Folklore: Legend of the Timun Mas

In a village far away, there was a lady named Mbok Rondo. She was all alone since her husband passed away. She really
wanted a child to keep her company and play with.

One day, while she was praying for a child, a big green giant named Buto Ijo heard her prayers. He came to her and asked,
“Do you really want a child?” Mbok Rondo was scared but she said yes.

The giant told her he could give her a child, but there was a condition. He said, “You have to take care of the child and feed
him well. When he is 6 years old, I will come back for him.” Mbok Rondo was worried but she agreed.

The giant gave her some cucumber seeds to plant. Mbok Rondo did as she was told and planted the seeds.

Once Mbok Rondo planted the cucumber seeds, they grew very fast and soon had big cucumbers ready to pick. But when
Mbok Rondo picked one, she found a baby girl inside! She was so surprised. The baby was named Timun Mas because she
was born from a golden cucumber.

But soon, the giant came back to take Timun Mas away because she was 6 years old now. Mbok Rondo was very sad and
didn’t want the giant to eat her daughter. So she told the giant that Timun Mas was too small and skinny to eat yet and asked
him to come back in 2 years.

The giant believed her and left. Mbok Rondo was worried about Timun Mas and prayed for a way to save her. One night,
God answered her prayers and told her in a dream about a hermit on a mountain who could help.

So Timun Mas went to find the hermit. After climbing the mountain for many days, she finally met him. He was an old man
with white hair and a white robe. He told her that if the giant came back, she should run away as fast as she can.

“The giant’s steps are too big, I’ll be caught easily,” Timun Mas said, feeling worried.

“Don’t worry,” the hermit told her. “Take these four small packets and throw one at a time when you’re running away.”

Two years passed and the giant came back to take Timun Mas. Mbok Rondo pleaded with him not to eat her, but the giant
reminded her of the promise she made.

Timun Mas opened the first package and threw the cucumber seeds at the giant.

Suddenly, a cucumber field grew around him and he had trouble moving because of all the cucumbers.

The giant broke free and got even angrier. Timun Mas opened the second package and threw the needles. They turned into
tall bamboo trees, making it even harder for the giant to catch Timun Mas.

Timun Mas opened the third package and threw the salt at the giant. Suddenly, a big ocean appeared and the giant was able
to swim across it and still chase after Timun Mas. Timun Mas was getting scared, but she remembered the last package the
hermit gave her.

Timun Mas opened the fourth package and it was filled with shrimp paste. She threw it at the giant and it turned into a
boiling hot mud sea. The giant couldn’t stop and fell into the mud and he couldn’t get out and drowned.

Timun Mas was relieved and walked back home. Mbok Rondo was very happy to see her daughter and they hugged and
thanked God for His help. From then on, they lived happily together.
The Legend of Lutung Kasarung

Once upon a time, in a place called Pasundan, there was a king named King Tapa Agung. He had two daughters, a big sister
named Purbararang and a little sister named Purbasari.

One day, the king decided that Purbasari would be the next queen. This made Purbararang upset. “But I am the big sister,
why can’t I be the queen?” She said.

Purbararang was feeling very jealous of her little sister, Purbasari. She wanted to make Purbasari look bad so that she
couldn’t be queen. So, she went to see a mean witch.

The witch put a spell on Purbasari that made her face and body covered in black spots. Purbararang was happy and she said
to her father, “Purbasari doesn’t look pretty anymore, she can’t be queen!”

The king felt sad and had no choice but to send Purbasari away to live in the forest. Purbasari was very sad, but she didn’t let
it get her down.

While living in the forest, Purbasari met many friendly animals. One of her friends was a monkey with black fur. Purbasari
named him Lutung Kasarung.

Lutung Kasarung was very kind to Purbasari and always made her happy. He would pick her beautiful flowers and delicious
fruits.

One night, when the moon was full, Lutung Kasarung told Purbasari that she should take a bath in a special lake.

Purbasari did as she was told. And while she was bathing, something magical happened.

Her skin became clean and beautiful again! Purbasari was so happy when she looked in the mirror and saw that she was
pretty again.

Meanwhile, back at the palace, Purbararang decided to visit her sister in the forest with some guards.

She was very surprised when she saw that Purbasari’s skin was normal again.

Purbararang was angry and said to her sister, “You may not look cursed anymore, but a queen needs to have a handsome
husband. My future husband is very handsome. Where is your future husband?”

Purbasari didn’t know what to say. Suddenly, she grabbed Lutung Kasarung’s hand. Purbararang laughed and said, “So, the
monkey is your husband? How can a queen have a monkey husband?”

But then, something amazing happened. Lutung Kasarung closed his eyes and meditated. When he opened his eyes again, he
had turned into a handsome prince.

Purbararang was shocked to see Lutung turn into a really good-looking man. She realized that she had made a big mistake
and was sorry. She asked Purbasari to forgive her and not to be punished.

Purbasari had a kind heart and forgave her sister. After that, they all went back to the palace together. Purbasari became the
queen and was accompanied by a handsome prince.
Story of Lake Toba

Once upon a time, there was a man who was living in north Sumatra. He lived in a simple hut in a farming field. The did
some gardening and fishing for his daily life.

One day, while the man was do fishing, he caught a big golden fish in his trap. It was the biggest catch which he ever had in
his life. Surprisingly, this fish turned into a beautiful princess. He felt in love with her and proposed her to be his wife. She
said; “Yes, but you have to promise not to tell anyone about the secret that I was once a fish, otherwise there will be a huge
disaster”. The man made the deal and they got married, lived happily and had a daughter.

Few years later, this daughter would help bringing lunch to her father out in the fields. One day, his daughter was so hungry
and she ate his father’s lunch. Unfortunately, he found out and got furious, and shouted;

‘Samosir!’ he shouted, and ran after the boy. Why were there only fish bones in the box? Did you eat my dinner?’

Samosir burst into tears, and cried loudly, saying, ‘Oh, Dad! It was horrible. A fox attacked me and ate all the food, and said
I had to keep it a secret…’

‘Don’t lie to me!’ his father shouted. His cheeks were bright red.

‘I’m not lying!’

‘Yes you are, you son of a fish!’

He slapped Samosir across the face. Samosir gasped and his mouth fell wide open. His father had never hit him before.

‘I’m not a son of a fish,’ said Samosir. He was crying again, but this time it was real.

The daughter ran home and asked her mother. The mother started crying, felt sad that her husband had broke his promise.

‘Mum, am I the son of a fish?’

‘Samosir. What did you just say?’

‘I said, “Am I the son of a fish?” Dad just said it to me…’

His mother started crying silently, and put her arms around him. ‘He has broken his promise.’

‘What, you really mean I am the son of a fish?’ He looked up at her face. ‘But you’re not…’

But as he spoke, his mother’s face started to change. It looked… smoother than before. And the light shone on it in a strange
way.

After picking up the box, Samosir’s father thought about what he had said. It was a joke, but then he had slapped his son… It
was a stupid thing to do. It started to rain, so he ran towards the house. He could see his wife inside, hugging Samosir, but
just then lightning struck, and the two of them disappeared.

Then she told her daughter to run up the hills because a huge disaster was about to come. When her daughter left, she prayed.
Soon there was a big earthquake followed by non-stop pouring rain. The whole area got flooded and became Toba Lake. She
turned into a fish again and the man became the island of Samosir.