A long time ago, there was a kingdom in East Java. It was Daha Kingdom. The king

had two beautiful daughters. Her names were Princess Dewi Galuh and Princess Candra

Kirana. They both were very beautiful. Many young men fell in love with them and one of

them was Prince Inu Kertapati. He was a crown prince from Kahuripan kingdom.

The prince came to Daha Kingdom to propose one of the princesses. Which one

would he marry? Well, he fell in love with Candra Kirana. She was not only beautiful but she

was also kind-hearted. She was dutiful and obedient to her parents. She was helpful to many

people. And how about Candra Kirana? Did she also love the prince? Yes, she did! And

apparently she was not the only one. Her sister also loved the prince. Oh no…

Dewi Galuh was so sad and angry when she knew that the prince she loved would

marry her sister. She was so jealous.

Though she was as beautiful as her sister, Dewi Galuh had the opposite personalities.

She was disobedient to her parents. She was arrogant and rude to people.

Dewi Galuh wanted to stop the marriage. She had a bad plan. She went to a witch and

asked her to change Candra Kirana into an ugly creature.

“Don’t worry, I can change her into anything. What do you have in mind?” askedthe

witch.

“Hmm… how about a snail? I hate snails! They are disgusting! I’m sure no one wants

to have snails as pets! Ha ha ha…” said Dewi Galuh happily.

“Snails? No problem! But remember, after she changes into a snail, you have to throw

her into the river. Don’t let Prince Inu Kertapati finds her. She changes into a snail during the

days. At nights, she changes back as a human. When the prince sees her as a human, the spell

is broken. It means she will never change back as a snail! She will be a human forever! Do

you understand?” asked the witch.

“I do”

“Now, take this magic water. Give this to your sister and ask her to drink it.”

Dewi Galuh rushed back to the palace. Later she secretly put the magic water into a

glass.

It was a hot day, Dewi Galuh and Candra Kirana were at the garden. Dewi Galuh

offered a glass of water to her sister. Candra Kirana was so happy. She drank the water.

Not long after that, Candra Kirana felt very strange to her body. Yes, she slowly

changed as a snail!

Dewi Galuh was happy when she saw her sister completely changed as a snail.

“Ha ha ha… I will throw you into the river now and you will never marry Prince Inu

Kertapati. I hope he will never see you as a human again because if he does, the spell is

broken and you cannot change back as a snail!” said Dewi Galuh. Then she picked the

snail and threw it into the river.

The current of the water drifted the snail. There was an old woman fishing in the

river. She was using a net to catch the fish. She accidentally caught the snail.

The old woman saw something shining in her net. When she looked at carefully, she

saw a snail! The snail was beautiful. It was golden. How could the snail have golden color?

Well, it was reflected from Candra Kirana’s good personalities.     

The old woman was amazed with snail. It was not disgusting at all. She brought it

home.

At night, the snail changed back as a human. Candra Kirana was so happy that she

was back as a human again. She wanted to go back to the palace. However she was afraid that

she would change back as a snail. After all, she had to thank the old woman for saving her.

“What should I do?” she asked to herself. “I think I will stay here tonight and help the

old woman. Hmm… how can I help her?” then Candra Kirana walked around the house. The

old woman was sleeping and Candra Kirana did not want to wake her up.

Candra Kirana cleaned the house, washed the old woman clothes and dishes. She also

cooked some food.

In the morning, the old woman woke up and she felt something was so strange. Her

house was cleaned. The dishes and the clothes were washed and cleaned. There was even

food on the table!

“Hey… who did this to me? Well, whoever did this to me, I really thank the person,”

said the old woman. She ate the food. “It’s so delicious!” said the old woman. She looked so

happy.

Meanwhile, the snail was watching what happened. She was delighted to see the old

woman happy. The snail then changed her mind.

“I will stay here for a moment, a few days perhaps, until I find a way how to go back

to the palace,” said the princess to herself.

At night, the snail changed as a human. Candra Kirana again helped the old woman

cleaned the house, washed the clothes and the dishes, and cooked some food.

And again, the old woman was so surprised to see her house was in a good condition.

After she had the delicious breakfast, she planned to meet the person who helped her.

“I think it happened at night while I was sleeping. I will not sleep tonight then. I hope

I can meet the person,” said the old woman to herself.

At night, the old woman pretended to go to her bed room to sleep. And in midnight,

she heard some noise in the kitchen. She carefully woke up and walked silently to the

kitchen.

The old woman was surprised when she saw a beautiful girl in her kitchen. And she

recognized the girl.

“Oh My God! Are you Princess Candra Kirana?”

“Yes, I am.”

“What happened? What are you doing here?”

Princess Candra Kirana then told her about her sister and Prince Inu Kertapati. She

also told her that she would change back as a human if the prince saw her at night as a

human.

“But the problem is I don’t know how to tell the prince and ask him to meet me

at night,” explained the princess.

“Don’t worry, I will help you. I will meet the prince and ask him to come here,” said

the old woman.

“Really? Do you want to do that?” asked the princess. She was so touched.

“Yes, My Princess. I’m so happy to help you. I know you are a good princess and

people love you. Now let me go back to sleep, tomorrow morning I will find your prince.”

“Thank you, Ma’am. I will cook extra food for your trip then,” said the

princesshappily.

In the morning, the old woman went to look for Prince Inu Kertapati.

Meanwhile, the palace was in great chaos. Princess Candra Kirana was missing and

no one knew where she was. The king had set the time for her wedding and Prince Inu

Kertapati and his family would soon come to the palace. The king was so confused.

Later, Prince Inu Kertapati came. He asked where the princess was. The king told him

the truth that Princess Candra Kirana was missing.

“What happened? Have you asked the soldiers to search her?” asked the prince.

“I have, and she is still missing. I don’t know where she is now,” said the king sadly.

While the king and the prince had their conversation, suddenly a soldier came. He told

them that there was an old woman who knew where the princess was. The king asked the

soldier to let the woman come in.

“Your Majesty, the princess is at my home. But you can only see her at night. We

have to hurry, I will explain what happened on the way to my home,” said the old woman.

“Are you serious?” asked the king.

“I am telling you the truth, Your Majesty.”

“All right, let’s go to your house now,” said the king.

Later, the king, the prince, and some soldiers went to the old woman’s house. When

they arrived, the old woman asked them to wait until it was dark.

“Just wait here, Your Majesty. You can see her at night.”

The king and the prince were so restless. They thought time was moving so slowly.

It was dark. The old woman brought the golden snail to them.

“Is this my daughter?’ asked the king.

“Like I told you earlier, yes she is your daughter. But don’t worry, you will see her as

a human soon,” said the old woman.

And she was right! Not long after that the snail slowly changed as Princess Candra

Kirana.

The king was extremely happy. He hugged his beloved daughter. “What happened to

you? Who did this to you?” asked the king angrily.

The princess then told him about her sister. “But don’t worry, Father. I will never

change back as a snail. Because now I meet the prince,” said the princess happily.

“Let’s go back to the palace. We have a wedding soon and besides that I have to

punish your sister!” said the king.

“Father, may I ask her to join us?” asked the princess. She planned to ask the old

woman to stay with them at the palace.

“Yes, you may,” said the king wisely.

At the palace, the king asked the people to hold the wedding ceremony. Meanwhile,

the king punished Dewi Galuh. She was sent to the jail!

The wedding was so extravagant. People were so happy. Their favorite princess was

back. The old woman was also happy. She never knew that she could stay and live at the

palace.

After they got married, Princess Candra Kirana and Prince Inu Kertapati lived happily

ever after.

After you read the folktale, now please answer the following questions:

1.      How many children did the king have?

2.      The princess was cursed into an ugly creature. What does creature mean?

3.      What was the color of the snail? And why did the snail have that color?

4.      How did the old woman find the snail?

5.      What is the moral lesson of the story?Posted by