Once upon a time there was a prosperous village in a far away island
called Sumatra. In northern part of the island, lived a farmer whose name
was Toba. He lived alone in a hut by a small forest. He worked on his
farmland to grow rice and vegetables that he sells to local market. Once
day he wanted to catch some fish so he went to a river and fished there.
He was very surprised when he got a big fish. The fish was as big as
human being. Soon he went home and put the fish in his kitchen. He
planned to cook the fish for his dinner that night. When he got to his
house that afternoon he took a bath. Then as he walked into his bedroom
after taking a bath Toba was very shocked. Do you want to know what
happened?
There stood in his living room a very beautiful girl. The girl greeted him
nicely. For a moment Toba was speechless. When he could control his
emotion he asked her.
Who are you? Whats your name? Why suddenly you are here in my
house?
Pardon me if I surprised you Mr. Toba, but you took me here. I was the
fish that you caught in the river. Now that I become a human being again,
I would like to thank you and I will be your servant to express my
thankfulness
Were you the fish?
Yes, I was the fish. Look at your kitchen.
Toba immediately rushed to his kitchen and the fish was nowhere to be
seen. He saw some gold coins instead.
Whose coins are these? Why there are some coins here?
Those coins are mine. As I changed into human being my scales changed
into gold coins
Ok you can live here and work for me. Your room is over there
Thank you very much Mr. Toba
Since that day the beautiful girl lived in Tobas house. Since she was very
beautiful Toba fell in love with her and not long after that they got
married. The girl married to Toba on one condition that he would never
tell anybody about her past. Toba agreed to the condition. Several months
later Tobas wife delivered to a baby boy. Their son was healthy. Soon he
grew up into a handsome boy. Toba named him Samosir. Unfortunately
Samosir was a lazy boy. He did not want to work at all. When his father
worked hard in his rice field and farm, Samosir just slept. When he was
awake he talked a lot and he ate a lot. Toba was very disappointed with
his sons nature. He hoped that one day Samosir would change into a
diligent boy. Day in and day out but Samosir never changed.
Toba used to go to his farm and rice field early in the morning. Then at
midday his wife would bring him food. They used to eat lunch at their
farm. As he was a teenager Toba and his wife tried to change his
behavior. They ordered Samosir to bring food for his father for lunch while
her mother stayed at home to do household chores. But Samosir never
did his duty well. He always woke up very late. He woke up after midday.
Then one day his mother forced him to bring the food.
Sam, wake up. Go to the farm and bring the food for your father. He
must be very tired and hungry now.
But Mom, I am tired and hungry too
What makes you tired? You just wake up. Go now. You father needs the
food
Toba reluctantly went to the farm. But he did not go to the farm
immediately. He stopped somewhere in the street and ate the food. It was
already late afternoon when he got to the farm. His father was
disappointed. Then he was angry as he realized that his son had eaten his
food. He said sarcastically.
O, you are stupid lazy boy. You are son of a fish!
Samosir was hurt. He went home right away and as he got home he told
his mother about his fathers words. Samosirs mother was shocked. She
was also deeply hurt.
O Toba. You break your promise so I cannot live with you here anymore.
Now you have to accept to consequence of what you did. Samosir, now go
to the hill, find the tallest tree and climb it
Why mom? What will happen?
Just do it, never ask any question. Good bye
As soon as she finished saying that suddenly the weather changed. Sunny
day suddenly turned into cloudy day. Not long after that the rain poured
heavily. The rain last for several days. Consequently the area was flooded.
The whole area became a big lake. Then it was called Lake Toba and in
the middle of the lake there is an island called Samosir Island. Meanwhile
Tobas wife disappeared.
Lake Toba is located in the province of North Sumatra, Indonesia. Today it
becomes a tourist destination.
