.jpg "The Amparan Gading Stone A Bengkulu Folktale for Kids")
Chapter 1: The Palace with the Ivory Stone
Once upon a time, in the land of Bengkulu, there lived a kind young king and his wife, Princess Gani. They lived happily in a grand royal palace with their two children, a little boy and a little girl.
Every afternoon, the young king loved to sit on the stone with his family. They laughed, told stories, and enjoyed the cool breeze together.
Chapter 2: The Queen Passes Away
One day, Princess Gani fell very ill. Sadly, she passed away. The young king was heartbroken, and his two little children cried and cried. They were still so small, and they needed a mother's warm hugs.
Little Girl: "Daddy, when will Mommy come home?"Young King: "My darling, Mommy has gone far away. But Daddy will always be here with you."
After some time, the young king decided to marry again, so that his children would have a mother to care for them. He married a princess, the daughter of the King of Hulu Sungai.
Chapter 3: The Unkind Stepmother
At first, the new queen was sweet and loved the king and his two children. But her kindness did not last long.
The children were lively and loved to play, and their noisy games soon made her grumpy. When the king was away from the palace, she scolded the children again and again. Worse still, she often forgot to give them food, and they went to bed hungry.
Stepmother: "Stop making so much noise! You two give me a headache!"Little Boy: "We are sorry, Mother. We are only playing."
Because they were so sad and hungry, the children sometimes grew naughty. This only made their stepmother angrier.
Chapter 4: The Hungry Afternoon
One afternoon, the king was away on a journey. The two children had not eaten all day, and their tummies rumbled loudly. They went out to the courtyard and sat on the Amparan Gading Stone.
Little Girl: "Brother, my tummy hurts. I am so hungry."Little Boy: "Wait here, little sister. I will go and find something for us."Little Girl: "All right, Brother. I will wait right here."
The little boy picked up a small basket and set off. He walked and walked until he came to a place where villagers were pounding rice.
Little Boy: "Good afternoon, Granny. May I please have a few grains of rice for my little toy chickens?"Rice Pounder: "Of course, my child. Take as much as you need."Little Boy: "Thank you very much, Granny!"
He put the tiny grains of rice into his basket. As he walked back, he saw a little bengkarung, a lizard, scurrying along the path. He caught it gently to play with. Then he spotted red dadap flowers lying on the ground, as pretty as little shrimp. He gathered them up as gifts for his sister.
Chapter 5: The Terrible Misunderstanding
The little boy hurried back to the stone.
Little Boy: "Look, Sister! I brought you some flowers and a little lizard to play with!"Little Girl: "Oh, thank you, Brother! They are so pretty!"
The two children played happily on the Amparan Gading Stone. They scattered rice grains, red flowers, and shiny lizard scales everywhere. For a little while, they forgot how hungry they were.
Just then, their stepmother came home. She saw the rice grains, the red petals, and the shiny scales scattered on the stone. But she did not see toys. She saw the wrong things!
Stepmother: "What is all this?! Rice grains... shrimp shells... fish scales! You wicked children have stolen food from my kitchen!"Little Boy: "No, Mother! Please believe us! They are only flowers and a lizard's scales. We did not steal anything!"Little Girl: "Please, Mother, please! We are telling the truth!"
But the stepmother would not listen. She was so angry that she scolded them and hit them hard. The children cried and begged for mercy, but she did not stop. When she was finally done, she stomped back into the palace.
The two children were left on the stone, hurting and sobbing. They held each other tight until, tired from crying, they fell fast asleep.
Chapter 6: The Magic Poem
After a while, the little boy woke up. He looked at his sleeping sister, and fresh tears rolled down his cheeks. He remembered how unfairly they had been treated, and he felt so lonely and sad.
He wished they could run far, far away, but he did not know where to go. With tears in his eyes, he began to sing a sad little poem:
Oh Amparan Gading Stone, so wide and white,
Carry us up, up, up, into the light!
Mother and Father did not feed us today,
We wish to go home, to the sky far away.
Grains of rice were taken for stolen bread,
Red dadap flowers for shrimp, they said,
Lizard scales for fish, oh what a shame,
We are called thieves, but we are not to blame!
Suddenly, a wonderful thing happened. By the will of God Almighty, the Amparan Gading Stone began to rise!
Little Boy: "Sister, wake up! The stone is moving!"Little Girl: "Brother, what is happening? We are going up!"Little Boy: "Let me sing the poem again!"
He sang the poem once more, and the stone rose even higher. Again and again he sang, and every time, the stone climbed higher and higher into the sky.
Chapter 7: The King Comes Home
Soon, the young king returned from his journey. When he reached the palace, he stopped and stared in amazement.
Young King: "What is this? The Amparan Gading Stone is as tall as the palace roof! And... my children are on top of it!"
His heart pounded with fear. What if his precious children fell? He rushed to beat the big drum to call everyone in the palace.
Young King: "Everyone, please come quickly! My children are in danger! Help me bring them down!"
The palace people came running. Some tried to break the stone's base with heavy hammers. Some pushed with all their might to knock it over. Some even tried to climb it.
Palace Guard: "Your Majesty, it is no use! The stone will not break!"Palace Servant: "It is too strong, Your Majesty! And it keeps growing taller!"
Nothing worked. The stone stood firm, and it kept rising higher and higher. At last, everyone gave up and watched in silence.
Chapter 8: The Door to the Sky
The young king sat down sadly in the courtyard, unable to do anything. He wondered what mistakes he had made to deserve such a heavy sorrow. Before long, the stone was so high that he could no longer see his children.
Up above, the two children finally reached the door of heaven. But the sky door was shut tight!
Little Boy: "Sister, help me push! We must open it!"Little Girl: "I am pushing as hard as I can, Brother, but it will not open!"
Just then, a mighty Garuda bird flew by.
Little Boy: "Great Garuda, please help us! If you open this door, we will give you a big barrel as a gift."Garuda Bird: "Very well, children. I will help you."
The Garuda struck the sky door with its sharp beak. Tok! Tok! Tok! And slowly, the door swung open.
Little Girl: "Thank you, Garuda! Thank you so much!"
The children stepped inside, and what a wonderful place it was! The sky was beautiful, calm, and peaceful. Here, no one scolded them, and no one was unkind to them. They were safe at last.
Chapter 9: The Silent Witness
Once the children were safely inside, the Amparan Gading Stone slowly sank back down, by the will of God Almighty, until it rested in its old place in the palace courtyard.
The young king stayed in his palace with his new wife. The Amparan Gading Stone remained there too, a silent witness to the stepmother's cruelty.
And that is the legend of the Amparan Gading Stone, a folktale from southern Bengkulu. Parents there still tell it to their children at bedtime, as a gentle lullaby.
Play the Game! Experience the legend of the Amparan Gading Stone in our interactive game! Help the king's two children search for food, endure their stepmother's anger, and recite the magic poem that makes the stone rise higher and higher. It comes with voice narration and an Indonesian/English language option.
References:
- Prahana, Naim Emel. 1988. Cerita Rakyat Dari Bengkulu 2. Jakarta: Grasindo.
- Agni, Danu. 2013. Cerita Anak Seribu Pulau. Yogyakarta: Buku Pintar.
- Komandoko, Gamal. 2013. Koleksi Terbaik 100 plus Dongeng Rakyat Nusantara. Jakarta: PT Buku Seru.
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