.jpg "Kabayan and the Loan Shark A Clever West Java Folktale for Kids")
Chapter 1: The Worried Morning
In a small village in West Java, there lived a funny and clever young man named Kabayan. He lived with his wife, Nyi Iteung, in a cozy little house near the rice fields.
"Oh no, oh no," he muttered to himself.Nyi Iteung noticed her husband's troubled face and asked, "Kang Kabayan, why do you look so worried today? You're wearing a hole in the floor with all that pacing!"Kabayan sighed and said, "How can I not worry, dear wife? Today the moneylender is coming to collect our debt, and we still don't have enough money to pay him."Nyi Iteung frowned. "Not again. Every time we pay, he still says we owe more."Kabayan nodded sadly. "That's the trouble with borrowing from a loan shark, Iteung. We pay and we pay, but the debt never seems to shrink. Our payments only cover his enormous interest — the actual amount we borrowed never goes down at all.""Then what will we do?" asked Nyi Iteung, wringing her hands.
Kabayan sat down and rubbed his chin, deep in thought. He remembered something important — a conversation he'd once had with his father-in-law.
Chapter 2: A Clever Idea
"Wait," said Kabayan, sitting up straight. "I remember now! Father-in-law once told me something very wise.""What did he say?" asked Nyi Iteung, leaning forward curiously.Kabayan cleared his throat and spoke in his father-in-law's deep, solemn voice. "He said: 'Look, Kabayan, no human being in this world is ever completely fearless. Courage and fear live together in every heart — even the heart of a cruel man. Your loan shark may be bold enough to defy the teachings of his own religion, ignoring the warnings against usury and unfair interest. But somewhere inside him, there is still something he fears. Find out what that is, Kabayan, and you will find your answer.'"Nyi Iteung's eyes lit up. "So we need to find what the moneylender is afraid of!""Exactly!" said Kabayan, grinning mischievously — his old playful spirit returning. "And I think I already know what frightens him most: trouble with the police! That man loves money more than anything, and he would hate nothing more than spending a single night behind bars.""So what is your plan?" asked Nyi Iteung, both curious and a little nervous.
Kabayan leaned in and whispered his plan. As he spoke, Nyi Iteung's worried face slowly turned into a wide grin, and soon she couldn't help herself — she burst into giggles.
"Oh, Kang Kabayan," she laughed, wiping a tear from her eye, "only you could think of something so silly and so clever at the same time! Come, let's get you ready before he arrives!"
Chapter 3: The Strange Bird
Working quickly, Nyi Iteung fetched a bucket of palm wine and poured it all over her husband from head to toe. Kabayan yelped at the sticky, sweet-smelling liquid dripping down his back.
"Hold still!" Nyi Iteung laughed. "This is the important part!"
Next, she rolled him across a pile of soft cotton fluff spread out in the yard. The cotton stuck to the sticky wine all over his body until Kabayan was completely white from head to toe, looking every bit like a strange, fluffy creature.
Then she painted his face bright red with a wooden mask, and finally helped him climb into an old chicken cage, draping a cloth over the top to hide him from view.
"There!" said Nyi Iteung, stepping back to admire her work. "You truly look like a magical bird now, Kang Kabayan!"
From inside the cage, a muffled voice replied, "I certainly feel like a very itchy bird, Iteung!"
Just then, they heard heavy footsteps approaching, and a sharp knock rattled the front door.
Chapter 4: The Moneylender Arrives
Nyi Iteung rushed to open the door, putting on her most innocent smile.
"Where is your husband?" the moneylender demanded the moment the door swung open, not even bothering to greet her. "I've come to collect what he owes me, and I will not leave without it!""I'm so sorry, sir," said Nyi Iteung politely, "but Kang Kabayan isn't home right now, so he cannot pay you today. Perhaps you could come back another time?"The moneylender's face turned red with anger. "That won't do at all! Where has he gone this time? Honestly, that man! He's bold enough to borrow my money, but the moment payment is due, he vanishes like smoke!""Actually, sir," Nyi Iteung explained calmly, "he has gone to see the chief of police. You see, he just caught the strangest bird this morning, and he wants to report it and hand it over to the officers. That very bird is right here, inside this cage."The moneylender's eyes went wide with greedy curiosity. "A strange bird, you say? I simply must see this for myself. Where is it?"
Chapter 5: The Magical Bird Escapes
"Please, sir, don't!" Nyi Iteung cried out, waving her hands. "You mustn't look! The chief of police gave the strictest orders — no one is allowed to see the magical bird until he arrives himself!"
But the moneylender's curiosity had already gotten the better of him. Ignoring her warning completely, he marched straight to the cage and yanked the cloth away.
The very instant the cage was lifted, Kabayan — covered head to toe in white cotton fluff — burst out flapping his arms wildly like wings!
"Wek wek wek wek! Balak-balak!" he shrieked in the strangest bird-like voice he could manage.
Then, in a flash, he dashed out through the back door and disappeared behind the trees, where he crouched down to watch everything unfold, struggling not to laugh.
The moneylender stood frozen, utterly stunned, mouth hanging open.
Chapter 6: A Debt Forgiven
"Oh no, oh no!" wailed Nyi Iteung, covering her face and pretending to sob loudly. "The magical bird is gone! It's gone forever!""Wh-what have I done?" the moneylender stammered, his face turning pale as a sheet.Nyi Iteung cried even louder. "What will we tell the chief of police now?! He trusted us to keep that bird safe, and now it's escaped because of you! You'll surely be thrown in jail for this — the chief will never forgive such carelessness!"At the word "jail," the moneylender began to tremble from head to toe. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and his knees knocked together in fear."Please, Nyi Iteung, I beg you!" he pleaded, his voice shaking. "Don't tell the police chief anything about me! Just say the bird flew away on its own, that no one touched it! And — and to make things right between us — let's consider your husband's debt completely paid off! Every last coin of it!"
Before Nyi Iteung could even respond, the moneylender turned and scurried away down the road as fast as his legs could carry him, glancing over his shoulder in fear the whole way.
Chapter 7: Laughter in the Sunshine
The moment the moneylender vanished around the bend, Kabayan stepped out from behind the trees, brushing bits of cotton from his hair.
Nyi Iteung ran to meet him, and the two of them collapsed onto the ground together, laughing until tears rolled down their cheeks.
"Did you see his face, Iteung?" Kabayan wheezed between laughs. "I have never seen a grown man so terrified of a chicken cage in all my life!""And did you hear yourself?" Nyi Iteung giggled. "Wek wek wek balak-balak! You sounded nothing like a bird — more like a duck with a bad cold!"
They laughed together in the warm afternoon sun, relieved and joyful. Not only had they outsmarted the cruel moneylender, but their troublesome debt was finally, truly gone.
And so, thanks to Kabayan's clever wit and Nyi Iteung's quick thinking, the poor villagers of that small corner of West Java learned once again that cleverness — not cruelty — always wins in the end.
Try the interactive version of the Kabayan and the Loan Shark folktale below! Help Nyi Iteung disguise Kabayan as a "magical bird" to outsmart the cruel loan shark. Complete with voice narration and Indonesian/English language options — tap "Start Story" to begin the adventure!
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