Stories of Thailand

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There once was a monkey who liked to tease everyone, especially a baby elephant who bothered no one. "Why do you have to tease me?" the baby elephant asked. "It's so fun," said the naughty monkey. Off he went to tease a snapping turtle who always slept with his mouth wide open. The monkey thought it would be so funny to surprise the turtle awake by sticking his finger into its mouth. To the monkey's horror, the turtle reacted in his natural way: by snapping his mouth shut. The monkey yelled in pain, but the turtle, who actually was kind,...

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Stories of Thailand 1. The Teasing Monkey There once was a monkey who liked to tease everyone, especially a baby elephant who bothered no one. "Why do you have to tease me?" the baby elephant asked. "It's so fun," said the naughty monkey. Off he went to tease a snapping turtle who always slept with his mouth wide open. The monkey thought it would be so funny to surprise the turtle awake by sticking his finger into its mouth. To the monkey's horror, the turtle reacted in his natural way: by snapping his mouth shut. The monkey yelled in pain, but the turtle, who actually was kind, finally let him go. Moral: Teasing and joking can hurt someone or even yourself. 2. The Golden Mango Once, a family of beautiful parrots lived in the jungle. Soon, the parents became too old to gather food so the children had to find food for them. One of the parrots flew to an island where he found a golden mango. He ate a large amount before gathering some for his parents. When his father saw the food, he said, "This is the golden mango from the island in the middle of the sea, isn't it?" He warned his son to be careful of this fruit and not eat too much. A second time the young parrot flew to the island to get some golden mango. The hot sun ripened it more and it was as gold as ever. The parrot, upon tasting the fruit, found it so sweet that he ate till his stomach was full. On his way home, the weight in his stomach was too much for his wings. He became tired, could not fly, and fell into the deep blue sea. Moral: Satisfaction can make one careless. Moral: Too much of a good thing can lead to harm. 3. The Clever Starlings A flock of starlings lived in a field that had only little food. One day they decided to look for a new place to live. As they were eating happily in a new rice field, an eagle suddenly appeared. The helpless starlings did not know where to hide and begged for their lives. "You're so quick and mighty," they cried. "Please let us live!" "Very well, " said the eagle. "I'll let you live this time, but don't let me see you again!" The starlings hurried back to their old field. Some time later, the starlings were surprised to see the eagle heading straight for them. "Come and get us!" they cried. The eagle, so proud of his own power, flew down like lightening, but the birds hid in small cracks in their field. The eagle crashed into the earth and was badly injured. The starlings safely flew away. Moral: Thinking before you act can save you from danger. Moral: Thinking you can do anything often can place you in danger . 4. The Faithful Parrot A parrot lived in a beautiful fig tree. He lived there so long that he and the tree became friends. One year, the monsoon rains did not bring enough water to the fig tree. When the dry season came, the fi g tree began to die. It lost all of its leaves and nearly withered away. Two storks, seeing an empty branch, landed and noticed the sad parrot. "Why don't you find a healthy tree in which to live?" they asked. The parrot replied, "I have lived here so long, that I do not want to leave m y friend." The storks looked confused and said, "Well then, are you just going to sit there and do nothing to help your friend. T hink what your friend might need." Immediately, the parrot realized that he was too busy feeling sorry fo r himself and flew to the river to collect some water. The parrot brought water to the thirsty fig tree every day. After many days, the fig tree began to leaf and bear fruit again. Moral: Faithfulness and helpfulness are signs of true friendship. Moral: Instead of hoping for something good to happen, try to make something good happen by helping in a positive way. 1
5. The White Elephant and the Cruel Hunter In the jungle of Thailand there lived a rare white elephant. He had a mother who was blind. Everyday, the little elephant gathered sugar cane, grass, bananas and other fruits for its mother to eat. One day a hunter became lost in the jungle and sat down, crying very hard. The kind elephant felt so sorry for the hunter that he carried him on his back out of the jungle. The hunter, thinking only of himself, knew a white elephant was valuable. He ran to the king who gave him permission to capture the little elepha nt. The king was very pleased when he received the rare elephant because a white elephant is very sacred . But soon the king noticed that the elephant was not eating. He sat alone and cried. The king was surprised that the elephant was so unhappy and asked why this was so. The little elephant told the king of his blind mother and feared what might happen to her if she was le ft alone any longer. The king was so pleased to hear of one so faithful to his mother that his released the valuable elephant to be forever free. Moral: Faithfulness and honor will bring great rewards. 6. The Greedy Raven Once there lived a raven who found all of its food in the sea. Since the raven thought he found the fish first, he decided that he was the owner of all the fish and this part of the sea. "The sea belongs to me," he cried out. "No one else can come fishing here!" Other hungry birds came along, but the raven refused to let them eat. "How can anyone be the owner of the great sea?" they questioned. "Because," said the raven, "I found it first; I was here first! Everything is mine!" An eagle flying overhead saw the birds arguing and swooped down to listen. After hearing the whole story, he turned to the raven and asked if everything he heard was true. The raven only answered, "I found it first so it's mine." "Then," said the eagle, "I am now hungry and you are mine because I found you first!" Moral: Greed makes a person selfish and very foolish. 7. The Curious Little Lion In the Thailand jungle there lived a cave of lions and a den of foxes. One day the largest lion fell into a deep hunter's pit and couldn't get out. A fox heard the b ig lion calling for help. The kind fox, knowing the lion might eat him, still dug a ditch from the river to the hole. Soon the hole filled with water. The lion floated on the top of the water and soon was able to climb out of the hole. The grateful lion invited the fox and his family to come live with him in his large and safe cave. When the lion's wife saw the new arrangement, she was upset and said to the fox's wife, "We as lions are on so much higher a social level. We are kings and queens of the jungle. How do you ever think we can actually live together?" This made the mother fox feel very bad, but the great lion overheard and told his wife, "I would have died in the hunter's pit if it weren't for the cleverness and hard work of the fox. How else can I repay him for saving me?" When his wife heard this, she became good friends with the family of foxes and they all lived safely in the underground cave. Moral: One must show extreme gratefulness when another goes out of their way to help him or her. 8. The Hunter and the Monk One early morning, a monk sat in a forest concentrating on the peace around him. A hunter looking fo r a day's supply of meat pased by. Knowing that the monk would not approve of the killing of an animal that might be a good spirit, the hunter lost his concentration and did not kill an animal that day. In his mind, he blamed the monk for his failure. The next day, the same thing happened. 2
On the third day, the hunter decided to bring his dog with him, but the monk saw him coming and stoo d in his way. The hunter, more angry than ever, ordered his dog to attack, but the monk quickly climbed a nearby tree. There the dog stayed waiting for the monk to climb down. As the hunter walked up to his dog to see where the monk was hiding, the clever monk slipped out of the top part of his orange-colored robe and dropped it over the hunter's head. The dog, suddenly seeing a man in a robe, thought his master was the monk. He jumped up and bit his master from limb to limb while the monk quietly slipped away. Moral: If you plant suffering, you will harvest pain. from Village Tales from Northern Thailand , collected by Suchamnong, 1996. Retold by J.W. Reed. Folk Tale: Why the Sea is Salty There once lived a Thai family with two children. They were very, very poor. The first-born son was soon old enough to leave home one day. He was fortunate because he became very rich. When he returned to his home town, he refused to share his riches with anyone, even his own family. Not long after, the younger son left the home to beg. He was given little food by those who took pity on him. One person gave him a small pig's foot to eat. It was so hot that he found shelter from the sun in a cool and misty cave. There he fell asleep safe from the scorching afternoon sun. T wo magical elves who lived in the deep of the cave smelled the pig's foot and approached the sleeping boy. They awoke him and asked him for the small piece of food knowing that the boy was certainly very hungry himself. They tiny beggar kindly gave his food away. To his surprise, the elves in return gave him in a small hand mill. "Whenever you want something," they said, "turn the wheel. What you wish for will come true." The boy ran home and quickly wished for rice and fish for his father and mother. He tu rned the mill stone and out came rice and fresh fish. Later, he wished for some money, and when he turned the millstone, out clinked gold and silver coins. Soon, the young son was the richest person in the village. When his older brother found out how his younger brother became rich, he asked to borrow the mill. In a small room the greedy brother quickly wished for all the gold the handmill could make. In a short time he realized that the weight of the gold around him was suffocating him. He called for help , but by the time his younger brother found him, it was too late. The younger brother yelled to the mill to stop, and it listened to his voice and became silent. He didn't trust the mill and decided to give it away. It made him rich enough and now it killed his brother. A merchant who knew of the mill demanded it for himself. He quickly ran to his little fishing boat and rowed from shore so no one could see what he was doing. The first thing he wished for was salt so that he could have more salt than anyone to sell at the market. "I wish for all the salt you can make," he demanded. The mill began to pour forth salt as the merchant rowed. Only moments later, he saw there was more salt than his boat could carry. "Stop!, he said. "Stop making the salt!" But the mill did not stop. The boat slowly sank taking the merchant and the mill to the bottom of the sea. Hour after hou r the mill continues to turn waiting to hear the young boy's voice. This is why the sea is salty today. from Village Tales from Northern Thailand , collected by A. Wanna-ek, 1996. Translated by K. Velder. Retold by J.W. Reed. Folk tale: Why the Gibbon Sings "Phua." (a tragedy) Phua is the Thai word for husband. A long and plaintive gibbon call heard in jungle treetops is of t he same sound: Phua, Phua (pooh wa, pooooh wa). Long ago in the jungles of Northern Thailand lives a man so wise that he was accepted by the gods as an almost equal. The gods of the trees, rocks, and rivers told him their secrets of truth and knowledge 3
and forever he was protected. During this time, the forest gods were close to any mortal who so wished to learn of such knowledge. At the same time, there lived a rich and powerful king who had a son, Jantakorop, whom he loved very much. Knowing his son would someday inherit the kingdom, the king told his son that he must go and study with this wisest of men so that he, too, could learn the ways of the gods. "But be careful," warned the king, "if you do anything to disobey your teacher, you may bring disaster among yourself and people you love." The prince promised on bended knee to obey, and off he rode on a sacred white elephant into the magical jungle. In less than one year, the wise man taught the prince nearly every secret of life. T he prince learned how to eat from the land; how to use plants, berries, and roots to heal illnesses; and how to predict life events from reading the night stars. He even learned how to control his mind in all situations so he could live peacefully and without stress. The prince was never bored because there was another reason. The wise man had a daughter named Mora who, years ago, was left to his care after her mother died after a long illness. It was the death of his wife that left the wise man feeling so helpless and the reason he lived the rest of his life seeking truth from the spirits of the jungle. But now his daughter was a young woman who was nearly as intelligent as her father. Mora and Jantakorop became friends and always took time to help one another. Soon, it was time for the young prince to return to his father's palace. He prepared his white elephant for the long journey and respectfully thanked the wise man for his kindness. "I will miss you very much," said the grateful prince." The wise man, knowing everything, knew the prince had a secret desire in his heart. "Here," said the man as he handed a large sealed clay urn to the prince, "in this clay pot is your heart's desire. If you peek inside before you see the glitter of your father's palace, d isaster will befall you." The prince gave his solemn vow to not open the urn any earlier than he should. Off the prince happily went, wondering all the time what might possibly be in the jar. As he rode his curiosity grew. The urn seemed to get heavier and heavier. He tried to smell it, shake it, peek around the cracks of the lid, but there was no hint of the treasure inside. At last the pot grew so heavy a nd the prince's curiosity so overwhelming, they he cracked open the sealed lid. Instantly, beautiful Mora appeared at his side. "My prince," she said. "It is meant to be. You and I are at last together and we will be together forever. My father knew of our feelings all along. We shall live in happiness forever." But just as Mora finished speaking, a fierce tiger roared through the bushes alarming the elephant who accidentally tossed Jantakorop and Mora off his back. Away the elephant ran, leaving the prince and his bride without food, water, or protection. They ran quickly through the jungle knowing that the tiger was always close behind. After many hours, they finally saw the glitter of the king's palace. It was then that Jantakorop remembered the wise man's warning. He knew he shouldn't have opened the urn before this moment. Just as they were about to leave the jungle, a bandit appeared demanding money. Jantakorop bravely stepped forward to defend Mora, but the bandit's sword was quicker,and he killed the young prince instantly. "My prince!" cried Mora, "My Prince!" she cried as the bandit carried her away. "My princ e, my husband. We shall never be together" The bandit, upon hearing these cries, realized that he killed the king's only son and geared for his life. He set Mora at the base of a large tree and ran away. M ora continued to cry, "my husband, my husband, my husband!" From all around, the forest gods watched the terrible scene unfold. They saw that man had too many weaknesses to handle the gift of all knowledge, magic, and truth. The spirits of the jungle vowed to never again share their secrets with man again. In pity they changed Mora into a gibbon so that she could swing safely in the treetops, but she still cries "Phua! Phua! Phua!" after her lost Jantakorop. The gods want all men to know that when they hear the long cry of the gibbon echoing, "Phua! Phua! Phua!" from the treetops, it is a cry not only for lost love, but a cry for lost knowledge and broken vows. (from Village Tales from Northern Thailand , collected by Suchamnong, 1996. Retold by J.W. Reed.) 4