%20Bengkulu%20Folktale%20for%20Kids%20(1).jpg "The True Mother (Bunda Sejati) Bengkulu Folktale for Kids")
Chapter 1: The Spoiled Little Kitten
Once upon a time, long, long ago, in a thick green forest, there lived a mother cat and her little kitten.
Even when the kitten grew bigger and stronger, the mother cat kept on doing the very same thing. Day after day, the kitten only ate, yawned, and napped in the warm shade.
And so, little by little, the kitten became a very lazy cat.
Chapter 2: Mother Is Not Well
One day, the mother cat felt very weak. Her paws were heavy, her head felt hot, and her whole body ached. She had worked so hard for so many years, and now she had become ill.
She slowly called her kitten to her side.
Mother Cat: "My dear child, come and sit beside me."Kitten: "What is it, Mother? I am so hungry. Where is my breakfast?"Mother Cat: "My child, I am very sick today. You have grown up now, and you are big and strong. It is time for you to learn to find your own food."Kitten: "But Mother, you always find my food for me!"Mother Cat: "I know, my dear. But I can no longer do it. Please learn to live on your own, so that you will be safe and happy, even when I am not by your side."
Chapter 3: The Kitten Runs Away
The kitten had lived such a lazy life that he did not understand his mother's loving words. He thought she was sending him away.
Kitten: "So you do not love me anymore! Fine, then. I will go!"Mother Cat: "Oh, my child, that is not what I meant..."
But the kitten did not stop to listen. He turned around and walked away, leaving his sick old mother behind.
The kitten walked and walked, with no place in mind. After a long while, he lifted his head and saw the bright, dazzling sun shining high in the sky.
"How wonderful it must be to be the sun!" he dreamed. "If the sun were my mother, my life would surely be happy forever."
Chapter 4: The Mighty Sun
Kitten: "O mighty Sun, will you take me as your child?"Sun: "My goodness! Why do you want to be my child, little kitten?"Kitten: "Because you look so powerful! Your light is so bright that everyone must obey you. I want to be as mighty as you are."Sun: "Hmm... maybe it only looks that way, little one. In truth, I am not always powerful. There is someone who can defeat me."Kitten: "Really? Who is it?"Sun: "The Cloud. Sometimes the clouds cover my face, and then nobody can see me at all."
The kitten thought and thought. "Then the Cloud must be the mightiest of all," he decided. And off he went to look for the clouds.
Chapter 5: The Cloud and the Wind
Kitten: "Kind Cloud, will you be my mother?"Cloud: "Your mother? Why do you want to be my child, little kitten?"Kitten: "Because the Sun told me that you are stronger than he is!"Cloud: "Oh, did the Sun say that? That is kind of him. But listen, little one. There is someone who can defeat me, too. It is the Wind. When the Wind comes to attack, my body is scattered into pieces. I am blown here and there until I turn into rain and fall to the ground."
The kitten said nothing more to the Cloud. He ran quickly to find the Wind.
Kitten: "Hello, Wind! Will you be my mother? I want to fly freely wherever I like, just as you do!"Wind: "Oh, little kitten. I may look free, but do not think I am always happy. I have troubles of my own, because someone is stronger than me."Kitten: "Who could be stronger than you?"Wind: "The Hill. I can blow wherever I wish, but when a tall hill stands in front of me, I cannot go any farther."
Chapter 6: The Hill and the Buffalo
Hearing the Wind's answer, the kitten dashed to the great hill.
Kitten: "Tall Hill, will you adopt me as your child?"Hill: "What do you hope to find in me, little kitten?"Kitten: "You are so big and strong! I want to be just like you."Hill: "Ah, but my life is not free from trouble. There is someone who often disturbs my peace."Kitten: "Is that true? Who is it?"Hill: "The Buffalo. He pushes and gores my body with his horns until the earth is broken and flattened."
The kitten was starting to feel tired, but he ran on until he found the buffalo.
Kitten: "Mighty Buffalo, will you be my father?"Buffalo: "Oh, little kitten, my life is not calm either. Do you see the Rattan that ties me up? It binds my body tightly, and I cannot break free. The Rattan is stronger than I am."
Chapter 7: The Rattan and the Mice
Panting and puffing, the kitten hurried to a field of rattan.
Kitten: "Strong Rattan, you can tie up even the buffalo! Will you be my mother?"Rattan: "Ah, little kitten, I am not happy at all. Look at my body. It is often bitten by a group of mice, and it hurts so much. The mice are stronger than I am.""The mice!" thought the kitten. "The mice must be the mightiest of all!"
He ran straight to the mouse hole, where a family of mice lived.
Kitten: "O mighty Mice, will you raise me as your child?"
The mother mouse stared at him in alarm. A cat wanted to be her child? Cats were the mice's greatest enemies!
Mother Mouse: "Little kitten, are you sure you are asking the right family?"Kitten: "Yes, I am sure! The Rattan told me that you are the strongest of all."Mother Mouse: "Strong? Oh, little one, we are not mighty at all. Our lives are full of danger. There are animals in this forest who hunt our children for food."Kitten: "Is that so? Who is that brave hunter?"
Chapter 8: The Truth About Mother
Mother Mouse: "There is an old cat in this forest, and all of our children are afraid of her. She has always hunted the mice of the forest."
The mother mouse sighed softly and went on.
Mother Mouse: "But these days, our children are brave enough to play outside again. They say the old cat is sick and weak. And her only child, the one she loved most of all, has left her. The old cat must be so sad and lonely, with no one to care for her."
The kitten sat down slowly. His legs felt wobbly. He thought of his mother, lying ill and alone.
Kitten: "That old cat... is my mother."
Tears began to roll down the kitten's cheeks. Now he understood. All this time, the mightiest one in the world had been right beside him. It was his own mother, who had worked so hard for him, day after day, and who had loved him more than anything.
Kitten: "Oh, Mother, I was so wrong! I miss you so much. Please forgive me!"
Chapter 9: Coming Home
Without wasting another moment, the kitten ran back home as fast as his legs could carry him. He found his mother lying weakly in her bed.
Kitten: "Mother! Mother, I am home! I am so sorry that I left you."Mother Cat: "My dear child, you came back! I was so worried about you."Kitten: "I have learned something very important, Mother. I went searching for the mightiest one in the whole world. But the truest and strongest love of all is yours. From now on, I will take care of you."
The mother cat smiled, and her eyes shone with happy tears.
From that day on, the kitten was no longer spoiled or lazy. He learned to find his own food, and he took good care of his mother until she was well again. And they lived happily together for all their days.
The folktale The True Mother comes from Bengkulu Province. It tells the story of a lazy kitten and his loving mother.
Try the interactive version of this folktale! Help the little kitten discover who is truly the mightiest in the world: the Sun, the Cloud, the Wind, the Hill, the Buffalo, the Rattan, or the Mice. Along the way, he will learn the most precious truth of all. The story is available in both Indonesian and English, with voice narration that you can mute at any time. Tap "Start Story" below to begin the adventure!
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.
nice.......cat care
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