The Legend of Redhill

The story of Redhill

Once upon  time there were many swordfish in the sea near Singapore. These swordfish caushed a great deal of trouble. They flew into boats and sometimes killed fishermen. There were so many of these swordfish that the raja decided to kill them.

So the raja brought his army down to the sea to fight the swordfish. Many people came to watch the battle, and among them was a very clever little boy. The little boy watched the soldier in their uniform, their long swords shining in the sun. he thought to himself that he would like to be a soldier when he grew up.

The legend of Redhill

When the captain gave the signal, the soldier stood in long line on the beach and waited for the swordfish to attack. Soon the swordfish came leaping and flying across the water. Wave after wave of then came. They noses, and many soldiers died.

Suddenly the little boy saw the raja sitting sadly beneath a tree. He ran to raja and said. “Please, Sir. I think I know how to stop the swordfish.”

“Do you. Indeed, little boy?” said the raja looking to cut at the boy’s bare feet and ragged clothes.

“Yes, Sir,” the boy said. “Tell the soldiers to take those banana trees over there. Then tie the trees together to make a wall to stop the fish.”

“That’s a wonderful idea,” said the raja. He turned to his captain. “Why didn’t you think of that, Captain? Tell your men to start at once.”

The captain looked angrily at the little boy before he told his men what to so. The soldiers cut the banana trees and tied them together with strong ropes. They used more ropes to pull the wall to the edge of the water. This time, when the swordfish came, they flew out of the water and their swords stuck in the wall of banana trees. They couldn’t move, and so it was easy for the soldiers to kill them.

“Well done, men.” Said the raja to the soldiers. “And thank you, little boy,” he said to the boy.

The little boy bowed to the raja and ran back to his home on the hill by the sea. The raja thoughtfully watched him go. That’s very clever child,” he said to the captain.

The captain was still angry because the boy had made him look stupid. “Perhaps, Sir, he is too clever. Clever little boy can grow into dangerous man.”

The raja thought about this, and the more he thought the more he worried. A few days later the captain came to see him again.

“Sir” he said. “I am worried about that little boy. He is too clever. Some day, he will make a lot of trouble for us.”

“You are right, Captain,” said the raja. “I think we should stop him now, before it’s too late.”

“Good,” said the captain. “I’ll take care of it tonight.”

That night the captain and some of his soldiers climbed the hill where the little boy lived. They quietly went into his house and killed him with their swords.

The little boy’s blood ran freely down the hill. Soon the whole hill had turned red, and it is red to this every day. When the people heard what raja’s captain had done, they named this place Redhill. And even now, they remember the story of the clever little boy who stopped the swordfish.