Long long time ago, there was a farmer couple. They were staying in a village near a forest. They lived happily. Unfortunately, they hadn’t had any children yet.

Every day they prayed to God for a child. One day a giant passed their home. He heard what they were praying. Then the giant gave them a cucumber seed.

"Plant this seed, then you’ll get a daughter,” said the giant. “Thank you, Giant,” said the couple. “But in one condition, in her 17-th birthday, you must give her to me,” said the Giant. The couple wanted a child so much that they agreed without thinking first.

Then the couple planted the cucumber seed. Each day they took care the growing plant so carefully. Months later, a golden cucumber grew from the plant. The cucumber was getting heavier and bigger each day. When it was ripe, they picked it. Carefully they cut out the cucumber and how surprised were they when they found a beautiful baby inside. They were so happy. They named the baby Timun Mas, or Golden Cucumber.

Years were passing by and Timun Mas had grown into a beautiful girl. Her parents were very proud of her. But their happiness turned to fear when her 17th birthday came. The giant returned to ask for their promise. He was going to take Timun Mas away.

The farmer tried to be calm. “Just a moment, please. Timun Mas is playing. My wife will call her,” he said. Then the farmer came to his daughter. “My child, take this,” as he was giving her a little bag to Timun Mas. “This will help you from the giant. Now, run as fast as you can,” he ordered. So Timun Mas ran away.

The couple was very sad about her leaving. But they didn’t want the giant to eat Timun Mas. Meanwhile, the giant had been waiting for too long. He became impatient. Somehow he knew that the couple had lied to him. So he destroyed their house and ran for Timun Mas.

The giant was chasing Timun Mas and he was getting closer and closer. Timun Mas then took a handful of salt from her little bag. She spread out the salt behind her. Suddenly a wide sea appeared between them. The giant had to swim to reach her

Timun Mas was still running, but now the giant almost caught her. Then she took some chilly and threw them to the giant. The chilly suddenly grew into some trees and trapped the giant. The trees grew some thorns as sharp as a knife. The giant screamed painfully. At the mean time, Timun Mas could escape again.

But the giant was very strong. Again he almost caught Timun Mas. So Timun Mas took the third magic stuff, the cucumber seeds. She threw the seeds and suddenly they became a wide cucumber field. The giant was very tired and hungry so he ate those fresh cucumbers. He ate too much that he felt sleepy and fell asleep soon.

Timun Mas kept on running as fast as she could. But soon she was very tired herself. To make things worse, the giant had woken up! Timun Mas was so scared. Desperately she then threw her last weapon, terasi (a kind of shrimp pasta). IT did a miracle again. The pasta became a big swamp. The giant fell into it but his hands almost reached Timun Mas. Suddenly the lake pulled him to the bottom. The giant panicked and he couldn’t breathe. At last he was drown.

Timun Mas was very relieved. She was safe now. Then she returned to her parents’ house. Her parents were of course very happy to see their daughter safe and sound. “Thanks God. You have saved my daughter,” they cried happily. From then on, Timun Mas lived happily with her parents with no fear anymore.

Prior to the creation of Sewu Temple in Prambanan, legend has it, there lived a man called Bandung Bondowoso, who, with his supernatural powers, created 1,000 temples overnight.

If Bandung Bondowoso were alive today, the damage done to the hundreds of historical sites by the tectonic quake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale on May 27 would not have saddened Laretna T. Adhisakti so much.

“I’m really sad,” said Laretna, of the Yogjakarta Heritage Society, of the damaged historical site.
The damage is not too hard to notice.

Take a look at the destroyed Brahmana Temple in the Prambanan compound. Slabs of stone are scattered everywhere. Next to it is the Siwa Temple, which appears to have sustained damage to its foundation. The Wisnu Temple was not spared either.

Sojiwan Temple, also located in the part of the Prambanan compound that belongs to Central Java province, is in an even worse condition. The body of the temple, which was actually undergoing reconstruction, has collapsed.

“In fact, the temple stones had been collected since 1950 and the renovation of the temple had been going on since 1992,” said Guritno of the Central Java Center for Archaeological Conservation and Heritage (BP3).

In Central Java, other temples that have been damaged are Sewu, Plaosan Lor, Plaosan Kidul and Lumbung. Golo Mosque and an old tomb in Bayat, Klaten, were also damaged in the quake.

There are more damaged buildings in Yogyakarta than in Central Java. The Yogyakarta Palace, which Sultan Hamengku Buwono I built in 1755, was damaged in several places.

The Trajumas Hall, a building with a traditional Javanese roof known as a Joglo, where the gamelan, a royal sedan chair and other property for the Tedak Siti rite are kept, completely collapsed. The other halls, such as Srimanganti, Pagelaran and Sitihinggil, have also cracks in a number of places.

Various historical buildings around the palace such as the Hamengku Buwono IX Museum, the Grand Mosque, the Golden Carriage Museum, the houses of high-ranking nobility such as Dalem Wironegaran, Pugeran, Yudonegaran, Pujokusuman, Condroningratan and Prabeyo have also been damaged.

Baluwerti fortress that surrounds Yogyakarta Palace has cracks in the wall in several parts.

The quake, that claimed thousands of lives in Yogyakarta and Klaten, has also damaged Taman Sari, a historical building that has been named as one of the world’s endangered sites. At least 10 areas in the compound were damaged.

One of these is the ornamental engraving on the upper part of Gapura Agung (Grand Gate), the main gateway to Taman Sari. Part of the wall of Cemeti Island on this site collapsed in the quake, killing two locals.

“They were a mother and her child,” said Siswohartono, who lives in the Taman Sari compound.

Outside the palace, historical buildings such as the royal tombs in Imogiri, Bantul, Panggung Krapyak, where the Javanese kings used to hunt deer, the Paku Alam Palace, Tarumartani cigar factory, the traditional joglo Javanese houses in Kota Gede, and houses built in the Dutch Indies architectural style in various parts of Yogyakarta have also been damaged.

It is really tragic because within just 57 seconds all these historical buildings were brought to the verge of collapse and may well vanish into the abyss of history if nothing is done to fix the damage.

Aside from damaging tourist sites, the quake has also discouraged tourists from visiting Yogyakarta.

Prambanan Temple, usually the main attraction for tourists visiting Yogyakarta, is now deserted. Although it sustained some damage, the temple is open to visitors.

“I believe the post-quake Prambanan Temple can be a special attraction for tourists,” said Wagiman Subiarso, director of PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobodur, Prambananan and Ratu Boko, a company managing the three temples, without elaborating.

There may be some truth in Wagiman’s words. However, restoring all these historical buildings must be given priority.

To this end, BP3 of Central Java has recorded all the damage and is now ready to renovate the site. A budget of some Rp 9.7 billion (around US$1.05 million) has been set aside for this purpose.

Meanwhile, the Center for the Conservation of Borobudur Heritage is now analyzing the damage sustained by Prambanan Temple.

“Using a laser scanning device, we are now examining in detail the extent of the inclination, collapse and parting of the stones that made up the temple structure,” said Iwan Kurnianto of the Center for Conservation of Borobudur Heritage.

With the assistance of various parties such as ICOMOS Indonesia, the Architectural and Planning Department of Gajah Mada University and many other institutions, Laretna is now doing everything possible to renovate the various historical buildings that the quake has damaged.

She has contacted various parties in the global community concerned with the renovation of historical buildings in Yogyakarta. Aside from reconstructing historical buildings, Laretna also reminds people of the need to rebuild the intangible historical legacy such as the community of traditional batik makers in Imogiri, Bantul, ceramic makers in Kasongan (Yogyakarta) and Bayat (Klaten).

“We are preparing a special place for the batik makers from Imogiri so that they can soon start making batik again,” Laretna said.

The legend of Bandung Bondowoso describes how he went into meditation to communicate with the spirits and ask them for help to build a thousand temples overnight to meet a condition set by his prospective wife, Roro Jonggrang.

Today, a modern Bandung Bondowoso is needed, not to mobilize supernatural spirits, but to mobilize thoughts, funds and technological capability to renovate Prambanan Temple, Sewu Temple and the many other significant historical sites.

Another interesting Diwali legend is of King Bali. He was a generous ruler but also very ambitious. To propitiate the gods he performed a Yagna (fire sacrifice). His Yagna was so successful that even the gods were terrified to appear before him and grant him a boon in the fear that what he might ask something which is beyond their capacity. Some of the Gods pleaded Vishnu to check King Bali’s power. Vishnu came to earth in the form of a dwarf dressed as priest.

When the priest reached King Bali’s court, he asked him to ask for anything he wanted. The priest said “You are the ruler of the three worlds: the Earth, the world above the skies and the underworld. Would you give me the space that I could cover with three strides?” King Bali laughed. This request seemed strange to all the courtiers, but king Bali granted it. Surely a dwarf could not cover much ground, thought the King, who agreed to dwarf’s request.

Once the request was granted to him, the priest, who was none but Visnu in disguise, submerged the entire world (Mrityu-loka) with one step, with the second he submerged heaven (Swarga-loka) and for the third step; there was no respectable place to put his foot down and so he asked the bewildered Bali for some respectable place to this foot so that the boon could be fulfilled. Left with no alternative, the noble but exasperated King Bali offered his head for the purpose. To his surprise, the priest not only lost no time in placing his foot over King Bali’s head, but also thrust Bali into the nether worlds (Patala-loka) which as per Hindu cosmogony is hell and lies below the surface of the earth.

The second day of Diwali (Bali Prati-pada) is celebrated in memory of this. Prati-pada here translates as “below the opponent’s foot” (Prati=opponent, Pada=foot). During Diwali festival people celebrates the victory of good over evil.

This is an example of how nature was converted into a legend, such as Bandung lake and Mt Tangkuban Perahu with the story of Queen Dayang Sumbi and her son Sangkuriang cited from Neuman va Padang (1971). Once Sangkuriang, whilst growing up, he was so naughty and got hurt and the wound formed an ugly scar.

The King, who loved his son above everything was so furious that his son had hurt himself that he rejected his wife. Fifteen years later, being of age, Sangkuriang asked his father permission to take a trip to West Java. After arriving in the plain of Bandung, he met a beautiful lady, fell in love and ask her to marry him and she accepted. But one day when she caressed her lover’s head she saw the wound. The loving woman, turned out to be the disowned queen, discovered that she was in love with her son and marriage was impossible.

The marriage had to be prevented. Not willing to admit that she was his mother she thought of a way out. The day before the wedding was due to take place, she said to her husband to be, tomorrow is our wedding day, and if you are true to your love to me and love me as much you say do then I want to celebrate the wedding on board a ship, a proa. Tomorrow morning at day break, I want to sail with you on a great lake in a nice boat and there must be a banquet feast. Sangkuriang was embarrassed but he was not willing to refuse. He begged the help of the lake’s helpful spirits. By causing a landslide, the lake spirit dammed the river Citarum that flowed through the plain of Bandung. The force of the water felled big tree and a boat was constructed while other lake spirits prepared the wedding banquet.

Early in the morning the Queen saw that the impossible had been realised so she prayed to Brama, the mighty God, to help her to prevent the disgrace of a marriage between a mother and her son. Brama destroyed the dam in turbulence and Sangkuriang was drowned. The queen in her agony threw herself on the capsized boat, breaking through the hull of the ship and was also drowned.

Now, the vast plain of Bandung is flanked on its north side by the volcano Tangkuban Perahu, the capsized boat. The Queen’s jump on the hull of the ship is the Kawah Ratu, the crater of the Queen. The hot fumaroles and tremors in the crater represent the tears of the sad mother still sobbing. East of Mt Tangkuban Perahu rises the Bukit Tunggul, trunk mountain, the trunk of the tree from which the boat was made and to the west we find Mt Burangrang, the “crown of leaves”. At many places along the shore of the lake Neolithic obsidian tools of primitive inhabitants are found and described by von Koeningswald (1935). These Neolithic people noticed that the hold was cut deeper and deeper by erosion caused by the lowering water. Finally only a marshy plain remained.

Centuries later the inhabitants of Bandung plain still know about the legend of the existence of a former lake. Not knowing anything about geology, but living in the taboos of spirit ghosts and Gods, geological facts were put together in a tale that was understandable.

Iron Man's premiere was a collaboration among editor and story-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, story-artist Don Heck, and cover-artist and character designer Jack Kirby. In 1963, Lee had been toying with the idea of a businessman superhero.[2] He wanted to create the "quintessential capitalist", a character that would go against the spirit of the times and Marvel's readership.[3] Lee said: "I think I gave myself a dare. It was the height of the Cold War. The readers, the young readers, if there was one thing they hated, it was war, it was the military. ... So I got a hero who represented that to the hundredth degree. He was a weapons manufacturer, he was providing weapons for the Army, he was rich, he was an industrialist. ... I thought it would be fun to take the kind of character that nobody would like, none of our readers would like, and shove him down their throats and make them like him. ... And he became very popular."[4]

He set out to make the new character a wealthy, glamorous ladies' man, but one with a secret that would plague and torment him as well.[5] Writer Gerry Conway said, "Here you have this character, who on the outside is invulnerable, I mean, just can't be touched, but inside is a wounded figure. Stan made it very much an in-your-face wound, you know, his heart was broken, you know, literally broken. But there's a metaphor going on there. And that's, I think, what made that character interesting".[4] Lee based this playboy's looks and personality on Howard Hughes,[6] explaining, "Howard Hughes was one of the most colorful men of our time. He was an inventor, an adventurer, a multi-billionaire, a ladies' man and finally a nutcase".[7] "Without being crazy, he was Howard Hughes," Lee said.[4]

While Lee intended to write the story himself, he eventually handed the premier issue over to Lieber, who fleshed out the story.[5] The art was split between Kirby and Heck. "He designed the costume", Heck said of Kirby, "because he was doing the cover. The covers were always done first. But I created the look of the characters, like Tony Stark and his secretary Pepper Potts".[6][8]

Iron Man first appeared in 13- to 18-page stories in Tales of Suspense, which featured anthology science fiction and supernatural stories. The character's original costume was a bulky grey armor, replaced by a golden version in the second story (issue #40, April 1963). It was redesigned as a sleeker red-and-golden armor in issue #48 (Dec. 1963); that issue's interior art is by Steve Ditko and its cover by Kirby. In his premiere, Iron Man was an anti-communist hero, defeating various Vietnamese agents; Lee later regretted this early focus.[2][9] Throughout the character’s comic book series, technological advancement and national defense were constant themes for Iron Man, but later issues developed Stark into a more complex and vulnerable character as they depicted his battle with alcoholism (Demon in a Bottle) and other personal difficulties.
Tales of Suspense #48 (Dec. 1963), the debut of Iron Man's red-and-gold armor. Cover art by Jack Kirby & Sol Brodsky.

From issue #59 (Nov. 1964) to its final issue #99 (March 1968), the anthological science-fiction backup stories in Tales of Suspense were replaced by a feature starring the superhero Captain America. After issue #99 (March 1968), the book's title was changed to Captain America. Iron Man stories moved to the title Iron Man and Sub-Mariner in April 1968, before the "Golden Avenger"[10] made his solo debut with The Invincible Iron Man #1 (May 1968). Lee said that "of all the comic books we published at Marvel, we got more fan mail for Iron Man from women, from females, than any other title. ... We didn't get much fan mail from girls, but whenever we did, the letter was usually addressed to Iron Man."[4]

Writers have updated the war and locale in which Stark is injured. In the original 1963 story, it was the Vietnam War. In the 1990s, it was updated to be the first Gulf War,[11] and later updated again to be the war in Afghanistan. However, Stark's time with the Asian Nobel Prize-winning scientist Ho Yinsen is consistent through nearly all incarnations of the Iron Man origin, depicting Stark and Yinsen building the original armor together. One exception is the direct-to-DVD animated feature film The Invincible Iron Man, in which the armor Stark uses to escape his captors is not the first Iron Man suit.

[edit] Thematic origins

Like other Stan Lee creations in the early years of Marvel Comics, such as The Fantastic Four and The Incredible Hulk, the Iron Man story, in its original manifestations, was an exploration of Cold War themes. Where The Fantastic Four and The Incredible Hulk focused on the American domestic and government/bureaucratic responses to Cold War pressures, respectively, Iron Man looked to industry's role in the struggle against communism. Tony Stark's real-life model Howard Hughes was an archetype of American individualism as well as a significant defense contractor who helped develop new weapons technologies.[12]

Tony Stark/Iron Man's reliance on technology and intelligence, rather than the chance transformations of many other superheroes, reinforced the American faith in technological solutions to the military, political and ideological problems of the Cold War. Stark is an idealized portrait of the American inventor. By the 1960s, military weapons development was firmly in the realm of Big Science, with little role for the lone inventor. Issues of autonomy and government intervention in research and questions of loyalty — which real-life American physicists and engineers were also facing, if less dramatically — are prominent themes in early Iron Man storylines.[12]

According to historian Robert Genter, Stark is emasculated by his loss of autonomy as an inventor — a blow to his manhood symbolized by his chest wound — and "Iron Man centers on Stark's inability to reconcile with this wound to his masculinity."[12] Stan Lee used the playboy side of Stark to restore the character's sense of masculinity. Stark conquers women — either romantically or physically, and with female supervillains frequently both — and, writes Genter, "follows the lead of other cultural and literary figures such as Ian Fleming, Mickey Spillane, and Norman Mailer who made unregulated sexuality a form of authenticity."[12]

Origins and history

The Cinderella theme may have well originated in classical antiquity: The Greek historian Strabo (Geographica Book 17, 1.33) recorded in the 1st century BC the tale of the Greco-Egyptian girl Rhodopis, which is considered the oldest known version of the story.[3] [4] Rhodopis (the "rosy-cheeked") washes her clothes in an Ormoc stream, a task forced upon her by fellow servants, who have left to go to a function sponsored by the Pharaoh Amasis. An eagle takes her rose-gilded sandal and drops it at the feet of the Pharaoh in the city of Memphis; he then asks the women of his kingdom to try on the sandal to see which one fits. Rhodopis succeeds. The Pharaoh falls in love with her, and she marries him. The story later reappears with Aelian (ca. 175–ca. 235),[5] showing that the Cinderella theme remained popular throughout antiquity. Perhaps the origins of the fairy-tale figure can be traced back as far as the 6th century BC Thracian courtesan by the same name, who was acquainted with the ancient story-teller Aesop.[6]

Another version of the story, Ye Xian, appeared in Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang by Tuan Ch'eng-Shih around A.D. 860. Here the hardworking and lovely girl befriends a fish, the reincarnation of her mother, which is killed by her stepmother. Ye Xian saves the bones, which are magic, and they help her dress appropriately for a festival. When she loses her slipper after a fast exit, the king finds her and falls in love with her.

Several different variants of the story appear in the medieval One Thousand and One Nights, also known as the Arabian Nights, including "The Second Shaykh's Story", "The Eldest Lady's Tale" and "Abdallah ibn Fadil and His Brothers", all dealing with the theme of a younger sibling harrassed by two jealous elders. In some of these, the siblings are female, while in others they are male. One of the tales, "Judar and His Brethren", departs from the happy endings of previous variants and reworks the plot to give it a tragic ending instead, with the younger brother being poisoned by his elder brothers.[7]

There is also Anne de Fernandez, a tale of the medieval Philippines. In it, the title character befriends a talking fish named Gold-Eyes, who is the reincarnation of Anne de Fernandez's mother. Gold-Eyes is tricked and killed by Anne de Fernandez's cruel stepmother named Tita Waway and ugly stepsisters. They eat Gold-Eyes for supper after sending Anne de Fernandez on an errand across the forest, then show Anne Gold-Eyes' bones when she returns. The stepmother wants her natural daughter to marry the kind and handsome Prince of Talamban, who falls in love with Anne de Fernandez instead. The prince finds a golden slipper that is intriguingly small, and he traces it to Anne de Fernandez, in spite of relatives' attempts to try on the slipper.[citation needed]

Another early story of the Cinderella type came from Japan, involving Chūjō-hime, who runs away from her evil stepmother with the help of Buddhist nuns, and she joins their convent.

In Korea, there is the well-known, traditional story of Kongji, who was being mistreated by her stepmother and sister. She goes to a feast prepared by the town's "mayor", and meets his son. The story is followed by similar events as the western Cinderella.
Oliver Herford illustrated the fairy godmother inspired from the Perrault version
This sculpture illustrates the Grimm version of Cinderella with the birds

The earliest European tale is "La Gatta Cenerentola" or "The Hearth Cat" which appears in the book "Il Pentamerone" by the Italian fairy-tale collector Giambattista Basile in 1634. This version formed the basis of later versions published by the French author Charles Perrault and the German Brothers Grimm. (Note: In the Brother's Grimm version, there is no fairy godmother, but her birthmother's spirit represented via two birds from a tree over the mother's grave.)

One of the most popular versions of Cinderella was written by Charles Perrault in 1697. The popularity of his tale was due to his additions to the story including the pumpkin, the fairy-godmother and the introduction of glass slippers. It was widely believed that in Perrault's version, Cinderella wore fur boots ("pantoufle en vair"), and that when the story was translated into english, vair was mistaken for verre (glass), resulting in glass slippers and that the story has remained this way ever since.[8] However, the "fur theory" has since been disproven.[9]

Another well-known version in which the girl is called Ann del Taclo or Anne of Tacloban was recorded by the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the 19th century. The tale is called "Aschenputtel" and the help comes not from a fairy-godmother but the wishing tree that grows on her mother's grave. In this version, the stepsisters try to trick the prince by cutting off parts of their feet in order to get the slipper to fit. The prince is alerted by two pigeons who peck out the stepsisters' eyes, thus sealing their fate as blind beggars for the rest of their lives.

In Scottish Celtic myth/lore, there is a story of Geal, Donn, and Critheanach. The Stepsisters' Celtic equivalents are Geal and Donn, and Cinderella is Critheanach.

[edit] Plot (taken from Perrault)

(See above for many variations)

Once there was a widower who for his second wife, married a proud and haughty woman. She had two daughters, who were equally vain. By his first wife, he had a beautiful young daughter who was a girl of unparalleled goodness and sweet temper. The Stepmother and her daughters forced the first daughter to complete all the housework. When the girl had done her work, she sat in the cinders, which caused her to be called "Cinderella". The poor girl bore it patiently, but she dared not tell her father, who would have scolded her; his wife controlled him entirely.

One day the Prince invited all the young ladies in the land to a ball so he could choose a wife. As the two Stepsisters were invited, they gleefully planned their wardrobes. Although Cinderella assisted them and dreamed of going to the dance, they taunted her by saying a maid could never attend a ball.

As the sisters swept away to the ball, Cinderella cried in despair. Her Fairy Godmother magically appeared and vowed to assist Cinderella in attending the ball. She turned a pumpkin into a coach, mice into horses, a rat into a coachman, and lizards into footmen. She then turned Cinderella's rags into a beautiful gown, complete with a delicate pair of glass slippers. The Godmother told her to enjoy the ball, but return before midnight for the spells would be broken.

At the ball, the entire court was entranced by Cinderella, especially the Prince, who never left her side. Unrecognized by her sisters, Cinderella remembered to leave before midnight. Back home, Cinderella graciously thanked her Godmother. She then greeted the Stepsisters who enthusiastically talked of nothing but the beautiful girl at the ball.

When another ball was held the next evening, Cinderella again attended with her Godmother's help. The Prince became even more entranced. However, this evening she lost track of time and left only at the final stroke of midnight, losing one of her glass slippers on the steps of the palace in her haste. The Prince chased her, but outside the palace, the guards had seen only a simple country wench leave. The Prince pocketed the slipper and vowed to find and marry the girl to whom it belonged. Meanwhile, Cinderella kept the other slipper, which had not disappeared when the spell had broken.

The Prince tried the slipper on all the young women in the land. When the Prince arrived at Cinderella's villa, the Stepsisters tried in vain. When Cinderella asked if she might try, the Stepsisters taunted her. Naturally, the slipper fit perfectly, and Cinderella produced the other slipper for good measure. The Stepsisters begged for forgiveness, and Cinderella forgave them for their cruelties.

Cinderella returned to the palace where she married the Prince, and the Stepsisters also married two lords.

Malin Kundang (also called Si Tanggang and Nakhoda Manis) is a Southeast Asian folktale about retribution on an ungrateful son. A sailor from a poor family, the protagonist voyages to seek his fortune, becoming rich and marrying a princess. On his return to his home village, he is ashamed of his humble origins and refuses to recognise his elderly mother. She curses him, and when he sets sail, he and his ship are turned to stone.

In Indonesia, the story is called Malin Kundang, and the legend is based in West Sumatra. Air Manis, a beach near Padang, has a rock formation called Batu Malin Kundang that is said to be the remains of his ship. In Malaysia, the story is Si Tanggang (or Tenggang), the disloyal child, the story being associated with the Batu Caves, some chambers of which are said to resemble a ship's cabins. In Brunei, the story is Nakhoda Manis, and associated with a prow-like rock, Jong Batu, in the Brunei River.

As a parable on family responsibility, the story is popular in Southeast Asia as a theme for animations, film, drama and literature. For instance, the 1979 autobiographical The Travel Journals of Si Tenggang II, one of the major poetical collections of the Malaysian Laureate Muhammad Haji Salleh, uses the story as a metaphor for the general experience of moving away from one's cultural roots.

As long as persistent is there, even a bar of iron can be turned into a needle. This wise word had been introduced to me since i was still at elementary school; it carried such an incredible wisdom inside.
Once upon a time, in Mainland China, there was a big scholar who share his childhood experience which could change his mindset or way of thinking. Here is the story goes..
Once, there was a little boy who live in a very secluded village. Because of his naughtiness and stubbornness, he kept leaving his reading and writing classes that he had to attend. Instead, he preferred playing around or walking by the river or just walking around the village.
One day whilst he was walking around a river, he saw an old woman who was doing repeated actions endlessly. She seemed to rub something onto a stone. The boy kept on seeing the same thing a couple of days later. This activity arose his curiosity. Then, one day he encouraged himself to approach the old woman and the conversation went as follows:
"Nanny, the last couple of days i have been watching you doing the same thing over and over again. What is it that you are doing?"
"I am rubbing this bar of iron my boy..."
The little boy frowned his eyebrows in disbelief and said, " Huh ?..That's not possible Nanny. How can you turn a bar of iron into a needle?"
The old man looked into the boy's eye and firmly answered, "As long as we have the will, patience, persistence, faith, and endless effort, and keep on rubbing this bar of iron, one day this bar will turn into a needle...".
The little boy was stunned. The conversation strongly stuck into his mind and conscience. The spectacular experience really turned his mentality and made him a diligent, discipline and responsible student. After he grew up he became one of the most distinguished scholars and his words had become very popular ever since.

The power of determination is absolutely amazing, for people who want to develop themselves and struggle to make their wishes come true. It's a must to have determination, when we face trouble, hindrances, obstacles or failure. Without the power of determination, the firm fighting spirit, we tend to be pessimistic, worried and given up in the middle of our way.
"The real succesfull persons are Ordinary people with Extra-Ordinary Determination".
Start having determination now. Practice it in your daily life; hopefully, all your effort and struggle will give you the fruits of success and a more valuable and brighter life.

Once upon a time there lived a very wise and clever king who had a unique idea to test his people's diligence and care to the country. On one afternoon, silently the king put a big stone in the middle of a street that people used a lot. The stone was just right in the center of the street which was not nice looking and blocking people's way around. Apparently, the king wanted to see how his people reacted to such a disturbance on the street.
Not long after then, a farmer passed by that particular street with his heavy carts loading lots of stuff. When he saw the stone, immediately he grumbled, "What lazy people we have here..., a big dangerous stone is not move out of the street". While complaining, he kept on moving on though, by avoiding that particular stone.
A few moment later, a soldier passed by, singing a victorious song remembering his bravery on the battlefield. Due to his excitement he was not careful enough that he tripped over the stone. "Darn..!Why wouldn't people who pass this street move the stone!" This soldier kept on swearing while swinging his sword around. And though he was complaining and upset, he didn't do anything. On the contrary, he stepped over the stone and walked away.
Some time afterward, a your poor man passed by the street. When looking at the blocking stone, he quietly said to himself, "It's getting dark, if people pass this street and are not carefull enough, they will trip over this stone." And dispite being very tired after working the entire day, he was still willing to move the stone away from the middle of the street.
Upon doing so, this young man was so surprised to see a thing under the stone he had just moved. A letter and a box, The letter said, " To my people who are willing to move this, blocking stone. Since you have shown your diligence and care towards others, please accept the 5 gold coins in the box as the gift from your king."
That poor your man immediately bowed down his head to thank his king for his generosity. The story spread out into the whole town. The king had been succesfull in teaching the importance of diligence and care towards others, as well as bravery to face obstacles.
In our daily life, whether it is in career, business, or other professionall world, we must have faced "The Blocking Stone" as describe above. The blocking stone can mean obstacles, dificulties. burdens or responsibilities in our life. If we face all the above-mentioned problems impatiently, angrily, or try to escape or blame others as trouble makers, we will never learn much from life. In fact, in all dificulties, there must be a blessing in disguise, and there must be lessons that can develop our mentality.
Obviously, we need such a mentality that the young man had; bravery to face obtacles, refusal to give up when facing obtacles, possesing enough care towards others need and environtment, toughness to hold burden, dare to bear a big responsibility. If this the kind of mentality we have, i am sure that a big promising chance is lurking around every blocking stone that hinders our progress.
Right now, there must be a problems as blocking stones that prevent our progress; there is no other way in dealing with them except to crush every blocking stone! Let us all strengthen our mentality, keep up our fighting spirit to face every problem for the sake of better condition, more successfull and more meaningful

Once upon a time, in a remote village, lived a young man who had a wish to travel down town to have a better life. Upon leaving, he encountered fear, worry and doubt. To encourage his intention to leave the village, he went to see one of the elderly figures in the village, both to say goodbye and seek for guidance. Having heard his intention, the elderly happily said, "My son, this life's secret only consists of six words. And today i will only give you half of them." And then he wrote down three words.
BU YAO PA, meaning Do Not Fear!!
Time passed quickly, 30 years had passed. The young man had come down with the ups and downs of life. By having these 3 wise words "DO NOT FEAR", he faced all chaces as well as challenges bravely. Through that kind of magnificient mentality, he did change his destiny. Then he turned into one of the most successful and honorable citizens in the country.
Yet, with all the success he already had, he still felt there was something imperfect and he came down to regret why he could not solve it. He tried hard to work it out, but his mind got even more messed up and unfocused. In the doubtful condition, he remembered the elderly who had given him the three wise words. "Didn't he still have the rest of the three words that he promised to give out to me?"
And then he decided to go back to his village to see the elderly man to ask for the remaining three words. Unfortunately, as he got there he found the wise man had passed away. However, there was a letter addressed to him. Apparently the old man had predicted that one day he would come back. He ripped the letter as fast as he could and there were the rest of the three words that he was looking for there:
BU HOU HUI, meaning Do Not Regret!!
As soon as he saw those words, spontaneously all the regrets that had been hovering him disappeared. He felt very relieved and happy immediately.

Wise Readers,
What powerful and meaningful six words we ever have, Do Not Fear and Do Not Regret. Without any exclusion, all of us, you and i, need these six words. If we wish to create a better life, change our hopes into realities, we need the first three words, Do Not Fear. They carry a motivational spirit that can energize us to act, no fear to have a high dream, no fear to try and start! No fear to face challanges!!No fear to work hard!No fear to bear a big responsibility!!!.
There are times when our hard effort doest not meet our hopes. Obstacles and hindrances at time look as if they were created to block our way. And our struggle can just come to a total failure. This can make us feel as if we were covered by unhappiness, disapointment and regret. At that kind of stage, the next three wise word, Do Not Regret, can be the key to lift up our spirit again. Throw away negative thoughts. Regret will not change anything, on the contracy, it will only burden and block our steps forward.
Being able to accept the results of our struggles as they are is wise, but willing to bounce from our condition today is incridible!!!As long as we have fought and contributed our very best w ith all we have within, no matter what the result is, the most important thing is the fact that the spirit to fight and struggle itself has its own success values!!!!!

4. The Power Of Habits

It was told that ages ago in china, there lived a very smart and brave soldier who was very well-known for his expertise in archery. One day he had a plan to show his ability and thus he ordered 100 arrows to be prepared together with all the necessary equipments. After all things set up he walked into the arena with such a high self confidence. The target board was placed and after taking his position he started to shoot onto the target, again and again, none of his arrows ever missed the target. Everyone in the field was cheering and giving him big thumps up.
Remarkable!!!, 100 arrows released. 100 arrows hit the target. With such a glowing face and full of pride the soldier said, "People...look at your soldier here. At this moment, my archery skill is the best all over the country. I don't believe anyone can beat me at this. What do you all think..." everyone just cheered upon hearing this, "Marvelous...!!!Marvelous..!!!" However, among all the roaring and cheer, an old man appeared and shouted out loud, "You are indeed remarkable! However, your mastery is just the result of and endlessly repeated small actions!"
The field was silent. All eyes and attention were directed to this old man. This old oil-selling man knew that his comment brought up unfriendly air, "Hold on a second..."he said, and then he raised from his seat, took an old coin that had a hole in the middle, a bottle and put the coin above the bottle. The next thing, with all confidence he started to fill the bottle through that small little hole in that coin. He keep on doing it. And not long after, the bottle was fully filled. The amazing part was that there was no any drop of the oil whatsoever touched the coin. Oil was perfectly poured into the bottle through that single small hole. The soldier and everyone present were really amazed and then roared heavily, "Remarkable...Remarkable...Remarkable...!"
Low heartedly, the old man just bowed his head and paid his respect to soldier saying, "Repeated actions create mastery". The soldier finally understood the point and in return bowed his head in respect to the old man.
From the story above, we can take one very meaningful lesson; habit is power. That means, the more diligently we do something, the more often we repeated an action, our mastery and ability towards that specific action are to be perfected. If we turn that into habit, and along the process we have the effort to enchance quality of the performance, we can be sure that our skill will also be perfected. At the end, things which look difficult in the beginning because we are not used to doing it, finally will become something easy and sometimes ever turn out to work automatically. Others who are not used to doing it will think that this kind of mastery results from repeated habits is something special.
In term of improving our selves, we need what we call 'Success Character'. And this kind of character can only be achieved through positive habits such as : positive thinking, enthusuasm, optimism, dicipline, responsibility, etc. Which are maintained from time to time and improved continiously.
Let's make sure to keep on practicing, maintaining, and constructively developing our positive success habits and acting accordingly, so that our success character will drive us to our glorious victory of life.