the white rabbit

The White Rabbit story

There once lived a white rabbit on a small island. One day, when he was on the beach, he saw a large island in the distance.

“There must be a lot of good fresh grass on that island. But how can I go to it without a boat?” while he was thinking about what to do a big

shark swam close to the beach. The rabbit saw the shark and called to him. “Hello, Mr. Shark, you look a clever fellow. Do you think there are more sharks than rabbits in this world?”

“We would have to count them to find that out,” answered the shark.

“Well,” said the rabbit, “You line up your sharks between this island and that one and I’ll count them.”

“Very well,” said the shark, and he called to all of his friends to come and float side by side between the two islands. When they were ready, the rabbit jumped from one shark to the next counting them. “One, two, three …..” he had almost reached the other island when he laughed and said without thinking, “You stupid shark! What is the use of counting you? I only wanted to cross over to this island.”

At once, the sharks were very angry because they did not like being cheated. They began to bite the white rabbit who asked them to forgive him. Finally they let go but all of his lovely white fur was torn off. His skin was bare.

He sat down and cried. Soon three men came along and asked him why he was crying. The rabbit told them what had happened. The men looked at each other and then one of them said, “The best thing you can do is to wash yourself in the sea and then let the sun dry you. Your wounds will heal and your white fur will grow again.”

The rabbit ran back to the sea and then sat in the sun. But his skin was only more painful. It began to hurt so badly that he cried out, “Who will save my life? Help! Help!”

A young man, who was coming along the road, stopped when he heard the rabbit crying. “What has happened to you, Rabbit?”

He asked. He felt sorry for the rabbit. The poor creature could not stop crying and told his story as the tears ran down his face. The young man was annoyed when he heard how the rabbit had been treated. “The three men did not give you good advice. Please forgive them. I’ll help you. Now, go and wash your body in fresh river water and I’ll get a bed ready for you.”

The rabbit did as he was told and returned to rest on the soft grass bed which the young man had made ready for him. The poor rabbit rested and was warm and comfortable. His white fur grew again. He was so happy that he did not try to cheat anyone again.

Folktale from Japan

The Cat and The Rat story

Folktale from Japan

Long ago, the God Heaven spoke to all of the animals in the world.
Folktale from Japan

“Twelve animals will be chosen to protect the world. Each one will do this for a year at a time. Come to my palace on the twelfth day of the first moon. The first twelve animals to arrive will be chosen.
Folktale from Japan

All of the animals waited excitedly for

the day. The Cat however  was very forgetful and could not remember which day it was. So she asked the Rat, “Which day do we go to the palace in Heaven to be chosen to protect the world?” The Rat wanted to be chosen so he said to the Cat, “On the thirteenth day of first moon, we will all go to the palace.”
Folktale from Japan

The Rat lived in the stable of the Ox. One evening, he heard the Ox getting ready to leave for the palace. “Why are you leaving so early?” asked the Rat.
Folktale from Japan

“Oh, my feet are so clumsy and slow.” Answered the Ox, “I must go now or I won’t  get there in time to be chosen.” As soon as the Ox turned to go, the Rat jumped into the bag on his back. The Ox did not know that he was carrying the Rat and he walked slowly through the night until he reached the palace. There were no other animals in front of him so he thought he must surely be the first. Just then, the Rat jumped out of the bag and ran to the gate.
Folktale from Japan

“The very first is the Rat,” he called out to the Ox.

The Ox was very angry but not as angry as the Cat. She went to the palace on the thirteenth day as she had been told by the Rat. There was nobody about so she thought she must be the first. However, the guard called out to her.
Folktale from Japan

“You are a day too late, Cat. The animals were chosen yesterday. First the Rat, then Ox, tiger. Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Cock, Dog and last of all, Bear. You shouldn’t be so sleepy, and look how dirty your face is! You shouldn’t was it better than you do. “With that he closed the gates.
Folktale from Japan

Since then, the Cat has hated the Rat and has always tried to catch him. She also keeps washing her face with her tongue because the guard told her how dirty her face was.
Folktale from Japan

Why herons and crows are enemies

 Why herons and crows are enemies story

A long time ago, all birds were the same colour. The only difference between them was their size. When they flew high in the air, people did not know what kind of birds they were. They all looked the same.

So the birds held a meeting and decided, “We shall all have different colours, then people can
see we are not all the same,”

After several hours, the birds decided that each kind of bird should choose, his own coplour, “but,” they said, “each one must be a different colour,”

All the birds agree. The herons were asked to paint them because herons were very good painters. The herons took away all the birds, in turn. They painted them just as each one wanted. At last, only the crows were left.

“Well,” said the leader or the herons, “What colour do you crows want to be?”

“You choose our colour, Mr. heron,” replied the crows.

“Ah,” said the heron. He looked at the crows and smiled to himself. Then he said, “We only paint at night, you know. Painting in the daytime is not so good. We’ll paint you when it’s dark. But you can paint us.”

So the crows painted the herons with clear, beautiful colours. The herons were very pleased.

That night, when it was very dark, they collected all the crows together. They took pieces of charcoal and blackened the crows all over. Then they flew away as fast as they could.

The next morning, the crows saw that the herons had tricked them. They were very angry. They wanted to kill the herons. They flew through the sky, crying out, and looking everywhere for the herons. But they could not find them.

That’s why herons only come out at night. If they come out in the daytime, the crows will kill them.

And that’s why crows fly and cry out above the forest. They are looking for the herons.

How the frog defeated the giant

How the frog defeated the giant story

A giant lived by himself in a hut in the forest. One night, it was raining very heavily. The giant could not sleep because some frogs were making a loud noise, “Oeng!” “Ang!” “Ang!” “Ong!”

He became very angry. He rushed outside to find them. It was so dark, he could not see where he was going. He stepped on some red ants and

killed them. At the same time, he knocked down a bird from a tree and broke its beak.

At last, he found the frogs. They were having a party near a river. He quickly killed them. He then returned home and slept until morning.

There was, however, a lady frog who had not been killed. She had been in a hole looking after her eggs when he had killed the other frogs.

She tought, “the giant is so wicked! He will certainly kill my children when they grow up. I must do something now to stop him.”

She hopped out from the hole to look for her friends.

Soon she met Mr. Red Ant who was crying.

“What’s the matter, Mr. Red Ant?” she asked him.

“It’s the giant. He’s killed all my friends and relatives. I am the only ant left.”

“It’s the same with me,” Mrs. Frog told him. “I’m all alone in the world except for my babies. We must do something to teach the giant a good lesson.”

Not long afterwards, Mrs. Frog and Mr. Red Ant met the snake with the broken back and the bird with the broken beak. She listened to their story. They both-agreed to go with them to punish the giant.

“But we’re all too small and weak to fight the giant,” Mrs. Frog said. “We must obtain help from our stronger and bigger friends like Mr. Tiger and Mr. Elephant.”

Mrs. Frog, followed by Mr. Red Ant, Mr. Snake and Mr. bird, went to see Mr. Tiger.

Mr. Tiger greeted her warmly. “It’s good to see you, Mrs. Frog, What can I do for you?”

Mrs. Frog explained everything to him:

“I would really like to help you but I’m getting too old to fight. I fought with the giant once before but he was too strong for me. But I shall ask my son to help you.”

He called his son. “Yes, father,” answered his son, looking hungrily at Mrs. Frog. “Do you want me to swallow Mrs. Frog?”

“Don’t talk like that,” his father replied. “Mrs. Frog is an old friend. I want you to help her fight the giant.”

Mrs. Frog followed by Mr. Red Ant, Mr. Snake, Mr. Bird and Master Tiger-then went to see Mr. Elephant.

“I shall be very glad to help you,” promised the elephant. “The giant has always been very wicked to me. Whenever I meet him, he twists my tall, It’s very painful,”

Mrs. Frog gathered all her friends around her. She told them exactly what to do. After she had finished, she said. “We shall have to wait until it’s dark. The giant will not be able to see us coming then.”

After sunset, they all went to the giant’s hut.

The red ant ran inside the front door, The snake and the bird entered by the back door. The snake hid himself in the kitchen behind a jar of water and the bird near the fire. The tiger and elephant waited outside.

The red ant climbed straight into the giant’s ear. He bit it as hard as he could. The giant screamed in pain. He ran into the kitchen to find a light so that he could see what had happen to him. As he bent down over the fire the bird threw some dust into his eyes. He was blinded. He wanted to wash his eyes in the jar of water but the snake bit his hand. The elephant then shook the hut. It seemed as if it would fall down.

The giant was very very frightened. He did not know what to do. He ran out of the back of the hut, towards the river. The tiger ran after him. Although the tiger jumped on him. The giant was too strong for him and escaped. But he ran so fast that he slipped and fell into the river. He was carried away by the water and never seen again.

Why Dayaks like hornbills

 Why Dayaks like hornbills story

One day a Dayak named Ketupong went into the jungle to hunt birds. He saw one with strange red eyes. He raised his blowpipe to his mouth. “Psst” the dart hit the bird. He bent  down to pick it up. Suddenly it changed into a beautiful dress made of bird’s feathers. He put it in the bamboo

container he used for his darts. It was so finely made and soft that it could be folded up into a small space.

“Have you seen my dress?” he turned round to see who had spoken to him. There was a lovely girl standing behind him. He did not know where she had come from.

“Yes” he said “here it is. But I shan’t give it to you unless you promise to marry me.” He had never seen such a lovely girl before and his mother was always telling him to get married.

The girl agreed, provided that he never asked her to tell him her name. they were soon married. The next year, they had a son. Ketupong and his wife (he just called her “wife”) were very happy together. They loved their son dearly. However, Ketupong often noticed that his wife was looking up at the sky. “What are you looking at?” he asked. But she only shook her head.

Then he saw his wife weaving two coats. They were a bright green color with an unusual pattern like bird’s feathers.

“who are you making those coats for?” he asked.

“they are for you and our son,” she answered. “When they are finished, you can wear them to fly up into the sky.”

“I don’t want to fly,” he said.

“Silly, she smiled. “Don’t you know who I am? I am Inchin Temaga, daughter of Singalang Burong, my house is in the sky.”

Ketupong was surprised. He had heard of Singalang Burong. He was the Dayak God of war, a great general who had never lost a battle. “In that case, my wife must be a fairy,” he thought to himself.

Suddenly, his wife’s body became covered with feathers. In a few minutes, her arms changed inton wings. She rose into the air. He tried to stop her but it was too late. She flew up, up, into the sky. “Come back! Come back!” he dried. Her voice came floating down, “If you want to visit me, wear the coats I have made for you.”

Years went by. All this time, the son was sad that he could not see his mother. He looked so unhappy that his father did not know what to do.

“take me to my mother,” the boy cried. “I want to see my mother again.”

“But how can I?” asked his father. Then he remembered the coats which his wife had left behind. So they put on the coats. They immediately felt much lighter. Soon they were able to fly up into the sky. They saw a great palace in front of them.

The palace gates opened and a man wearing a splendid Dayak war dress appeared. He was Singalang Burong

“Welcome, Ketupong!” he roared. “My daughter and I have been waiting for you. Why have you been so long?”

Then Inchin Temaga appeared. She was not very pleased to see her husband as she had heard that he had remarried.

“Go back to earth!” she told him. “I know that you now have another family there. Our son can stay here with me. My father can teach him a lot. He can follow you later.”

So Ketupong had to return to earth.

Singalang Burong was very pleased to see his grandson.

At about that time, one os Singalang Burong’s men was killed by a giant named Jubang. Singalang Bulong showed his grandson the correct way to pay respects to the dead. He told him to pack all the dead man’s belongings into a box. “The box cannot be opened,” he said. “until we have taught the giant a good lesson. We must cut off his head.”

The next day the boy went with his grandfather to look for the giant.

On the way, Singalang Burong taught him how to use magic and how to look for good and bad signs.

Soon they reached the longhouse where the giant was staying. They decided to wait outside until it was dark. When they entered the longhouse. Singalang Burong gave a terrible shout. He threw his spear at the giant. The Giant fell to the ground. He then leapt forward and cut off the giant’s head with one blow of his sword. All the other people living in the longhouse, who were the giant’s prisoners, were set free.

When Singalang Burong and his grandson returned home with the giant’s head, everyone was happy. They held a feast which lasted three days and nights.

After the feast was over, Singalang Burong pointed to the carving of a strange-looking bird on top of a tall pole.

The bird’s beak was pointed in the direction of the giant’s house.

“What’s that, grandfather?” the boy asked.

“It’s a hornbill. It is one of the sacred birds of the Dayaks. We believe that it will help us to beat our enemies in battle.”

“Why do you use a hornbill, grandfather?”

“Don’t ask so many questions,” said the old man. “Probably because it’s such large and strong bird. Anyway, its head and tail feathers are very beautiful.”

Later when the boy returned to earth, he taught his father and everyone living in his father’s longhouse what he had learned from his grandfather.

The Magic Box

The Magic Box Story

Once upon a time, there was a poor farmer who dug up a big box in his field. He took it home with him and showed it to his wife. His wife cleaned it and kept it in their house. One day, she dropped an apple
into it. Immediately the box began to fill up with apples. No matter how many were taken out, others took their place. So the farmer and his wife sold the apples and were able to live quite comfortably.

Then the farmer dropped a coin into the box. At once, the apples disappeared and the box began to fill itself with coins. Every day, the farmer and his wife collected hundreds and hundreds of dollars from the box. Soon they became very rich.

Now the farmer’s grandfather lived with the couple. He was not very strong and he could not go out to work. So the farmer asked the old man to help him take the money out of the box. When his grandfather became tired and wanted to rest, the farmer shouted at him. “Why are you lazy? Why can’t you work harder?

The old man did not say anything but he continued working until he fell inside the box and died. At once, the money disappeared, and the box began to fill up with dead grandfathers.

The farmer had to pull them out and bury them. To do this, he had to spend all the money he had collected. When he had used up all the money, the box and the farmer was just poor as he was before.  

Mahosoth story

Narrative text -Mahosoth story
(Favourite story from Thailand)

In one of his lives the Buddha was born the son of a merchant. The merchant called the boy Mahosoth. Mahosoth was a very clever boy, and he grew up to be a very wise man. He was good at ending quarrels
, and solving other problems in his village.

Soon people beyond the village learned about this wise man, Mahosoth. Word came to the king himself that Mahosoth was the wisest man in the kingdom. The king could hardly believe the stories he heard. He did not believe that anyone could be so wise. Therefore, the king decided to test Mahosoth’s wisdom. He sent for the headman of the village where Mahosoth lived.

“The cattle in your village are not having enough calves,” said the king. “From now on, all your bulls must have calves.”

The headman returned to the village. He did not know what to do because he could not think of any way to carry out the king’s command. Finally he decided to ask Mahosoth for advice.

The next day Mahosoth sent a boy from the village to see the king. “Sire, you must help me: my father is going to have a baby.”

“You are a fool,” said the king. “Men can’t have babies.”

The village boy smiled. “That is true, sire. And bulls cannot have calves.”

Hearing this, the king knew that Mahosoth had sent the boy. He sent for Mahosoth and made him a counselor so his wisdom could help the whole kingdom.