GOLDEN SNAIL (KEONG MAS)

Indonesia have alot of folktales. The Golden Snail (Keong Mas) is one of them. This folktales come from East Java. Hope you enjoy it.

Prince Raden Putra was married to a princess named Dewi Limaran. One day when Dewi Limaran was walking in the palace garden, she saw a snail among her lovely flowers. She had one of her servants pick it up and throw it away. The Snail was actually an old witch who had disguised herself as a snail. The witch was very angry, so she cursed Dewi Limaran and changed her into a golden snail and threw it into the river. Then the stream carried it far away from the palace.On the side of a big forest, there lived a poor widow. He living was only fishing. One day it was particularly bad day as she didn’t catch any fish. Again and again she spread her net, but nothing got caught into it. At last she pulled up the net to go home. There she saw something shining at the bottom of it. It was a golden snail. She picked it up and took it home.At home she put in an earthen port. She then went to bed and soon was fast asleep as she was very tired. The next morning when she woke up, she found to her amazement that the floor had been swept clean. There was some food on the table. She wondered who had done all this. She thought she was dreaming, but she was not. She thought and thought but could not think of anybody who could have been so generous to her.Some days passed, she then got an idea. The next morning she took her basket and went out as usual, but shortly she returned to her hut and hid herself. Suddenly she heard a soft movement inside the earthen pot and saw the snail creeping a lovely young girl stood where the snail had been. The empty shell fell to the ground behind her. Quickly the young girls swept the floor. The she took rice, vegetables, meat, eggs etc. out of the pot and began cooking.The old woman saw all saw all this, she noticed that the girl lived under a spell. She then, tried to break it. She took the empty shell and throw it into the river. The girl came to live.Many years passed by.The king persuaded his son to look for another bride, but at first Prince Raden Putra refused as he could not forsake his wife. In the end, the prince asked his father if he could go out to find a bride himself.They went from town to town and from village to village until one day they were traveling through a big forest and they lost their way. They came to a big river and not far from it they saw a hut. They went to it to ask for some food and drink as they were hungry. Raden Putra found the meal that served by the old woman excellent. She told him that her daughter had prepared it. Raden Putra then asked whether he might meet and thank her daughter. The old woman had no objections and called her daughter to come out. The young girls appeared and knelt down in front of Raden Putra with her head bent.When Raden Putra saw her, he caught this breath in great surprise as he found his former wife princess, Dewi Limaran. Dewi Limaran then revealed her secret that she was lived under the evil witch’s spell.Finally, Prince Raden Putra and Dewi Limaran lived happily ever after.