The Blowpiper
Long time ago in a small village in Bangka Island, lived a young man
who was an expert in using blowpipe, especially for hunting. That why
people in the village called him the blowpiper. He also had excellent
medical skill that was passed down from his late father. One day, the
village chief Pak Raje came to the blowpiper’s house, asking him to
chase away the fold of wild boars that entered and ruined his paddies.
Pak Raje told the blowpiper that his father once owed him some money.
Thus, the blowpiper should work for him voluntarily. The blowpiper took
the job, though he would not be paid.
In the next day, the blowpiper went to Pak Raje‘s
field. He watched the field and did some patrols to every side of the
fields. He watched the field everyday, but he still not found any
suspicious movements. Entering the seventh day of his work, the
blowpiper noticed a suspicious movement from the far distance. He walked
slowly to the source of voice where he saw a fold of boars trying to
enter the field. The blowpiper then hid behind a big tree with a
blowpipe in his hand. When the fold of boars ruined the paddies, the
blowpiper pointed his blowpipe toward one of the boars that was closest
to him. He blew his blowpipe. The dart hit the boar, but it didn’t
paralyze the boar as the blowpiper expected. The fold of boars then runs
outside the field and disappeared from the blowpiper‘s view. “Hmm... My
dart had hit one of them, it must hurt it,” said the blowpiper
curiously.
In the morning, the blowpiper went to follow the
blood trail of the boar he shot last night. The trail led him to the
forest and finally it ended in front of a big cave. Cautiously, the
blowpiper entered the cave. He was surprised to found a beautiful lady
bleeding on a soft bed, surrounded by some other beautiful ladies. One
of them was an old lady, the mother of the fainted lady. “Who are you?
What are you doing here?” asked the old lady. “I’m sorry to interrupt.
I’m looking for my lost dart, it was stuck to a wild boar,” the
blowpiper explained to the old lady. “The stuff you are looking for is
on my daughter,” said the old lady angrily. “How come it is on your
daughter?” asked the blowpiper surprised. “That’s because... the boar
that you shot with your blowpipe last night is in fact my daughter‘s
manifestation,” explained the old woman sadly.
The old woman‘s explanation surprised the
blowpiper. “So..., all of you were the boars that I saw last night?”
asked the young man. “What you have said is right young man,” answered
the old woman softly. “I did not mean to…. I am so sorry to hear that. I
would not do that if I knew that the boars were you,” the blowpiper
apologized. “Never mind,” said the old woman. “Forget all about that.
The most important thing right now is how to release the dart from my
daughter‘s body,” added the old woman sadly. “I can help you with that,”
said the blowiper. He came closer to the beautiful lady and uncovered
the blanket. He then took out the dart from her body and with his
medical skill he immediately stopped the bleeding.
In a short time, the wound recovered, leaving no
traces. “Now, she has recovered. Let me go home now. May be we can meet
again someday,” said the blowpiper politely. “Yes young man... But
before you leave, I have something to give to you as my gratitude,” said
the old lady while giving the blowpiper a wooden box. “Do not open the
box until you’re in home,” added the old lady. “Thank you for your
kindness,” said the blowpiper. He then left the cave and returned home.
At his home, the blowpiper opened the wooden box. Surprisingly, the
young man found jewelry, gold and diamonds inside the box. “Wow...! I’m
rich,” murmured the young man happily.
In the next morning, the blowpiper sold all the
precious stuff and used the money he got to purchase a field, garden,
house, and paid all debt his father had owed to Pak Raje. The news about
the blowpiper fortune quickly spread throughout the village. Everyone
knew including Pak Raje. He intended to be like the blowpiper, so he
went to borrow the blowpipe from the blowpiper to hunt a boar in his own
field. On the way, he met with a boar, and shot it with the blowpipe.
Then he followed the blood trail left by the boar until he entered the
cave. It was like what happened with the blowpiper. Pak Raje was asked
to cure the bleeding woman, but he could do that as he had no such
skill. Suddenly, tens of boars attacked him, making him bleeding and
seriously wounded. With all his strength, he escaped from the cave. He
fainted when he finally arrived in front of his own house.
Pak Raje’s daughter informed what happened to her
father to the blowpiper. Hearing the bad news, the blowpiper rushed to
Pak Raje‘s house to help him. With his medical skill, he tried to cure
Pak Raje’s injuries. Finally, Pak Raje could make it and recovered from
his serious wounds. After thinking about what he had been through, Pak
Raje realized his own bad intention. He felt sorry for being greedy.
“Thank you, young man. You’ve help me once again. As my gratitude, I
would like to appoint you as the next village chief. Would you accept?”
asked Pak Raje. “Of course, Pak Raje. Thank you,” answered the blowpiper
happily.
After a week, the blowpiper asked Pak Raje’s
daughter to be his wife. They live happily as a couple. The blowpiper
was a polite and kind person, and Pak Raje’s daughter was a beautiful
woman. Under the leadership of the blowpiper, all the villagers lived in
prosperous and harmony.
No comments:
Post a Comment