1.

The Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one summer's day, a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing
to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great effort an ear of corn
he was taking to the nest.

"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and
moiling away?" "I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and
recommend you to do the same." "Why to bother about winter?" said the
Grasshopper; "we have got plenty of food at present."

But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the
Grasshopper found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing, every
day, corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer.
Then the Grasshopper knew...

2. The Crying Stone

Once upon a time, in a small village in Borneo Island, there lived a mother and her
daughter. The daughter was popular among villagers because of her beautiful face
but she has bad behavior. She always spent her time in front of the mirror admiring
her beautiful face. She never helped her mother to fulfill their daily needs. The
daughter always made her mother sad. However, the mother still loved her very
much.

One day, the girl asked her mother to buy her a new gown. The mother refused it
because she had no money. Because the mother loved her daughter so much, she
finally bought her a new gown.
 Both went to the market. But the daughter asked her mother to walk behind because
she was embarrassed if people saw them together. Once again, because of her love,
the mother obeyed the daughter's request.

Along the way home, the daughter still walked in front of her mother. People passing
asked about the woman behind her. The daughter answered that she was not her
mother but her servant. The mother kept silent. But inside her deep heart, she prayed
to God to punish her daughter.

Suddenly, her daughter's legs turned into stone. The daughter realized that it was
because she had hurt her mother's feelings. She begged her mother to forgive but it
was too late.

Slowly, her body also turned into stone. Though the daughter had become a stone,
the tears were still seen, which was why the stone was called Batu Menangis.
Moral of the story: Never hurt your parent's feelings.

3. Fox and A Cat

One day a cat and a fox were having a conversation. The fox, who was a conceited
creature, boasted how clever she was. 'Why, I know at least a hundred tricks to get away
from our mutual enemies, the dogs,' she said.

"I know only one trick to get away from dogs,' said the cat. "You should teach me some
of yours!"

"Well, maybe someday, when I have the time, I may teach you a few of the simpler
ones," replied the fox airily.

Just then they heard the barking of a pack of dogs in the distance. The barking grew
louder and louder - the dogs were coming in their direction! At once the cat ran to the
nearest tree and climbed into its branches, well out of reach of any dog. "This is the trick
I told you about, the only one I know," said the cat."'Which one of your hundred tricks are
you going to use?"

The fox sat silently under the tree, wondering which trick she should use. Before she
could make up her mind, the dogs arrived. They fell upon the fox and tore her to pieces.
Moral of the story: A single plan that works is better than a hundred doubtful plans.

4. The Ant and the Dove

One hot day, an ant was seeking some water. After walking around for a moment,
she came to a spring. To reach the spring, she had to climb up a blade of grass.
While making her way up, she slipped and fell unintentionally into the water.

She could have sunk if a dove up a nearby tree had not seen her. Seeing that the ant
was in trouble, the dove quickly put off a leaf from a tree and dropped it immediately
into the water near the struggling ant. Then the ant moved towards the leaf and
climbed up there. Soon it carried her safely to dry ground.

Not long after that, there was a hunter nearby who was throwing out his net towards
the dove, hoping to trap it in this way.

Guessing what he should do, the ant quickly bit him on the heel. Feeling the pain, the
hunter dropped his net and the dove flew away quickly from this net.
Moral of the story: One good turn deserves another.

Moral of the story: One good turn deserves another.

5. Pinocchio
In the past, there was a puppeteer whose name was Geppetto. He was eager to
have a son very much but his wife passed away several years ago. One day, he got
an idea to make a puppet in order not to be lonely again. He made a puppet all day
long.

Finally, in the morning he had finished his work and he named the puppet Pinocchio.
Soon he felt lonely again since Pinocchio couldn't walk or talk by itself. One night,
Geppetto prayed to God to become a real boy. He always thought it in his mind in his
dream.

The next morning, he was surprised that Pinocchio was alive. He taught Pinocchio
how to walk, how to read, how to speak and to do other things as human. He then
studied at an elementary school.

One day, Pinocchio felt bored and it made him go home late. When Pinocchio finally
came home, Geppetto asked him. He said that he was in school but he wasn't.
Instantly, Pinocchio's nose grew longer and longer and it meant that Pinocchio had
lied.

The next morning, Pinocchio was kidnaped by the owner of the circus. Pinocchio
soon became a slave for the circus. He was so famous because he was a puppet
which could talk. Geppetto worried about him because Pinocchio had not been going
home for almost two days.

He tried to find Pinocchio everywhere but he found nothing. When he searched for
him on the sea, a big wave smashed him. He was then in the whale's stomach when
he awoke. He couldn't find the way to go out.

On the other side, Pinocchio finally could escape out from the circus. He came home
but nobody was there. Later on, he searched Geppetto in the sea. He had the same
accident as Geppetto and he met Geppetto in the whale's stomach.

Both of them got out of its stomach by making a fire. In the end of the story, they
went home together and lived happily ever after.

Moral of the story: Do not ever lie.

6. Malin Kundang
A long time ago, in a small village near the beach in West Sumatra, a woman and her
son lived. They were Malin Kundang and her mother. Her mother was a single parent
because Malin Kundang's father had passed away when he was a baby. Malin
Kundang had to live hard with his mother.

Malin Kundang was a healthy, dilligent, and strong boy. He usually went to the sea to
catch fish. After getting fish he would bring it to his mother, or sell the caught fish in
the town.

One day, when Malin Kundang was sailing, he saw a merchant's ship which was
being raided by a small band of pirates. He helped the merchant. With his bravery
and power, Malin Kundang defeated the pirates. The merchant was so happy and
thanked him. In return, the merchant asked Malin Kundang to sail with him. To get a
better life, Malin Kundang agreed. He left his mother alone.

Many years later, Malin Kundang became wealthy. He had a huge ship and was
helped by many ship crews loading trading goods. Perfectly he had a beautiful wife
too. When he was sailing his trading journey, his ship landed on a beach near a small
village. The villagers recognized him. The news ran fast in the town; "Malin Kundang
has become rich and now he is here".

An old woman ran to the beach to meet the new rich merchant. She was Malin
Kundang's mother. She wanted to hug him, releasing her sadness of being lonely
after so long a time. Unfortunately, when the mother came, Malin Kundang who was
in front of his well dressed wife and his ship crews denied meeting that old lonely
woman. For three times her mother begged Malin Kundang and for three times he
yelled at her. At last Malin Kundang said to her "Enough, old woman! I have never
had a mother like you, a dirty and ugly woman!" After that he ordered his crews to set
sail. He would leave the old mother again but in that time she was full of both
sadness and anger.
Finally, enraged, she cursed Malin Kundang that he would turn into a stone if he
didn't apologize. Malin Kundang just laughed and really set sail. In the quiet sea,
suddenly a thunderstorm came. His huge ship was wrecked and it was too late for
Malin Kundang to apologize. He was thrown by the wave out of his ship. He fell on a
small island. It was really too late for him to avoid his curse. Suddenly, he turned into
a stone.

Moral of the story: No matter how good we are, never be ashamed of our parents
and where we come from.

7. The Story of Toba Lake

Once upon a time, there was a man who was living in north Sumatra. He lived in a
simple hut in a farming field. He did some gardening and fishing for his daily life.

One day, while the man was fishing, he caught a big golden fish in his trap. It was the
biggest catch he ever had in his life. Surprisingly, this fish turned into a beautiful
princess. He fell in love with her and proposed to her as his wife. She said; "Yes, but
you have to promise not to tell anyone about the secret that I was once a fish,
otherwise there will be a huge disaster". The man made the deal and they got
married, lived happily and had a daughter.

Few years later, this daughter would help bring lunch to her father out in the fields.
One day, his daughter was so hungry that she ate his father's lunch. Unfortunately,
he found out and got furious, and shouted; "You damned daughter of a fish". The
daughter ran home and asked her mother. The mother started crying, feeling sad that
her husband had broken his promise.

Then she told her daughter to run up the hills because a huge disaster was about to
come. When her daughter left, she prayed. Soon there was a big earthquake
followed by non-stop pouring rain. The whole area got flooded and became Toba
Lake. She turned into a fish again and the man became the island of Samosir.

Moral of the story: Never break a promise