Assalamu’alaikum
Wr.Wb.
Good afternoon, guys. How are you today? First, I wanna ask
you about something. Do you ever hear a story in title “Ande – Ande Lumut” ?
I’m sure all of you know the story or even ever tell it to your friends. Okay,
the honorable teacher and my beloved friends. This is the story.
Ande Ande Lumut
Long time ago in East Java, there stood twin kingdoms, Jenggala
and Kediri. The kingdoms were once
united under Kahuripan Kingdom. To avoid war, the kingdoms decided to reunite
through a marriage of the kings’ children. They were Raden Panji Asmarabangun
and Dewi Sekartaji.
One day,
Jenggala was attacked by a large number
of people. When the war broke out, Dewi Sekartaji ran away and hid out in a
desolate village. There she met a wealthy widow called Nyai Intan. Nyai Intan
had three beautiful daughters, Klenting Abang, Klenting Ijo, and Klenting Biru.
Then, Nyai Intan took Dewi Sekartaji as her child and gave her a name, Klenting
Kuning.
“Klenting
Kuning, as a good girl, you must do all the housekeeping and cooking in the
house. While I and my lovely daughters will go to the market. Bye” said Nyai
Intan.
Klenting
Kuning was more like a servant than a child. Nyai Intan and her daughters often
scolded her and treated her badly.
In the meantime in Jenggala, Panji
Asmarabangun with his soldiers were looking for his wife, Dewi Sekartaji. Then,
in one afternoon, a soldier came up to him.
“I have
good news for you, Your Highness,” reported the man.
“Did
you find anything?” asked the prince.
“I saw
a girl that looked like the princess, Your Highness, in a small village. But
I’m not sure yet that she was her because she was only a village girl who
worked for a rich widow.”
`In the
next few days, Panji Asmarabangun and his soldiers decided to go to Dadapan, a
village that not far from where Klenting Kuning lived. Under the name of
Ande-Ande Lumut, Panji Asmarabangun stayed in a modest house of an old widow
called Mbok Randa. He soon announced to the people that he was holding a
contest to find a wife.
Klenting
Abang, Klenting Ijo, and Klenting Biru were so happy to hear that. They dressed
up as beautiful as possible to win the prince’s heart.
“We
should always look pretty, sister. Mother will be glad if one of us becomes a
princess,” said Kleting Abang.
On the
due day, the girls seemed ready. They put on their best dresses and jewelry.
When they were wearing their make up, Kleting Kuning came up to them.
“Wow
girls, you look so beautiful!” said her.
“Hi,
Kleting Kuning! Do you want to take part in the contest too?” asked Klenting
Abang.
“That’s
unlikely. You don’t even have a dress. You certainly can’t go out there in such
a terrible look,” mocked Klenting Ijo.
“Hahaha!
That’s right. You can’t go to the contest. You’d better stay home and finish
your job. Go, do the laundry!” shouted Klenting Biru while pointing at a pile
of their dirty clothes.
Kleting
Kuning took the dirty clothes and went to a nearby river. She actually did not
want to go to the contest because she loved her husband so much, Raden Panji
Asmarabangun. Suddenly a bird approached her. It talked like a human and
grabbed a whip in its feet.
“O
princess! Quickly, go to the contest in Dadapan. There you will meet your
husband. Take this whip, you may need it,” said the bird, putting the whip on a
stone next to Klenting Kuning.
Klenting
Kuning rushed back home and dressed up for the contest. By that time, Nyai
Intan and her three daughters reached the bank of Bengawan Solo River. But they
could not get across a river that deep and wide.
“Mother,
how can we get across?” asked Kleting Ijo in confusion.
“Yes,
mother. What do we do now?” added Kleting Biru.
“Wait,
wait. Look at that! What is that?” said Kleting Abang.
Suddenly,
a giant crab floated upon the stream. They did not know that the crab was Yuyu
Kangkang, Ande Ande Lumut’s henchman assigned to test the participants. Yuyu
Kangkang would help them to across the river if they kissed him. You know? Klenting
Abang and her two sisters agreed. One by one they kissed the crab. After that,
Yuyu Kangkang told them to get on his back and took them across.
Not
long afterwards, Klenting Kuning showed up at the river bank.
“Do you
need help, girl?” asked Yuyu Kangkang.
“Can
you get me across?” asked Klenting Kuning.
“Ha…
ha… ha!! I can do that, but I have a condition. I want you to kiss me.”
“What!
Impossible! I don’t want to kiss you because I have a husband.” refused her.
Klenting
Kuning lashed the stream with her whip, making the river water dwindle.
“Hey,
don’t be angry. Well, get on my back! I will take you across and even to
Dadapan Village.”
“Thank
you, sir”
In Mbok
Randa’s house, the ladies showed off their beauties in front of Ande Ande Lumut.
But he did not seem impressed by any of them. Nyai Intan went forward and got
on her knees before the prince.
“Take
one of my daughters, prince. They are all beautiful, aren’t they?” Nyai Intan
begged.
“They
are indeed charming. But I am not going to pick any of them,” said Ande Ande
Lumut. “Guards! Lead that lady in yellow dress here!” commanded him, referring
to Kleting Kuning.
“Am I,
Your Highness?” said Klenting Kuning.
“I will
take you as wife. Will you say yes?” asked the prince.
Everyone
in the place was surprised, moreover Nyai Intan and her daughters.
“I’m
sorry, Your Highness! Why do you pick that rakish woman instead of my
daughters?” asked Nyai Intan.
“Nyai Intan! Just so you know why I don’t
choose your daughters. It is because they have been disgraced by Yuyu Kangkang,
the giant crab. I pick this lady because she is still clean. She refused to
kiss the crab.”
Afterwards,
Ande-Ande Lumut revealed to Kleting Kuning who he really was. So, they went
back to the palace and lived happily ever after.
Okay
guys, what we can learn from the story? Oh! As a good human, we have to keep
our honor and never do a cruel thing. Well, this is my story. Thanks for your
attention. See you next time and bye.
Wassalamu’alaikum Wr.Wb.