Baturaden.

Once upon a time, there was a peaceful kingdom in central java. The king of the
kingdom was kind and he had a beautiful daughter who he loved so much. The king also had
great horses that he even asked a servent, named Suta to take care of them intensively. 

Suta was a good servant, he did a great duty for king's horses and the king apreciated
his great duty. His duty was to look after the king's horses, gave them food, cleaned the
horses and their mews. Suta liked to take a walk after doing his chores to relax for awile.

One day, when Suta was walking near a lake after doing his chores, he heard a woman
screaming. So, Suta hurried to find the source of the scream. Finally, he found a girl there,
who leter figured out as king's daughter. He saw the king's daughter in danger. There was a
giant snake would attack her.

Suta was afraid, but he also worried about the princess. So he took a big stick and hit
the snake on its head. The snake was fallen down in pain and finally died.

"Thank you, Suta. You've saved my life," said the princess.

"No needed for that princess. It's my duty as your father's servant to help you." Suta
replied
"Would you be my friend, Suta. Because I don't have any friend." the princess asked.

"Of course my princess, I will be your friend and always take care of you." Suta

answered.

Since that day, Suta and the princess became good friends. They even fallen in love
each other. So, the princess told Suta to go to her father and asked his permission to marry
her. But the king had already heared about their plan. The king was furious to hear about that
so he asked the princess to meet him.
"My lovely daughter, I have already known about your plan. Suta is just a servant
while you are my daughter, the princess. It is unacceptable for you to marry a servant." said
the king.
"But I love her, and he also love me. You know, he is the one who help me out there."
the princess said.
"No, you will not marry him. I will not allow that things happen." The king said.

The princess was sad to hear her father's answer, especially after her father throwed
Suta in jail for having the nerve to ask the pricess to marry him. In jail, Suta was not given
anything to eat or drink. 

Hearing about that, the princess made a plan to break Suta out of jail. They succeed
and run far away for the kingdom. They rested near the river. There, they got married and
started a family.

The place where Suta and the princess raised their family was called Baturraden.
Batur means servant while Raden means noble. Nowadays, Baturaden is very interesting
tourism spot. It's located at the foothill of Mount Slamet in Purwokerto, Central Java.
 The Legend of Surabaya

A long time ago in East Java there were two strong animals, Sura and Baya. Sura was
a shark and Baya was a crocodile. They lived in the sea. Actually, they were friends. But
when they were hungry, they were very greedy. They did not want to share their food. They
would fight for it and never stop fighting until one of them gave up.

It was a very hot day. Sura and Baya were looking for some food. Suddenly, Baya saw a goat.

“Yummy, this is my lunch,” said Baya.

“No way! This is my lunch. You are greedy! I had not eaten for two days!” said Sura.
Then Sura and Baya fought again. After several hours, they were very tired. Sura had a plan
to stop their bad behavior.

“I’m tired of fighting, Baya,” said Sura.

“Me too. What should we do to stop fighting? Do you have any idea?” asked Baya.
“Yes, I do. Let’s share our territory. I live in the water, so I look for food in the sea. And you
live on the land, right? So, you look for the food also on the land. The border is the beach, so
we will never meet again. Do you agree?” asked Sura.

“Hmm... let me think about it. OK, I agree. From today, I will never go to the sea again. My
place is on the land,” said Baya.

Then they both lived in the different places. But one day, Sura went to the land and looked
for some food in the river. He was very hungry and there was not much food in the sea. Baya
was very angry when he knew that Sura broke the promise.

“Hey, what are you doing here? This is my place. Your place is in the sea!”

“But, there is water in the river, right? So, this is also my place!” said Sura.

Then Sura and Baya fought again. They both hit each other. Sura bite Baya's tail. Baya did
the same thing to Sura. He bit very hard until Sura finally gave up. He went back to the sea.
Baya was very happy. He had his place again.

The place where they were fighting was a mess. Blood was everywhere. People then always
talked about the fight between Sura and Baya. They then named the place of the fight as
Surabaya, it’s from Sura the shark and Baya the crocodile. People also put their war as the
symbol of Surabaya city.
Oban's Myths & Legends

A long time ago, a young man called Crow lived in one of the villages of the Seneca
people. His parents had died many years before and he had no one to care for him, or to cook
and sew for him.

He lived at the very edge of the village in a small lodge made from bark and branches.
His hair was always a tangled mess, and his clothes were old and tattered cast offs he had
been given in trade.

The village children were cruel and made fun of him because of the way he looked
and because he was an orphan. This was a time when people did not have stories to teach
them how to respect and care for others.

Young Crow was an excellent hunter with his bow and arrows. He traded the birds
and animals he killed for parched corn, other food and clothes.

As winter drew nearer, Crow had to go further and further into the woods to hunt. One
day he went further than he had ever been before. Eventually he came to a clearing where
there was a large flat smooth stone with another round stone sitting on top of it.

Crow sat on the flat stone and rested his back against the round one. He laid the birds
he had killed next to him. Then he reached into his buckskin pouch for some parched corn,
and began to tighten his bowstring.

“Shall I tell you a story?” asked a deep rumbling voice near him.

Crow got such a fright he nearly choked. He jumped up quickly, spitting corn from
his mouth and looked around but could see no one.

“Who’s there?” shouted Crow. “Come out and show yourself.”

The clearing was silent. Nothing moved.

“I must be hearing things,” Crow said to himself. “And now I’m talking to myself
too.”

With a laugh, he sat down again and rested his back against the round stone.

“Shall I tell you a story?” asked the deep voice again.

Crow sprang to his feet and shouted “Alright, that’s enough. Show yourself now!”

Again, the clearing was silent and nothing moved.

Then Crow looked at the round stone he’d been resting against. He could see a face in
it. He realised it was the stone’s voice he’d heard.

“Who are you, and what are you?” asked Crow.

“Shall I tell you a story?” asked the deep rumbling voice.

“What is a story?” asked Crow. “What does it mean to tell a story?”

“Stories tell us of all things that happened before this time,” answered Grandfather
Stone. “Give me a gift of your birds and I will tell you how the world came to be.”

“You may have the birds,” said Crow.

He sat down in front of the stone. Its deep voice told him of a time before this one,
how Sky Woman fell to earth, how Turtle Island was made, and about stone giants. When he
finished one story, the stone told another and then another. On and on he went.

As the sun began to set the stone said, “That’s enough for today. Come back
tomorrow and I will tell you more stories. But don’t tell anyone about what you’ve heard
today.”

Crow ran back to the village. He managed to kill a few birds on the way to trade for
hot food and parched corn.

When he traded the birds with a woman in the village she asked him “Why have you
brought back so few birds from your hunting?”

“Winter is getting nearer and it’s harder to find anything to hunt,” answered Crow.

Early the next morning, Crow went into the woods with his bow and arrow. He
hunted for birds and then rushed back to the clearing.

“Grandfather Stone, I’ve brought you more birds as gifts,” said Crow. He put the
birds down on the flat stone. “Please tell me some more stories.”

Crow sat down and the stone started telling one story after another until it was nearly
nightfall. This happened for many days. Crow brought back fewer and fewer birds to the
village. The children of the village were even crueler to him. They made fun of him and told
him that now he wasn’t even a good hunter.

One day Crow came to the clearing, placed his gift on the stone and said,
“Grandfather Stone, please tell me some more stories.”

But the stone answered, “I have no more stories to tell. You have heard all that has
happened before this time. Now you must pass on the knowledge you have learned from the
stories. You will be the first storyteller.

You must tell others what you have heard, and also add stories of what happens from
now on. The people you tell will remember your stories. Some will remember better than
others. Some will tell different versions when they pass them on. It doesn’t matter. The truths
and lessons from the stories will be remembered.”
 “Thank you Grandfather Stone,” said Crow. “I will make sure the stories are not
forgotten.”

Crow went back to the village. He knew it was time to move on. The people here
didn’t respect him and wouldn’t listen. He collected his few belongings and left the village
without telling anyone. No one missed him.

Crow travelled far and eventually came to another village. The people welcomed him
warmly. They invited him to come in out of the cold wind, sit by the fire and share their food.

After he had finished eating Crow said, “You have been so kind I’d like to share
something with you.”

He began to tell the stories he had learned from Grandfather Stone. He told them of
the time when animals could speak, and when the turtle raced the bear.

That night the lodge house seemed warmer and the sound of the first storyteller’s
voice could be heard above the howling wind outside. People went to sleep dreaming of the
stories they had heard.

The chief of the village sent runners to other villages, inviting everyone to come and
hear the stories. They brought gifts of food and clothing for Crow to thank him. A beautiful
young woman came and sat by him every time he spoke. She listened to every story. Many
seasons passed. Crow stayed in the village and married the young woman.

When he had shared all the stories with the people of the village and its neighbours,
Crow and his wife left and travelled to other villages further away, to tell the stories.

Eventually they came to the first village where he had lived before. The people didn’t
recognise him in his fine clothes and with his beautiful wife.

The village chief welcomed them, inviting them to sit by the fire and share their food.
Crow told his stories. The people listened with their ears and their hearts.

Crow told them, “You must not forget the stories and legends. You must pass them on
to your children and your grandchildren, and they must pass them onto theirs. We can never
again forget the stories and their wisdom.”

And that is how it has been from that day to this. The stories from Grandfather Stone
have been handed down from generation to generation and storytellers are still honoured
today by those who listen.

The End