A Story from Roti Island

Once upon a time, a grandmother and her granddaughter lived on Roti Island, Nusa Tenggara Timur. They had a field and grew some vegetables. The grandmother sold them at the market. One morning, the grandmother was about to go to the market.

Before she left, she asked her granddaughter to cook. “Please cook some rice for lunch. But just cook one grain of rice. It’s enough for both of us.”

“Why, Grandma?” asked the girl.

“Just do what I said!” said the grandmother.

The grandmother then left for the market. Later, the girl started to cook. However, she felt that one grain of rice would not be enough for them.

“I think it’s not enough for me and my grandmother,” said the girl.

Then she took two handfuls of rice. Suddenly, something bad happened to the rice pot.

“Oh, no! The rice is overflowing from the pot!” shouted the girl.  

“What should I do?”

The rice turned into rice porridge. It overflowed and continued to flow until it covered the kitchen. Suddenly, the grandmother came home. The girl explained what had happened.

“You are a naughty girl! Why didn’t you listen to me?” The grandmother was so angry.  

She hit the girl with a wooden stick.

“Please forgive me, Grandma!” the little girl cried and cried.

But the grandmother kept hitting her. Then, an incredible thing happened! The girl turned into a monkey. The monkey then ran away and climbed a tree. The grandmother chased the monkey.

From the tree, the monkey said, “Grandmother, I’m a monkey now. I cannot live with you anymore. You are all alone.” Then the monkey climbed higher and disappeared.

The grandmother was very sad. She regretted what she had done to her beloved granddaughter.  

“Please come back to me. Please forgive me, my granddaughter!” But it was too late.

The little girl had turned into a monkey and never came home. The people of Roti Island believe this story, and that is why, until now, people on Roti Island never hit their children or anyone else's child. They are afraid that the child might turn into a monkey.

Message: A lesson for parents: Be careful with your words, because words have power.