TIMUN MAS

Once upon a time, there lived an old widow. Her name was mbok Sirni. She lived by
herself for years since her husband had passed away many years ago. She was very lonely
and she expected a child in her life. She kept praying to God every day for her dream and she
believed that miracle would happened to those who had hope in their heart.
One night, a giant came into her dream. The giant told her to go into the jungle where
she usually collected firewood. The giant also told her that she would find the answer of her
dream in that place. When she woke up in the morning, she decided to follow the instruction
in her dream.
Mbok Sirni went to the jungle in the morning and headed to the direction that the
giant told her in her dream. When she arrived in the location she saw a huge golden cucumber
laying on the ground. She was about to take the golden cucumber when suddenly a giant
showed up in front of her. It was the giant that she saw in her dream. She was really afraid
when she saw the giant and she said, “please, don’t eat me Giant”.
The Giant laughed to hear mbok Sirni’s statement. The giant said “I’m not here to eat
you old woman. I am here to grant you your wish”. “My wish, what do you mean Giant?”
asked mbok Sirni to the giant. “You said that you wanted a child, didn’t you?” said the giant.
“Yes, that’s true” said mbok Sirni. “Well, if you really want to have a child, take this golden
cucumber with you. You will find a baby inside it. You can keep the child with you but one
day, you have to bring the child to me so I can eat it.” Said the giant. Mbok Sirni agree to the
giant offer because she had been waiting for so long to have a child and she thought that this
was the only way to achieve it.
Mbok Sirni brought the golden cucumber back to her house. She cut it open and she
found that there was a baby girl inside it. The baby was very pretty. Mbok Sirni was very
happy that she finally had a child. She named the baby “Timun Mas” as the baby was from a
golden cucumber. Drowned in her happiness, she forgot her promise to the giant.
The years went by and Timun Mas had grown into a beautiful, smart and kind young
lady. Mbok Sirni was very proud of what Timun Mas had become. Their life was so complete
until one night the giant showed up in mbok Sirni’s dream again. The giant remind her that he
would come to their house next week. The giant also told her to prepare her child to be his
food.
Ever since that night, mbok Sirni was uneasy. She was so afraid of losing her child,
but she also realized that this was all her mistake when she made the promise to the giant.
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She finally decided to tell Timun Mas about the problem. Timun Mas was so shocked to find
out the truth. She refused to go with the giant because she wanted to stay with her mother.
After discussing the problem, they decided to ask for a help from an ascetic who lived in a
mountain.
The next day, they went to the mountain where the ascetic lived. They started the journey in
the morning and they managed to arrive in the place by the afternoon. It was a huge cave and
they entered it. The ascetic man greet them and asked their purpose to come into that place.
Mbok Sirni explained everything to the ascetic man and she asked for his help.
The ascetic man asked them to wait and he walked into his secret chamber.
When the ascetic man went out from his secret chamber, he brought four small
bundles made of banana leaves in his hand. He gave it to mbok Sirni and Timun Mas. He told
them that each of the bundle contain different thing such as: cucumber seed, needle, salt and
shrimp paste (terasi). He also told Timun Mas to bring it with her when the giant came to take
her, and if the giant tried to chase her, Timun Mas had to throw the bundle one by one toward
the giant. After that they thanked the ascetic man and went back to their house.
Timun Mas and mbok Sirni waited for the day when the giant would come to their
house, but this time they were not afraid anymore because they already had a weapon to fight
the giant. After a couple of day, the giant came to their house. Mbok Sirni came out of the
house and face the giant. She asked the giant to release Timun Mas from their agreement, but
the giant refused. Mbok Sirni called Timun Mas and asked her to come out of the house.
Timun Mas introduced herself and stood up in front of the giant.
When the giant saw Timun Mas, his hunger get even worse. He was about to grab
Timun Mas with his hand when Timun Mas suddenly dodged and run away from him. The
giant start chasing Timun Mas, but Timun Mas was very agile so she can buy some distance
between them.
After a couple of minutes, Timun Mas started to be tired and the giant started to catch
up. She decided to open the first bundle, and the content was cucumber seed. She throwed the
bundle toward the giant and suddenly the jungle turned into a large field of cucumber tree. In
instant the cucumber tree grew around the giant body and bind him. It stopped the giant for a
while and Timun Mas managed keep the distance between them. But it wasn’t long until the
giant managed to get out of the trap and chased Timun Mas again.
Timun Mas opened the second bundle and throw it toward the giant when she realized
that the giant was so close. It turned out that the second bundle contained some magic needles

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that grow into a large field of bamboo tree. The bamboo tree stabbed the giant’s foot so it
bleed, but the giant managed to get out of the trap for the second time.
Timun Mas was so surprised to see the giant get out of the trap easily, so she decided to open
the third bundle and throw it toward the giant. The third bundle contained salt
that magically turned the field into a vast and deep ocean. For the third time, the giant
managed to swim across the ocean easily. Timun Mas became more nervous this time,
because there was only one remaining weapon in her hand, and it was the last bundle which
contained shrimp paste (terasi). With her remaining energy, she threw the last bundle toward
the giant and in instant the land turned into flaming lava and the giant was drowned in it and
died.
Timun Mas was so relief that she finally free from the Giant who wanted to consume
her. She went back home to her mother who was waiting for her to return home safely. They
were so happy and they prayed to God to show their gratitude. Finally, Timun Mas and mbok
Sirni live happily ever after.