Baruklinting Dragon

A long time ago, there was a giant dragon named Baruklinting. One day, one of the gods asked him to take nine shepherds as an offering for the gods. Baruklinting set off for a mountain, where he opened his enormous mouth every day, hoping that shepherds would wander inside.

In a nearby village, ten shepherds were preparing to take their cows to graze on the mountain. Among them was a boy who was very skinny and dirty. His friends often mocked him.

“Look at you, so weak and filthy! Are you even strong enough to herd cows?” one of the shepherds sneered.

“Why do you even bother coming with us?” another added with a laugh.

The skinny shepherd never got angry. Instead, he just kept quiet and walked away whenever his friends laughed at him.

One day, it was scorching hot, and all the shepherds were exhausted.

"We need to find a cool place to rest," one of the shepherds suggested.

The skinny shepherd, who had quietly walked ahead, had already found a nice spot under a large tree.

“This is perfect,” he whispered to himself as he sat down, finally feeling some relief from the heat.

His friends, still searching for shade, noticed him sitting comfortably.

“Hey, look at him! He’s found the best spot,” one of them said, annoyed.

“Let’s steal his place!” another suggested.

“Yes! Let’s do it!” the others agreed eagerly.

They gathered some mud and threw it at the skinny shepherd.

“Get lost, skinny boy!” they taunted, laughing as the mud splattered across his clothes.

The skinny shepherd looked down at his dirtied clothes, sadness washing over him. But, as always, he didn’t get angry. He simply stood up and walked away.

“Ha ha ha, go away now! This spot is ours!” they laughed harder, proud of themselves.

Suddenly, the sky turned dark. Thunder rumbled, and lightning flashed across the sky. Heavy rain began to pour down.

“We need to find shelter!” one shepherd shouted.

They scrambled around and finally spotted a large cave.

“Hurry! Let’s get inside before we get soaked!” another called out, and they all rushed into the cave. The cave had sharp rocks inside, but they didn't care—they were just glad to be out of the rain.

What they didn’t know was that the cave was actually the mouth of the giant dragon, Baruklinting. As they settled inside, one of the shepherds noticed the skinny shepherd standing at the entrance, hesitating to enter.

“What are you doing here? Get lost!” one of them shouted.

“But it’s raining outside,” the skinny shepherd said quietly.

"I don’t care! This place is only for us, the big boys!” another shepherd shouted, shoving him out of the cave.

As soon as the skinny shepherd was pushed outside, the cave suddenly closed with a loud crash. The shepherds inside screamed, but it was too late—Baruklinting had closed his mouth, fulfilling his task of taking nine shepherds for the gods.

The skinny shepherd, realizing what had happened, ran as fast as he could back to the village. Out of breath and trembling, he shouted, “The dragon! The cave—it’s a dragon! It ate the others!”

The villagers, alarmed by his story, quickly armed themselves and rushed to the mountain, but when they arrived, the dragon was already gone. All that was left was the quiet mountain and the memory of the nine shepherds who had been lost.

From that day on, the village was named Kesongo Village. "Songo" meant nine, in memory of the nine shepherds who were eaten by Baruklinting.