Long ago there lived in a village near a forest a poor man
alone with his child, called Siman.
Siman
was a ten-years-old boy, who went into the forest every day to gather brances,
because he had to help his father earning his bread.
One day
when he was cutting branches with a long knife, he saw an old man lying asleep
under a tree.
While
he was looking at that old man, a little, but dangerous green snake approached
the latter. He threw his knife quckly at the animal and hit it between hea and
neck. The old man awoke with a start. He turned his head around, saw the boy
and the dead snake and understood at once what had happened.
“I’m
very thankful, my boy. You’ve saved my life. I”ll give you a reward. Here are
there leaves. If you want to become a plant, put this green one in your mouth.
Will you become an animal, take this red one and if you wish to be a boy again,
put this white one in your mouth. And that’s for what you’ve done for me”.
Siman
was very curiuos and glad. He wanted to know the language of th plants. He put
the green leaf in his mouth and sid: “I want to be a plant.” Suddenly he was
gone and in his place stood a little plant.
“Good
morning”, said a tall tree nearby. “I’ve never seen you and I don’t know, where
you’ve come from.”
“I’ve
fallen from the sky”, was the answer. “How do you do?”
“I’m
very unhappy”, said the tall tree. “I’m very old, about two hundred years, but
I’ve to keep a secret. Listen, I’ll tell you the story:
Fifty
years ago a rich merchant was killed by two robbers in this forest. The
muderers hid the money among my roots. They didn’t divide their prize immediately,
because they were waiting for their leader. But before this third person had
come, they quarrelled about the coming division and killed each other. The
money is still here and I wish that somebody took it away.”
Siman
quickly put the white leaf in his mouth and was a boy again. He wanted to dig up
the money. He pricked his knife in the ground but frightened he stopped because
he heard a frighful roat behind him.
A big tiger was going to pounce upon him.
Quickly Simn put the red leaf in his mouth, saying:
“I want to be a tiger”. A young tiger stood immediately in
his place. “Oh,” said the big tiger. “I’ve been mistaken, just now I saw a
little boy and now I see a fellow animal. My eyes are perhaps not good any more”.
And he went away with a sigh.
Siman
thanked the Lord for saving his life and wanted to put the white leaf in his
mouth again and to continue his digging, but it was gone.
He was
looking for it, when the cry of some hundreds of men sounded through the
forest. The Royal hunters were cathching tigers for the coming festivals. In
the square before the palace of the king, the people should enjoy fights
between tigers and buffaloes.
Siman
wanted to tell the hunters that he was a boy, but nobody understood him and in
less than no time he was caught. The hunters transported him in an iron cage to
the capital.
On
feasday a man turned him loose in the square to fight with a big buffalo, which
attacked him a once. Siman fled and crowd around the square cried: “A coward !
A coward !”
Siman was looking for a way out to escape when unexpectedly
he saw the old man from the forest.
He ran
to him, fell on his knees and begged him to save his life. The old man
recognized Silman’s voice.
Quickly
he stopped a white leaf in the mouth of the tiger and there stood Siman, the
little boy.
The
crowd was very afraid when the tiger tried to escape. A few soldiers had come
to kill him with speats, but near the old man they didn’t see him any more.
Siman
went home and told his father about his experience. The next morning they went
into the forest to dig up the money and so Siman became a rich man.
reference : Tjakrowardojo, Sutiman. 1960. Indonesian Stories. Semarang: Penerbit Semarang.
