Mat Jambol and the tiger story

Mat Jambol and the tiger story
Folktale from Singapore

One day, as Mat Jambol was mending his fishing nets, he saw a man running across the field towards him.
Folktale from Singapore

“Mat, come quickly” cried the man. “a tiger has eaten my chickens and killed my goat.”

Mat Jambol ran back across the field with the farmer. when they got to the farmer’s house, he looked carefully at the ground. The tigers’s track led to a small clearing in the forest not far from the farm. In the grass were chicken feathers and some bones.
Folktale from Singapore

“The tiger brought your
goat and chicken here to eat them,” said Mat Jambol. “I will build a trap for him,”
Folktale from Singapore

Cutting some bamboo, Mat Jambol made
long sharp stakes. These he pushed into the ground under a tree near the farmer’s house. When the bamboo stakes were pushed firmly into the ground. Mat Jambol covered them with some green leaves, tree branches and grass. Then he hung a dead goat from the tree. He covered the goat’s body with oil, and then walked home across the field.
Folktale from Singapore

That night, the moon was full and the hungry tiger come to the farm to look for food. As soon as he reached the farmyard he smelled the goat. “That stupid farmer has left his food outside,” thought the tiger as he followed the scent of the goat.
Folktale from Singapore

The farmer and his family were looking through the cracks of their house, watching the tiger in the moonlight. Suddenly the tiger leapt at the goat hanging from the tree. His orange and black body gleamed in the moonlight, for he was a very handsome tiger. The tiger caught the goat between his paw, and for a moment, it looked as if the farmer would lose another goat. But the goat’s body was slippery, so slippery that even the tiger couldn’t hold it. With a roar the tiger slid to the ground, and there he fell on Mat Jambol’s sharp bamboo stakes. The stakes went right through the tiger’s body. He died with a terrible scream.
Folktale from Singapore

The farmer and his family ran out of their house to look at the tiger. “Thanks to Mat Jambol, he won’t bother us again,” said the farmer.
Folktale from Singapore

The following day, Mat Jambol helped the farmer throw the tiger’s body into the sea.

“we must repay you for this kindness,” said the farmer. “Why don’t you come to dinner tonight?”

“I’ve got to repair my nets,” said Mat Jambol. “maybe some other time. But remember, you don’t owe me anything. I’m always happy to help a friend.”
Folktale from Singapore

The farmer went home. Happy that his chickens and goats would be now safe, and grateful that he had such a clever friend as Mat Jambol.

the giant snake of Yamata

The giat snake of Yamata story

Long, long ago there was a powerful spirit, called Prince of Susano. Once when he was travelling across the mountains, he heard some people crying. They crying came from a house where an old couple lived. He asked them what made them cry.

“A giant snake with eight heads live near us. Every year the snake comes here and takes one of our daughters away. It has already taken seven of our daughters and we have only one left. Tonight the giant snake will come again and take her too,” sobbed the old man.

“Don’t worry any more,” said the prince. “I’ll kill the giant snake. Let me think. Yes I have a good plan. Please ask
all the villagers to come here.”

The prince told the villagers to build a very strong fence with eight doors around the house. In the front of each door, they put a huge jar and filled it with strong wine. Everyone worked hard and soon the smell of wine filled the air.

The prince of Susano then spoke to the young girl, “Nothing will happen to you,” he said, he quickly changed her into  a small comb, “Now you will be safe!” the prince  put the comb into his hair.

When everything was ready, he hid the old couple and the villagers in a safe place, then he stood alone. Ready with his sword, waiting for the snake.

At midnight, he heard a strange sound and saw a giant snake with eight heads. Then the snake smelt the wine. It stretched its eight heads through the eight gates and drank from the eight jars. Because the wine was so strong, the snake soon become dizzy.

The prince was watching from behind a tree. “Now is the right moment,” he thought. He jumped out and cut off the snake’s eight heads. One after another, until the snake was dead. The prince also cut off the snake’s tail so that it could not come alive again. As he did this, he heard a loud noise. When he looked closer, he saw a fine sword. The prince took the sword and kept it as a treasure.

When he was sure that snake was dead, the prince took the comb from his hair and breathed on it. At once the old couple’s daughter came alive again and stood before him. She knelt down and thanked the prince and wept with relief that it was all over.

The old couple also thanked the prince for killing the horrible snake. “Now we can all live in peace again. We would be very happy if you stayed and lived with us,” said the old man.

The prince then decided to stay and live in the mountains. He asked the daughter to be his bride and live with him in a beautiful palace at Izume. They lived happily together there for a long time.

Retyped by www.englishstory12.blogspot.com

Source: Favourite stories from Japan  by Lise Pordes

The wise goat

The wise goat story

Over a river there was a very narrow bridge. One day a goat was crossing this bridge. In the middle of the bridge he met another goat. There was no room for them to pass. “Go back.” Said one goat to the other,” there is no room for both of us.”

“Why should I go back?” said the other goat. “Why shouldn’t you go back?”

“You must go back,” said the first goat. “because I am stronger than you.”

“You are not stronger than me,” said the second goat.

“We will see about that,” said the first goat, and he put down his horns to fight.

“Stop!” said the second goat. “If we fight, we shall both fall into the river and be drowned. Instead I have a plan I shall lie down, and you walk over me.”

Then, the wise goat laid down on the bridge, and the other goat walked lightly over him. So, they passed each other, and went on their ways.

The home of tortoise

the home of tortoise story

 

A long time ago, in a dessert lived a tortoise. The tortoise had a brown wrinkly body because the sun always beating down on him, without any protection his skin was getting burnt.

The cheetah couldn’t see him. Suddenly the tortoise tripped and tumbled down a steep, rocky mountain. Later that day, at the bottom of the mountain the tortoise woke up, spinning on his back. The tortoise felt a dizzy and he had a lot of pain, he tried to get up but he couldn’t. he felt something hard and heavy on his back. He realized he had a cracked rock on his wrinkly body.

The cheetah came crashing down the mountain to see if the tortoise was OK. He tried to help the tortoise to get up and pull the rock off his back. The tortoise screamed in pain because the rock wouldn’t come off. The cheetah said “You look better with the rock and it will protect you from the sun”.

The second husband story

The second husband story
Folktale from Cambodia

Once, long ago, a man and a woman had just got married. The man loved his wife very much. But, one day, a messenger came from the king. He told the man to come and fight in the king’s war. The man became very sad. He did not want to leave his wife. But he was so frightened that he obeyed. He prepared a little food and hurried away to join the messenger.
 Folktale from Cambodia

He was still near his house, when he stopped by a bo tree. Each time he tried to go on, he started to cry. Each time he walked away, he turned round and
came back. At last, he felt brave enough to leave.
Folktale from Cambodia

There was a spirit in that bo tree. When it saw the husband crying so much, it decided to go to his house. When it got there, it saw the man’s wife and fell in love with her. So, the spirit changed itself into a man. The man looked just like the woman’s husband. His face and body and colour were all the same.
Folktale from Cambodia

When the woman saw him. She thought, “My husband is back!” she cried out, “Oh! Why have you came back?”

“The king didn’t need me,” said the spirit so the wife gave him a meal. From that time on, they lived happily together.
Folktale from Cambodia

“The war was soon over and her real husband returned home. When she saw him coming she called out, “Husband!”
Folktale from Cambodia

But when she looked at the spirit she said. “But he’s my husband, too,” she did not know what to do.

The spirit was very angry. “listen,” he said to the real husband, “You have no right to say my wife is your wife,”
Folktale from Cambodia

“She’s my wife,” said the real husband. “I married her before I went away to the war. You have no right to say my wife is your wife.”
Folktale from Cambodia

They argued and argued. Finally they went to see the judge. They said to him. “You must decide who is this woman’s real husband.”
Folktale from Cambodia

The judge looked at the real husband and at the spirit. When he asked the wife, “Which one is your real husband?” the poor girl did not know what to answer. So the judge could not help them.
Folktale from Cambodia

The real husband was verysad. He went away to find someone who could help him. Soon he met a hare. “Where are you going?” asked the hare.
Folktale from Cambodia

The real husband told him the story. “And now I’m looking for someone who can help me,” he said.

“Don’t worry,” said the hare, “I’ll help you.”

So they went back to the judge. “Go and find an old bottle” the hare said. “The man who can get inside it is the real husband.” The judge found a bottle.
Folktale from Cambodia

The spirit was very happy. “I’ve won,” he thought. He became very small and climbed into the bottle.

“Get me a cork,” said the hare. “Put it in the bottle. Throw the bottle in the river. The thing in the bottle must be a spirit. No man in the whole world can climb inside the bottle.”
Folktale from Cambodia

So from that time on the real husband and his wife lived happily together.
Folktale from Cambodia

The hare and the elephant's mother

The hare and the elephant's mother story

One morning a hare went to look for food. He saw a tree trunk, covered with sticky gum. When he jumped up on the tree trunk, his tail and legs stuck to it. He could not get away.

Just then a baby elephant came along, looking for water. He liked to drink from the pond near the sticky tree trunk.

The hare was clever, he thought of a plant to set himself free. He called out, “Little elephant, don’t drink my water! A great god, Lord Indra has asked me to guard it.”

The baby elephant was too frightened to drink. He ran back to his mother. “Mother” he said, I went to drink
at the pond and I saw an animal on a tree trunk. He was guarding the water. He would not let me to drink. I was frightened of him and ran away. Oh, mother, I’m so thirsty!”

The elephant’s mother was angry. She took the baby elephant back to the pond. When she saw the hare on the tree trunk she cried out, “It’s only  a little hare!” now she was even more angry.

“You stopped my child from drinking here,” she shouted, “I shall kill you.”

“How dare you talk like that!” the hare replied. “Lord Indra told me to guard the pond, so nobody can drink while I’m here.”

The mother elephant was so angry that she wrapped her trunk around him and pulled him off the tree trunk.

“If you really want to kill me,” the hare said, “don’t throw me on the ground. Hares don’t die that way. Throw me up in the air, then I’ll die,”

The elephant was so stupid that she threw him up in the air. When he landed on the ground, he ran away into the forest.

The name of Hongkong legend

The name of Hongkong story

Do you know where the name Hong Kong comes from?

There are several interesting stories about this. A long time ago, there was a village near Arberdeen called “Hong Kong Ts’un” or “Incense Harbour Village”. The incense grown there was famous throughout China. Some of it was even sent to
the Chinese Emperor. Some people believe that the name Hong Kong comes from this village.

What happened to this village? One day, the Emperor wanted some incense sent to him from the village. The villagers did not send it to him. The Emperor then ordered his officer to arrest the village headmen and cut off their heads. After that, everyone ran away from the village and no more incense was grown there.

But some other people believe that Hong Kong is named after a container for burning incense. Long, long ago, this container was picked up in the harbor. It was kept in a tample at Causeway Bay. The place where it was found was called “Hong Kong” or “Incense Harbour”

There is a third story that Hong Kong is named after a woman called Hong ku. She was the wife of a pirate chief. After her husband died, she became the leader of the pirates. She then moved to the island which is now called Hong Kong. If this story is true, the name “Hong kong” means “Hong’s Harbour”.

According to yet another story, Hong Kong is named after a stream near Pokfulan Road. The water was very pleasant to drink. Many years ago, people used to go there to collect drinking water. The stream was called “Hong Kong” or “sweet stream”.