Indonesian Folktale: Lake Lau Kawar

Lake Lau Kawar

            A long long time ago, everybody in the Kawar village was happy. The farmers had just their best harvest. The villagers were planning to hold a party to celebrate the good harvest. On one beautiful day, all the villagers gathered in a field. They wore beautiful dresses and made delicious food. Everybody was having good times! They were singing, laughing, and of course, eating delicious food.

            Did everyone go to the party? Unfortunately, there was one old woman still staying at her house. She was too old and weak to go to the party. Her son, her daughter-in-law, and her grandchildren all went to the party. At home, the old woman felt very sad and lonely. She was very hungry too. She tried to find some food in the kitchen, but she was very disappointed. Her daughter-in-law did not cook that day. At the party, the son asked his wife, “Why don’t you take some food from the party and give it to my mon? Ask our son to deliver it.” Then the little boy brought the food to his grandmother. The old woman was so happy. But her happiness turned into sadness when she saw the food was not in a good condition. It seemed that someone had eaten the food. She just got little rice and fish bones.

            The old woman was very sad. She tought bad things about her son. The old woman did not know that it was her grandson who had eaten the food on the way from the party to the house. She cursed her son. Then, a terrible thing happened. There was a great earthquake! Thunders struck the village. And heavy rains started to fall. All the villagers were so scared. They wanted to save themselves. They tried to find shelters. Slowly, the field turned into a lake. The lake was getting bigger and bigger, and finally the whole village turned into a big lake. People then named the lake Lau Kawar.