Folklore from West Java
ONCE upon a time, there was a kingdom named Umbul Wening. The king was Prabu Ranubahu. He had a very beautiful daughter. Her name was Dewi Arum. She had a strange habit. She liked to swim in a pond. She could spend hours swimming and forgot everything. Her parents often reminded her not to swim too long. And the king often got angry when Dewi Arum swam in the pond and neglected her duties as a princess.
Meanwhile, people lived happily. However their happy lives were disturbed when they suffered a terrible illness. And that made the king sad. He already asked the palace healer to heal them. Unfortunately the palace healer was also unable to heal the illness.
The king then prayed to god. Days and nights he asked god to heal the illness. And when the king was sleeping, he had a dream. An old man told the king that the illness could be healed with flowers in the pond. And the person who had to pick the flowers was Dewi Arum. However the pond was in Krendawahana jungle.
When the king woke up, he immediately called the princess. He told her about the dream and asked her to pick the flowers. Actually the king was not sure his daughter could go there. It was very far from the palace. The king then asked the ladies-in-waiting to accompany the princess.
After going through a very difficult journey, the princess and the ladies-in-waiting finally arrived in Krendawahana jungle. Nobody had ever been to this jungle before. Wild animals were everywhere. They all were really scared. They all hoped to find the pond soon and picked the flowers. They really wanted to leave the jungle immediately.
Finally, they found the pond. It was very beautiful. The water was very clear. For a moment, they all forgot about their mission. They were amazed by the beauty of the pond. The princess was the happiest person. She had never seen a beautiful pond like this. She swam and swam for hours. The ladies-in-waiting had tried to remind the princess. They asked her to pick the flowers and went home. Unfortunately she ignored them.
Meanwhile the king was waiting in the palace. He was very restless. He knew the people really needed the flowers to heal the illness.
The king was impatient. He could not wait any longer. He then went to the jungle to follow the princess. When the king arrived at the pond, he saw the princess swimming! The king was really angry.
“Dewi Arum! What are you doing here? Our people are dying and you are having fun swimming in the pond. I’ve told you many times not to neglect your duties. You are allowed to swim but you have to do your duties first. I’m really disappointed with you! You don’t deserve to be the princess and live in the palace. You deserve to live here in the pond!” said the king.
He was really angry.
Amazingly, the princess disappeared from the water. Later it appeared a beautiful flower. The king was surprised.
He regretted what he said. But it was too late. He knew his daughter could not live with him in the palace anymore. The princess had changed into beautiful flowers. And when the king brought the flower to the palace, surprisingly everybody was cured. And people were also amazed by the flowers. They named it Lotus. ***
ONCE upon a time, there was a kingdom named Umbul Wening. The king was Prabu Ranubahu. He had a very beautiful daughter. Her name was Dewi Arum. She had a strange habit. She liked to swim in a pond. She could spend hours swimming and forgot everything. Her parents often reminded her not to swim too long. And the king often got angry when Dewi Arum swam in the pond and neglected her duties as a princess.
Meanwhile, people lived happily. However their happy lives were disturbed when they suffered a terrible illness. And that made the king sad. He already asked the palace healer to heal them. Unfortunately the palace healer was also unable to heal the illness.
The king then prayed to god. Days and nights he asked god to heal the illness. And when the king was sleeping, he had a dream. An old man told the king that the illness could be healed with flowers in the pond. And the person who had to pick the flowers was Dewi Arum. However the pond was in Krendawahana jungle.
When the king woke up, he immediately called the princess. He told her about the dream and asked her to pick the flowers. Actually the king was not sure his daughter could go there. It was very far from the palace. The king then asked the ladies-in-waiting to accompany the princess.
After going through a very difficult journey, the princess and the ladies-in-waiting finally arrived in Krendawahana jungle. Nobody had ever been to this jungle before. Wild animals were everywhere. They all were really scared. They all hoped to find the pond soon and picked the flowers. They really wanted to leave the jungle immediately.
Finally, they found the pond. It was very beautiful. The water was very clear. For a moment, they all forgot about their mission. They were amazed by the beauty of the pond. The princess was the happiest person. She had never seen a beautiful pond like this. She swam and swam for hours. The ladies-in-waiting had tried to remind the princess. They asked her to pick the flowers and went home. Unfortunately she ignored them.
Meanwhile the king was waiting in the palace. He was very restless. He knew the people really needed the flowers to heal the illness.
The king was impatient. He could not wait any longer. He then went to the jungle to follow the princess. When the king arrived at the pond, he saw the princess swimming! The king was really angry.
“Dewi Arum! What are you doing here? Our people are dying and you are having fun swimming in the pond. I’ve told you many times not to neglect your duties. You are allowed to swim but you have to do your duties first. I’m really disappointed with you! You don’t deserve to be the princess and live in the palace. You deserve to live here in the pond!” said the king.
He was really angry.
Amazingly, the princess disappeared from the water. Later it appeared a beautiful flower. The king was surprised.
He regretted what he said. But it was too late. He knew his daughter could not live with him in the palace anymore. The princess had changed into beautiful flowers. And when the king brought the flower to the palace, surprisingly everybody was cured. And people were also amazed by the flowers. They named it Lotus. ***
