Timun Emas Long time ago, lived an old women named Mbok Sirni.
She lived by herself because her husband had long
passed away and she had no children. Every day, she
prayed so God would give her a child. One night, when
she was praying, a giant passed her house and heard
her pray. “I can give you a child on one condition,” the giant said to Mbok Sirni, “You must give the child
back to me when it is six years old.” Mbok Sirni was
so happy; she did not think about the risk of losing the
child later and agreed to take the giant’s offer. The
giant then gave her a bunch of cucumber seeds.
“Plant it around your house.” The giant then left without saying anything else. In the morning, Mbok
Sirni planted the seeds. The seeds grew within mere
days, and blossomed plentifully.Not longer after that,
a big golden cucumber grew from plants. Carefully,
Mbok Sirni plucked the golden cucumber and carried it
home. With caution and care, she sliced the cucumber. She was very surprised to see a beautiful baby girl
inside the cucumber. She then named the baby Timun
Emas (it means Golden Cucumber). Years passed by and Timun Emas has grew to become
a lovely and beautiful little girl. She was also smart
and kind. Mbok Sirni loved her very much. But she
kept thinking about the time the giant would take
Timun Emas away from her. One night, Mbok Sirni had
a dream. In order to save Timun Emas from the giant, she had to meet the holy man who lived in Mount
Gundul. The next morning, Mbok Sirni took leave of
Timun Emas to go to Mount Gundul. The holy man then
gave her four little bags, each one containing
cucumber seeds, needles, salt, and shrimp paste.
“Timun Emas can use these to protect herself,” said the holy man to Mbok Sirni. A few days later, the giant came to see Mbok Sirni
about her promise. “Mbok Sirni! Where is Timun
Emas?” shouted the giant. “My daughter, take these
bag with you. It can save you from the giant. Now, run
through the back door,” said Mbok Sirni. But the giant
saw Timun Emas running to the woods. The giant was angry. Starved and enraged, he rushed toward Timun
Emas. Mbok Sirni tried to stop him, but the giant was
unstoppable. The giant was getting closer and closer, so Timun
Emas opened the first bag she got from Mbok Sirni.
Inside the bag were cucumber seeds. She threw the
seeds, and instantly they grew into large cucumber
field. But the giant ate them all, giving him more
strength. As the giant was getting close, Timun Emas took the second bag with needles inside and spilled
the content behind her. The needles turned into
bamboo trees, sharp and thorny. The giant’s body
was scratched and bled. “Aaargh, I’ll get you,
Timun Emas!” shouted the giant as he tried to get
himself out from the bamboo field. He made it and still chasing Timun Emas. Timun Emas then reached the third bag and spilled the
salt inside. The ground which the salt touched turned
into a deep sea. The giant almost drown and had to
swim to cross the sea. After some time, he managed
to get out from the water. Timun Emas saw the giant
coming, so she reached for the last bag. She took the shrimp paste and threw it. The shrimp paste became a
big swamp of boiling mud. The giant was trapped in
the middle of the swamp. The mud slowly but surely
drowned him. Helpless, he roared out, “Help!
Heeeeelp…!” Then the giant drown and died. Timun
Mas then immediately went home. Since then, Timun Emas and Mbok Sirni live happily ever after.***