The Wise King and the Kid

The Tale of Patience and Kindness: From Mosquito to Marriage

Raja Bijak dan Anak Kecil | Edisi Indonesia

Folklore from South Kalimantan

Once upon a time, there was a wise king. The king and his family lived in a big palace. There was a beautiful garden inside the palace. The king always let people come and have fun in the garden. Children loved the garden very much. They could play there any time they wanted.

There was a boy who also loved the garden. The boy's father had died, and he lived only with his mother. The boy did not have any siblings.

Unlike his friends who had toys, the boy only played with his mosquito. One day, the boy brought his mosquito to the palace garden. It was almost dark when the king came to him.

"Why don't you go home now? It's almost dark, and I'm sure your mother is looking for you," said the king.

"All right, Your Majesty. But may I leave my mosquito here? I will tie my mosquito to the tree in this garden," replied the boy.

The king smiled and said, "Sure, you can tie your mosquito here."

The next day, the boy could not find his mosquito. The king's rooster had eaten his mosquito!

The boy reported this to the king, and the king said, "Well, you can have the rooster then..."

The boy was happy. He played with the rooster all the time. One day, the rooster was inside the palace kitchen and eating the king's rice. A soldier tried to make the rooster leave the kitchen. Unfortunately, the rooster did not leave. The soldier became upset and used a stick to scare the rooster.

Sadly, he hit too hard. The rooster died, and the boy was sad. He told the king about the stick. The king said he could have the stick. The boy was happy.

He then said, "May I put my stick in the garden? My house is not big enough, and I don't know where to put it."

The king allowed the boy to put the stick inside the palace garden. The next day, the boy found the stick was broken! A big jackfruit had fallen and broken the stick. The boy immediately told the king.

The king said, "You can have the jackfruit."

The boy was happy. He then said, "My house is not big enough. I don't know where to put this big jackfruit. May I leave it here in the garden?"

The king said yes. The next day, the king's daughter was playing in the garden. The princess saw the big jackfruit. She loved to eat jackfruit.

"Hmm, yummy, this jackfruit is so delicious," said the princess.

The boy saw the princess eating his jackfruit. He immediately told the king:

"Your Majesty, the princess ate my jackfruit," said the boy.

"Really?" replied the king.

"Yes, Your Majesty. She is in the garden now!"

The king and the boy went to the garden.

The king said, "First, my rooster ate your mosquito, and then you got my rooster. After that, your rooster died because my soldier hit it with a stick. Then you got the stick. Later, the stick was broken by the jackfruit. You got the jackfruit. Now the jackfruit is eaten by my daughter. It means that you can have my daughter."

The boy was confused. "What do you mean, Your Majesty? I don't understand."

"You will understand later," said the king.

Well, the king had a plan. He would ask the boy and his daughter to get married when they were adults.

The king kept his promise. When they both were adults, the boy and the princess were married. After the king died, the boy became the new king. He led his people wisely just like the previous king. ***

Moral Message

The moral of the story is that patience and persistence can lead to unexpected rewards. The boy's series of seemingly unfortunate events ultimately led to a great outcome, showing that even in the face of loss and hardship, there can be a positive resolution. Additionally, the story emphasizes the importance of generosity and kindness, as demonstrated by the wise king who continually tried to make amends for the boy's losses, leading to a happy ending for both the boy and the princess.

Jackfruit