Mentiko Betuah >> Edisi Bahasa Indonesia
Folklore from Aceh
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Folklore from Aceh
A long time ago, there was a kingdom in Semeulue, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. The king and the queen had a son, the prince. They loved the prince very much. They always gave him anything he wanted and that made him grow as a spoiled young man.
The king realized his mistake. He wanted to give the prince a lesson. He asked the prince to leave the palace and became a merchant.
"I will give you some money. Use the money only for trading. Don't come back until you are rich!" asked the king.
The prince was sad. He knew his father was angry with him because he was a spoiled boy. He then promised to himself that he could become a great merchant.
After he left the palace, he went to a village. While he was walking, he saw some kids were trying to shoot a bird using their slingshots.
"Stop! Don't hurt the bird! I'll give you some money if you stop hurting him," said the prince.
After that, he gave some money to those kids.
Later, he saw some men were torturing a snake. Again, the prince asked them to stop hurting the snake. He also gave them some money. He kept on giving some money to people who tortured animals. Finally he did not have any money at all. He was so worried. He knew he could not become a merchant without any money in his pocket. He was also scared of going home. His father would be very angry at him.
Next, the prince went to the forest. He did not know anywhere to go. While he was sitting under a big tree, a giant snake came to him. He was so frightened.
"Don't worry, young man. I will not eat you. I am the king of snakes in this jungle. I heard you helped many animals from being tortured. Now, I want to give you a gift. This is Mentiko Betuah. This magical stone can give you anything you want."
The prince was happy. He asked the Mentiko Betuah to give him a lot of money. Amazingly, the prince later had a lot of money. So he went home and told his father that the money was from his business as a merchant.
The prince kept the Mentiko Betuah carefully. He went to a goldsmith and asked him to make the magical stone as a ring. Unfortunately, the goldsmith stole the Mentiko Betuah. The prince was angry. Luckily he had made friends with the animals. Then they all helped him find the Mentiko Betuah.
A cat, a dog, and a mouse went together to find the magical stone. They finally found the goldsmith. However they could not enter his house, only the mouse could. After waiting for a moment, the mouse came out of the house. He said he could not find the magical stone.
After that they all went back to the palace. The cat and the dog did not know that the mouse actually had found the magical stone. He was hiding it in his mouth. He then gave the Mentiko Betuah to the prince. He was so happy and said that the mouse was the hero.
The cat and the dog were jealous and angry. They tried to kill the mouse. That's why until now cats and dogs always try to catch mice. ***
