A Folktale from Central Java
Suta is a servant in a kingdom in Central Java. His duty is to look after the king's horses. Suta likes to take a walk after doing his chores.
One day, when Suta is walking near a lake, he hears a woman screaming. So, Suta hurries to find the source of the scream. Finally, he arrives near a big tree. He sees the king's daughter screaming. Above her, there's a giant snake about a strike.
Suta was afraid, but he is worried about the princess. So he takes a big stick and hit the snake in its head. The snake hisses in pain and finally dies.
"Thank you, Suta. You've saved my life," says the princess.
"No needed for that princess. It's my duty as your father's servant to help you."
Since that day, Suta and the princess become good friends. They even fall in love with each other. So, the princess tells Suta to go to her father and ask his permission to marry her.
The king is furious to hear about their plans.
"Suta is just a servant while you are my daughter, the princess. It is unacceptable for you to marry a servant."
The princess is sad to hear her father's answer, especially after her father throws Suta in jail for having the nerve to ask her to marry him.
In jail, Suta is not given anything to eat or drink. Hearing that, the princess makes a plan to break her lover out of jail. They succeed and they run far away. They rest near the river. There they get married and start a family.
The place where Suta and the princess raise their family is called Baturraden. Batur means servant while raden means noble. Nowadays, Baturaden is very interesting tourism spot. It's located at the foothill of Mount Slamet in Purwokerto, Central Java. ***
One day, when Suta is walking near a lake, he hears a woman screaming. So, Suta hurries to find the source of the scream. Finally, he arrives near a big tree. He sees the king's daughter screaming. Above her, there's a giant snake about a strike.
Suta was afraid, but he is worried about the princess. So he takes a big stick and hit the snake in its head. The snake hisses in pain and finally dies.
"Thank you, Suta. You've saved my life," says the princess.
"No needed for that princess. It's my duty as your father's servant to help you."
Since that day, Suta and the princess become good friends. They even fall in love with each other. So, the princess tells Suta to go to her father and ask his permission to marry her.
The king is furious to hear about their plans.
"Suta is just a servant while you are my daughter, the princess. It is unacceptable for you to marry a servant."
The princess is sad to hear her father's answer, especially after her father throws Suta in jail for having the nerve to ask her to marry him.
In jail, Suta is not given anything to eat or drink. Hearing that, the princess makes a plan to break her lover out of jail. They succeed and they run far away. They rest near the river. There they get married and start a family.
The place where Suta and the princess raise their family is called Baturraden. Batur means servant while raden means noble. Nowadays, Baturaden is very interesting tourism spot. It's located at the foothill of Mount Slamet in Purwokerto, Central Java. ***
