemy, the cat. Some said this, and some said that; but at last a young mouse got up and said
he had a proposal to make, which he though would meet the case.

"You will all agree," said he, "that our chief danger consists in the sly and treacherous manner in which
the enemy approaches us. Now, if we could receive some signal of her approach, we could easily escape
from her. I venture, therefore, to propose that a small bell be procured, and attached by a ribbon round
the neck of the cat. By this means we should always know when she was about, and could easily retire
while she was in the neighborhood."

This proposal met with general applause, until an old mouse got up and said, "That is all very well, but
who is to bell the cat?"

The mice looked at one another and nobody spoke. Then the old mouse said, "It is easy to propose
impossible remedies."
7. The Cat and the Mice

Once upon a time there was a cat who lived in a large farmhouse in which there was a great number
of mice. For many years the cat found no difficulty in catching as many mice as she wanted to eat, and
she lived a very peaceful and pleasant life. But as time passed on she found that she was growing old
and infirm, and that it was becoming more and more difficult for her to catch the same number of mice
as before; so after thinking very carefully what was the best thing to do, she one day called all the mice
together, and after promising not to touch them, she addressed them as follows:

"Oh! mice," said she, "I have called you together in order to say something to you. The fact is that I
have led a very wicked life, and now, in my old age, I repent of having caused you all so much
inconvenience and annoyance. So I am going for the future to turn over a new leaf. It is my intention
now to give myself up entirely to religious contemplation and no longer to molest you, so henceforth
you are at liberty to run about as freely as you will without fear of me. All I ask of you is that twice
every day you should all file past me in procession and each one make an obeisance as you pass me by,
as a token of your gratitude to me for my kindness."

When the mice heard this they were greatly pleased, for they thought that now, at last, they would be
free from all danger from their former enemy, the cat. So they very thankfully promised to fulfill the
cat's conditions, and agreed that they would file past her and make a salaam twice every day.

FOLKTALE

1. Telaga Warna (A Folktale from West Java)

The king of a famous kingdom in Cipanas, West Java, is very wise man. He has a beautiful daughter.
The king and queen love their daughter so much.
But all their love is not enough for the princess. Even though they give her everything, she is not happy.
All the jewelries that they have are not enough for her. She is not satisfied with her gorgeous look
either.
The princess then has an idea. She plans to put all the jewelries that they have in every single hair in her
head. She wants to be the most beautiful girl in the world.
So the princess goes to see her mother and father and tell them about her plan. She is very sure they will
not say no.
The king is surprised to hear about his daughter plan. He tries to convince her that her plan is not
proper.
"My Daughter, the beauty of a princess is not measured by her clothes or by the jewelry she is wearing,
but by her attitude. It's not that we don't love you, but what will people think if you go through with
your plan?" says the king.
The princess is shocked to hear that. So she runs to her room to get her jewelry box. Then she returns to
her parents.
She screams: "You are so miserly. Here, I am returning the every single jewelry you ever gave me." She
throes her jewelry box to her father.
The wise king is outraged seeing his daughter did.
"You are ungrateful daughter!"
Suddenly, the floor of the palace erupts and water pours out from the crack. In a matter of second the
palace if flooded, drowning the ungrateful princess and her jewelry. The palace then replace by a lake.
The lake always reflects multiple colors to its surrounding. Some say the colors come from the
princess's jewelry. The lake is known as Telaga Warna that means colorful lake.
2. The Parakeet King (A folktale from Nangroe Aceh Darussalam)

In the jungle of Aceh, parakeet birds live peacefully with their wise king. However, now their peaceful
life is disturbed. A hunter goes into their jungle and plans to catch them.
It's a beautiful morning. The parakeets and their king perch on a branch of tree. They do not know that
the hunter is hiding. The hunter wants to catch the parakeets with his net.
The hunter throws his net towards the parakeets. Some parakeets and the parakeet king are caught under
the net. The parakeets are scared but the parakeet king tells them what to do.
"Relax. I have a plan. We all pretend to be dead. When the hunter lifts the net up, we fly fast to the sky,"
advise the parakeet king. The hunter goes to his net. He is upset! He thinks all the parakeets are dead.
"Oh no! I can't sell dead birds to people." He then lifts the net up. Not long after that, the parakeets free
themselves and fly to the sky. But the parakeet king is still trapped. He does not want to fly to the sky
until the parakeets are free.
The hunter is surprised when he sees the parakeets are flying. He sees there is one parakeet left in the
net.
He moves quickly. "Gotcha!" he catches the parakeet king.
And then the hunter goes home. He puts the parakeet king in a birdcage.
In the jungle, all the parakeets are sad because their king is locked in a birdcage. They set a plan to free
their king. All the parakeets fly to the hunter's house. With their beaks, the parakeets peck the birdcage.
Slow but sure, the birdcage is destroyed. Then the parakeet king can free himself. “Thank you. You all
are very kind to me. Without your help, I'm still trapped in this birdcage, "says the parakeet king.

3. Ki Semar and Slamet Mountain (Folktale from Central Java)

A long time ago, Slamet Mountain was very high. It was so high that it could reach the sky. People
heard that they could take the stars if they were on top of the mountain. But no one dared to go there.
The people were afraid that the gods in heaven would be angry if people took the stars. However, the
beauty of the stars made some monkeys dared to go to the top of the mountain. Led by their king, they
went there and took some stars. Then, the sky became dark at night. People were sad and the gods were
angry!
Batara Guru was the leader of the gods. He held a meeting. He invited Batara Narada, Batara Brama,
Batara Bayu, and others. Batara Narada had an idea how to stop the monkeys. They would ask Ki
Semar to help them.
Ki Semar was actually one of the gods. He was even older than Batara Guru. But Ki Semar did not live
in heaven. He lived on earth with his children, Gareng, Petruk, and Bagong. Ki Semar had a great
supernatural power. He could cut the top of the mountain easily. But first, he wanted to give a lesson to
the naughty monkeys. They had to be punished for stealing the stars. He then set a plan with his
children to trap the monkeys.
Gareng then went to the top of the mountain. He had to attract the monkeys to go down by giving them
some bananas. It worked! The monkeys followed Gareng.
After the monkeys left the top of the mountain, Ki Semar immediately cut the top of the mountain. He
threw the biggest part to Cirebon. It became Ceremai Mountain and the small parts became small
mountains, like Clirit Mountain, Tapak Mountain, and others.
After the monkeys left the mountain and followed Gareng, Petruk was ready with some hot water. He
planned to pour the hot water over the monkeys. He waited and waited but the monkeys never came to
him. He did not know that while the monkeys chased Gareng, they met a giant dragon. The monkeys
had a fight with the dragon. It was so terrible that both the monkeys and the dragon finally died.
Because of tired waiting for the monkeys, Petruk then left the place. He did not bring his hot water and
left it there. People then named the place where Petruk left his hot water as Guci. It is about 50
kilometers from Tegal, Central Java. It is famous for its hot water
4. Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih (Folktale from Central Java)

BAWANG Putih lived with her step mother and her step sister, Bawang Merah. Bawang Putih's mother
died when she was a baby. Her father remarried another woman and later her step sister was born.
Unfortunately, not long after that her father died. Since then, Bawang Putih's life was sad. Her step
mother and her step sister treated Bawang Putih badly and always asked her to do all the household
chores. One morning, Bawang Putih was washing some clothes in a river.
Accidentally, her mother's clothes were washed away by the river. She was really worried so she
walked along the river side to find the clothes. Finally she met an old woman. She said that she kept the
clothes and would give them back to Bawang Putih if she helped the old woman do the household
chores. Bawang Putih helped her happily. After everything was finished, the old woman returned the
clothes. She also gave Bawang Putih a gift. The old woman had two pumpkins, one pumpkin was small
and the other one was big. Bawang Putih had to choose one.
Bawang Putih was not a greedy girl. So she took the small one. After thanking the old woman, Bawang
Putih then went home. When she arrived home, her step mother and Bawang Merah were angry. They
had been waiting for her all day long. Bawang Putih then told about the clothes, the old woman, and the
pumpkin. Her mother was really angry so she grabbed the pumpkin and smashed it to the floor.
Suddenly they all were surprised. Inside the pumpkin they found jewelries.
"Bawang Merah, hurry up. Go to the river and throw my clothes into the water. After that, find the old
woman. Remember, you have to take the big pumpkin," the step mother asked Bawang Merah to do
exactly the same as Bawang Putih's experience. Bawang Merah immediately went to the river. She
threw the clothes and pretended to search them. Not long after that, she met the old woman. Again she
asked Bawang Merah to do household chores. She refused and asked the old woman to give her a big
pumpkin.
The old woman then gave her the big one. Bawang Merah was so happy. She ran very fast. When she
arrived home, her mother was impatient. She directly smashed the pumpkin to the floor. They were
screaming. There were a lot of snakes inside the pumpkin! They were really scared. They were afraid
the snakes would bite them.
"Mom, I think God just punished us. We had done bad things to Bawang Putih. And God didn't like
that. We have to apologize to Bawang Putih," said Bawang Merah. Finally both of them realized their
mistakes. They apologized and Bawang Putih forgave them. Now the family is not poor anymore.
Bawang Putih decided to sell all the jewelries and used the money for their daily lives.

5. Sendang Sani (A Folktale from Central Java)

Once upon a time, Sunan Kalijaga planned to visit Sunan Muria in Pati, Central Java. He asked his
friend, Ki Rangga, to go with him. Several servants also joined them to carry their luggages. And they
began walking to Sunan Muria’s house. Of course there were no cars or trains, so they walked. Several
hours later, Ki Rangga felt tired. “Are we still far from Sunan Muria’s house?” asked Ki Rangga to
Sunan Kalijaga. Sunan Kalijaga answered, “We are already in Kadipaten Pati Pesantenan. We will
arrive in Sunan Muria’s house shortly. Please be patient.”Ki Rangga was embarassed to be walking
together with Sunan Kalijaga because Sunan Kalijaga did not look tired while Ki Rangga was very tired
and thirsty. Finally Sunan Kalijaga asked Ki Rangga to take a rest under a big tree. It was time for
Zuhur pray. But there was no water around for them to clean up or wudu. Ki Rangga was confused. He
said, “I don’t see any water nearby. Where should we take wudu?” Sunan Kalijaga only smiled and said,
“We should pray to Allah SWT for water. Now you must guard this big tree, Ki Rangga. It might bring
water to us. But remember, everything happens because of Allah SWT. Don”t act alone. You must
inform me when water comes out. I will be behind that hill.” Ki Rangga promised Sunan Kalijaga to
inform him when water came out. So Sunan Kalijaga went behind the hill and Ki Rangga with his
servants sat under the big tree. They quickly fell asleep. Suddenly water came out from the big tree. Ki
Rangga and his servants became wet. They woke up. They were very happy to see the water because
they were very tired and thirsty. They drank and played in the water. Ki Rangga forgot Sunan Kalijaga’s
message to inform Sunan Kalijaga when water came out. Behind the hill, Sunan Kalijaga was worried.
So he went to the big tree. He was surprised to see Ki Rangga and his servants were playing in the
water. “You forgot my message to inform me when water comes out. Instead, you are playing in the
water like a turtle,” said Sunan Kalijaga, softly. A miracle happened. Ki Rangga and his servants turned
into turtles. Ki Rangga was sad. He changed into turtles because he did not keep his promise. The water
formed a pond. It is now called Sendang Sani, in Pati, Central Java. Many people still visit Sendang
Sani now.
6. Aji Saka (Folklore from Central Java)

A long time ago there was a kingdom. Its name was Medang Kamulan. The people in the kingdom were
very scared. They wanted to leave the kingdom. It all happened because the king was a beast. His name
was Prabu Dewata Cengkar and he ate humans! Every day Patih Jugul Muda always provided some
humans to be eaten by the king! Not far from the kingdom, there was Medang Kawit village. A young
man with a great supernatural power lived there. His name was Aji Saka. Everybody liked him because
Aji Saka was nice, diligent, and kind hearted. One day, Aji Saka saw an old man was wounded. Some
thieves just hit him and stole his money. The old man was the villager in Medang Kamulan kingdom.
He told what happened in his kingdom to Aji Saka. Aji Saka was very angry. He decided to go to
Medang Kamulan to give Prabu Dewata Cengkar a lesson. The king had to stop his bad behavior, eating
humans. Aji Saka then went to the kingdom. He was wearing his magic turban. When he arrived in the
kingdom, the king was angry to Patih Jugul Muda. He was not able to give the king some humans. All
the villagers already saved themselves by leaving the kingdom. “Who are you, young man?
Ha...ha...ha.... I’m glad you are here. I'm starving,” said the king. He was so happy to see Aji Saka. He
thought Aji Saka was there to be eaten by him. “I would gladly let you eat me. But I have one request.
You give me your land with the size of my turban,” said Aji Saka. He then took off his turban and threw
it on the ground. The king and Aji Saka then measured the size of the turban. Suddenly the turban grew
bigger and bigger. It finally covered the whole kingdom. The king was totally angry. He knew Aji Saka
was planning to take over his kingdom. He then attacked Aji Saka. With his supernatural turban, Aji
Saka twisted the king’s body and threw him to the ocean. The king never returned to the kingdom. Aji
Saka then asked the villagers to come back. They all were very happy. They also asked Aji Saka to be
their king. Aji Saka then ruled the kingdom wisely. He led Medang Kamulan kingdom into its golden
moment. The people lived happily and peacefully.

7. Putri Kemuning (A folktale from East Java)

Putri Kemuning and her mother live in a jungle. They are poor. Putri Kemuning always helps her
mother collect woods in the jungle and sell them in the market.
In the jungle, Putri Kemuning has animal friends. One day, Putri Kemuning's mother is ill. Putri
Kemuning is very sad because she does not have enough money to buy medicine. She then collects
many woods and plans to sell them. She wants to spend the money to buy medicine.
While She collects the woods, Putri Kemuning meets her animal friend, the rabbit. He is worried
because Putri Kemuning looks very sad.
Putri Kemuning tells the problem to the rabbit.
"I can help you. Take this ring and then sell it," says the rabbit.
"Is this your ring?" asks Putri Kemuning.
"No. This is the King Ngarancang Kencono's ring. I fell when he washunting here."
Putri Kemuning hesitates. She really needs the money but it is not her ring. Finally she says, "No, I have
to return this ring to the king."
Putri Kemuning then goes to see the king at his palace.
"What is your name and what is your purpose here?" says the king.
"My name is Putri Kemuning. I want to return your ring," says Putri Kemuning.
"Thank you very much. Now, I want to give you something. What do you want?"
"I don't anything. I just want to go home. My mother is very ill," says Putri Kemuning.
"You are a very kind girl. Now, take this gift,"
Putri Kemuning goes home. When she arrives, Putri Kemuning tells her mother about the king's ring.
Her mother is very proud of her. When they open the gift, they see a bag full of gold coins. They are
very happy because they can buy medicine.
8. Cianjur (Folklore from West Java)

PAK Pelit is the head of the village. He also the richest man. He owns alot of paddy fields. All the
farmers work for him, they don't have their own paddy fields.
The villagers call him Pak Pelit because he is very stingy. Pak Pelit has a son. His name is Budiman.
Unlike Pak Pelit, Budiman is very generous to the villager. That's why people call him Budiman.
It's harvest time. According to their belief, the villagers have to hold a party to welcome the harvest. If
not, the harvest will fail. They will not have good rice. The farmers then ask Pak Pelit to hold a party.
At first Pak Pelit doesn't agree. But he is afraid not to get good rice.
Then they have a party. Suddenly an old woman comes. She asks for some food. Budiman sees what
happens. He secretly takes some food and gives it to the old woman.
Nobody knows that the old woman has a supernatural power. She then stamps her foot on the ground
On the place the old woman stamps up, slowly water comes out. More and more water comes out.
Budiman asks his father to save himself. But Pak Pelit doesn't want to do it. He wants to save his
belongings first. Budiman then asks the villagers to go to the higher ground.
Water is now high. Pak Pelit and his belongings are down in the water. Budiman and the villagers are
sad.
Their village now gone and becomes a lake. Budiman suggests the villagers to live their new place. He
also suggests the people to use the water in the lake as source of the irrigation for their paddy fields.
The farmers work hard. They produce rice with good quality. More and more people come and live
there. The village now become a town. They call it Cianjur. Ci means water and anjur means
suggestion. The villagers are thankful to Budiman's suggestion.

9. Cinderella
 
One day, there was a beautiful girl named Cinderella. She lived with a wicked stepmother and her
two stepsisters. They treated Cinderella very bad and did not appreciate her. Near from her home,
there was a king’s palace which was so beautiful and there would be held a big party. Her
stepmother and her sisters were invited to attend the party. However, they did not allow her to go to
the party. She was ordered to sew the party dresses that would be worn by her mother and sisters.
While, she did not have time to sew her dress. Her mother and her sisters went to a party and left
Cinderella alone at home.
  She felt very sad and cried. Between her tears, suddenly a fairy godmother appeared and said
“do not cry, I can send you to the palace now!”, But she kept crying and looked so sad. She said, “I
do not have a dress to wear in the ball”. The fairy godmother of course would not be worry and
waved the wand to transform the Cinderella’s old clothes into the new dress which was very
beautiful. Furthermore, that fairy godmother touched Cinderella’s foot with the wand and suddenly
Cinderella had beautiful glass slippers. Cinderella was shocked and said, “wow, thank you, but how
I could go to the ball?”. Fairy godmother then went into the kitchen and saw four rats. She turned it
into golden four horses and into a beautiful buggy. Before leaving home, the Fairy Godmother said
“Cinderella, you have to go home at middle of the night, because this magic will works only until
midnight!”
  When Cinderella entered the palace, everyone was stunned by her beautiful face. In fact, no
one recognized her because she was so different. Cinderella was so pretty with the dress and the
glass slippers. A handsome prince also saw Cinderella and he fell in love. He met Cinderella and
asked, “Do you want to dance?” And she said, “yes, I want to dance with you”. Prince and
Cinderella danced during the night and she was so happy at that night. She forgot the fairy
godmother warning that she should go home in the middle of the night. At the last moment,
Cinderella remembered her promise to the fairy godmother and went home. “I must go!”, said her.
She ran quickly and one of her glass slippers left but she did not come back to pick it up.
  Cinderella arrived home a few minutes later. When she arrived, the clock struck in twelve.
The horses and the buggy back into the previous shape and she did not wear the glass slippers and
the beautiful dress anymore. After that, her stepmother and sisters came home and talked about the
beautiful women who danced with the prince. They were very curious about the identity of the
woman who suddenly appeared.
  In the palace, Prince kept thinking about Cinderella and he fell in love. Prince wanted to find
out the identity of the girl, but he even did not know her name. Prince has only found the glass
slipper, and he said, “I will find her, and I will marry the woman whose foot fits into this glass
slipper!”.