MaT Jambol and the turtle

Mat jambol and the turtle story

One day, while Mat Jambol was out fishing, a large wave smashed into boat. Mat Jambol hit his head against the side of the boat and fell into the water. When he awoke, he found himself being helped by two turtles The larger one held him up by swimming under him, and the smaller one bit him gently from time to time to keep him awake. Together, the turtles brought him
to the shore near his village.

When Mat Jambol told his friends what had happened none of them believed him. They thought he would come to his sense when his wound healed, but Mat Jambol just smiled to himself.

A few week later, a terrible storm came to the island. The wind blew, and it rained very hard for several days. During the storm. Mat Jambol stayed inside his house and repaired his nets. When the rain stopped. He went out to look at the sea. The beach was covered with turtles! There were turtles from one end of the beach to the other. They were very large and had strange makings on their grey shells.

A little boy came running up the beach to Mat Jambol. “Mat Jambol,” he said, “Loook at the turtles! What kind are they? What are they doing? Where did they come from?”

Mat Jambol smiled. “You ask so many questions,” he said. “these are leatherback turtles. They usually go to Dungun in Trengganu to lay their eggs, but perhaps, because of the storm, they have come here instead. Just think, they have come all the way from the Indian Ocean,”

Soon everyone in the village had come to watch the turtles lay their eggs. The turtle dug holes in the sand and laid their eggs in the holes.

“Why don’t we dance on the turtles for good luck?” said one village woman.

Mat Jambol laughed. “that’s just an old wives’ tale,” he said. “Besides, you might hurt the turtles.”

Soon the turtles had finished laying their eggs. They covered the eggs with sand then went back into the sea.

Mat Jambol called the little boy, “We must protect the turtles egg,” he said, “Tell the other children to help you look after them so that dogs and snakes don’t eat them.”

After that, the village children guarded the turtles’ eggs. And soon and the day came when the eggs began to hatch. Mat Jambol and the villagers helped the baby turtles out of their shells. They carefully put them in the water.

As the baby turtles swam away, Mat Jambol smiled. He was thinking of the two turtles which had saved his life

Juan and the bamboo shoots

Juan and the bamboo shoots story

Juan left home and went to another town. He lost his way and could not find his relative’s house. As it was past midday, a kind old man invited Juan into his house for lunch. There was a dish of young bamboo shoots on the table. Juan had never seen such food before. He tasted it. It was delicious. Soon Juan had finished it without leaving any for the old man.

“That was a very tasty dish,” Juan said. “What kind of food was it?”

“Oh, it’s only bamboo,” the old man replied. He was surprised Juan did not know what it was.

When Juan returned home, he ask his mother for his sharp bolo or knife.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“I’m going to make some vegetable salad with bamboo,” Juan answered. He then pulled down the bamboo ladder from the front of the house. He cut it into small pieces. Then he asked his mother to fetch him a big pot of boiling water. He placed the pieces of bamboo in it and boiled them.

Although he boiled the bamboo pieces for hours and hours they never became soft enough to eat.

When his neighbours heard what had happened, they laughed at him and said how silly he was.

The king’s Kinka

The king’s Kinka story
(Favourite story from Thailand)

The kinka is a small lizard with a red ring around its neck. This story is about a kinka that lived in the king’s garden.

One day the king took a walk through his garden. He looked at the birds and the flowers. He looked at the trees. Suddenly he noticed a kinkas do when they are frightened.

“Look at this,” said the king. “this lizard is very clever. He knows how to behave before the king. He is certainly the most polite animal I have ever seen.”

The king called his gardener. “I want you to feed this kinka. Give him some meat each day. Here is a bag of gold coins to pay for the meat.”

And so, each day the gardener used two gold coins to buy meat for the kinka. The kinka grew fat and lazy. He no longer ran through  the garden.

One day the gardener was too busy to buy meat. Instead, he hung the two gold coins around the kinka’s neck. The kinka climbed to the top of the garden gate. Soon the king came along on his daily walk. He saw the kinka. This time the kinka did not nod its head because the coins around its neck were so heavy. It simply looked down on the king.

“What a proud kinka you are,” said the king. “You are too proud to be polite.”

After that the king refused to buy any special meat for the kinka. Like other animals, the kinka once again had to find its own food.

Sri Thanonchai story

Sri Thanonchai story

(Folktale from Thailand)

Sri Thanonchai was a very clever man. Some people thought he was too clever. Others thought he was just a fool. They all talked about him.
Folktale from Thailand

When the king heard about Sri Thanonchai, he was surprised. “I am a clever man myself,” said the king. “Surely this fellow cannot be more clever than I am.”
Folktale from Thailand 

The king decided to visit Sri Thanonchai. He put on old clothes and called for his elephant. He rode to Sri Thanonchai’s house near the river. Sri Thanonchai was sitting on the step.
Folktale from Thailand 

“That’s a nice elephant you have, mister,” he called out. “Why, thank you,” said the king. “In fact, it’s a palace elephant. I work there.”
Folktale from Thailand 

“Then you must be very clever.”

“Yes, I’m one of the king’s minister. I’m almost as clever as the king himself.”

“Oh, no one is as clever as the king,” said Sri Thanonchai.

“Some people say you are,” the king said. “So I have come to test you. If you are more clever than I am, perhaps you are as clever as the king.”
Folktale from Thailand 

“What kind of test did you have in mind?”

“Well,” said the king, “I don’t suppose that you’re clever enough to make me jump into the river.”

Sri Thanonchai thought about this, he looked at the river, and he looked the king. He scratched his head. “No,” he said.  “I’m not that clever. I can’t make you jump into the river.”
Folktale from Thailand 

“Then I win,” said the king.

Sri Thanonchai looked at the king. He looked at the river, and after a while he said, “Of course I am not clever enough to make you jump into the river. But it would be even more difficult to make you climb out. Only a very, very clever man could make you do that.”
Folktale from Thailand 

Hearing this, the king jumped into the river. “Are you clever enough to make me climb out?” he shouted.
Folktale from Thailand 

Sri Thanonchai laughed. “You can stay there for all I care,” he said. “I made you jump into the river. Surely you are clever enough to climb out.”
Folktale from Thailand 

The king swam to the shore. He climbed out of the water. “Sri Thanonchai,” he said, “You bare more clever than I am. You are the cleverest man in the kingdom.
Folktale from Thailand 

Legend - How the Philippines was made

How the Philippines was made story

Many thousands of years ago, a man and his wife lived in the Philippines, they were called Angngalo and Angngarab.

One morning, they went to
gather some shellfish. Inside one, they found a pearl. It was an unusual yellow colour and very large.

Angngalo gave it to Angngarab. “Oh!” she said, “I can find many more pearls than you!”

Soon they were quarrelling and shouting at each other. They ran along the seashore looking for shellfish. Before, they had a big pile in front of them. They pulled open the shells and looked in them for pearls.

“I’ve go more pearls than you!” shouted Angngalo.

“No, you haven’t!” answered Angngarab. “Anyway, my pearls are bigger than yours!”

Soon, they were fighting. They threw the shells and pearls at each other. (That is why there are so many shells and pearls in the Philippines) They rolled on the ground and stamped their feet.

There was aloud “Boom!” and “Crack!”. The mountains and hills began to split. The water in the rivers and lakes flooded the land.

They still continued fighting. Suddenly, there was a great storm, with thunder lighting. The land broke into several parts. Luzon was in the north, the Visayan Islands were in the middle, and Mindanao in the south.

Because of this, there are now over seven thousand islands in the Philippines.

The old man who like dragons

The old man who like dragons story

Once upon a time, there was an old man who said he liked-dragon. He even painted dragons on the doors and walls of his house.

The King of the dragon lived in the palace of the Queen Mother of the West. When he heard about
the old man, he decided to go and see him. After arriving at his house; he put his head through a window on one side and his tail through a window on the other.

“Old man, are you at home” he called out.

The old man did not answer, he was very frightened to see the dragon.

“don’t be afraid, old man,” the Dragon King said. “I won’t hurt you.”

But the old man opened the back door and ran out of the house.

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Now I know you do not like real dragons,” the Dragon King called after him. “You only like pictures of them.”

The fox and the tiger

Narrative text - The fox and the tiger story

One day a tiger caught a fox in the forest. Before the tiger could eat him up, the cunning fox cried out, “You cannot make a meal of me. Don’t you know that I am King of the forest? If you eat me up, all the other animals of the forest will be
very angry with you.”

The tiger did not believe him. “How can such a small animal be King of the Forest?” he asked himself.

“If you don’t believe me,” the fox said. “then take a walk with me in the forest. You can see for yourself whether or not the other animals are afraid of me.”

The tiger agreed to do so and they set off together, the fox walked in front and the tiger followed behind. When the other animals saw the tiger approaching, they ran off as they could. This was that the fox expected.

“See your self, Mr. Tiger,” he called out quickly. “All the other animals are afraid of me.”

“Yes, yes.” The tiger agreed. “You are quite right. You are really King of the Forest.”

He then let the fox go.