Long
ago in East Java, there stood twin kingdoms namely Jenggala, which was
ruled by King Jayengnegara, and Kediri, whose king was Jayengrana. The
kingdoms were once united under Kahuripan. The king of Kahuripan,
Airlangga, before his death had a will that whatever happened, they had
to be together as one. So to avoid war, the kingdoms decided to reunite
through a marriage of the kings’ children. Panji Asmarabangun, son of
Jayengnegara, was married to Dewi Sekartaji, daughter of Jayengrana.
Once
upon a time, Jenggala was attacked by a large number of people. When
the war broke out, Princess Dewi Sekartaji ran away and hid out in a
desolate village. She went in disguise as a village girl and then
served a wealthy widow called Nyai Intan. Nyai Intan had three
beautiful daughters, Kleting Abang, Kleting Ijo, and Kleting Biru.
After a while, she fostered Dewi Sekartaji and gave her the name of
Kleting Kuning.
Kleting
Kuning did all the housekeeping and cooking in the house. She was more
like a servant than a child. Nyai Intan and her daughters often scolded
her and treated her badly. It was good enough if the girl had only one
meal a day.
In
the meantime in Jenggala, Panji Asmarabangun together with his troop
managed to drive out the enemies. The victory was just a short relief
for him as he could not find his beloved wife. Heaven knew where she
was.
With
the kingdom restoring its security, the prince devoted his time to seek
his wife. Right away he commanded his soldiers to gather as much
information as could be. Then, in one fine afternoon, a soldier came up
to him.
“I have good news for you, Your Highness,” reported the man.
“Did you find anything?” asked the prince eagerly.
“I
saw a woman that looked like the princess, Your Highness, in a small
village. But I’m not sure yet that she was her because she was only a
village woman who worked for a rich widow.”
In
the next few days, Panji decided to pass himself off as a prince who
was looking for a wife. He was headed for Dadapan, a village at the
bank of Bengawan Solo River, with some guards. The village was not far
from where Kleting Kuning lived.
Under
the name of Ande-Ande Lumut, Panji stayed in a modest house of an old
widow called Mbok Randa. He soon announced to the people that he was
holding a contest to find a wife. In a very short time, it spread out
to all corners of the village and to the neighboring villages.
Kleting
Abang, Kleting Ijo, and Kleting Biru were so happy to hear that. They
dressed up as beautiful as possible to win the prince’s heart. They
were sure he would fall for one of them.
“We should always look pretty, sister. Mother will be glad if one of us becomes a princess,” said Kleting Abang.
On
the due day, the girls seemed ready. They put on their best dresses and
jewelry. When they were wearing their make up, Kleting Kuning came up
to them.
“Wow, you guys are so beautiful!” she said.
“Hi, Kleting Kuning! Do you want to take part in the contest too?” asked Kleting Abang.
“That’s unlikely. You don’t even have a dress. You certainly can’t go out there in such a terrible look,” mocked Kleting Ijo.
“Hahaha!
That’s right. You can’t go to the contest. You’d better stay home and
finish your job. Go, do the laundry!” shouted Kleting Biru while
pointing at a pile of their dirty clothes.
Kleting
Kuning took the dirty clothes and went to a nearby river. She actually
did not want to go to the contest since a memory of her husband was
still in his mind. She would not see anyone else as long as the prince
was still alive. Whilst at the riverbank, suddenly a heron approached
her. It weirdly talked like a human and grabbed a whip in its feet.
“O
princess! Pray, care to go to the contest in Dadapan. There you will
meet your husband. Take this whip, you may need it,” said the heron,
putting the whip on a stone next to Kleting Kuning.
The
lady barely said anything when the mysterious bird flew up high in the
sky and got out of sight. Without hesitating, Kleting Kuning rushed
back home and dressed up for the contest.
By
that time, Nyai Intan and her three daughters had left. They reached
the bank of Bengawan Solo River. But they could not get across a river
that deep and wide. It happened that not a single boat was seen around
there.
“Mother, how can we get across?” asked Kleting Ijo in confusion.
“Yes, mother. What do we do now?” added Kleting Biru.
“Wait, wait. Look at that! What is that?” said Kleting Abang.
They
were taken aback to see a giant crab floating upon the stream. They did
not know that the crab was Yuyu Kangkang, Ande Ande Lumut’s henchman
assigned to test the participants.
“Do you need help, ladies?” asked the crab.
“Can you really get us across?” asked Kleting Abang back.
Yuyu Kangkang laughed.
“Ha… ha… ha!! I can do that, but I have a condition,” the crab said.
“What
is it? Tell us quick!” urged Kleting Ijn. “Whatever it is, we will do
that as long as you can take us to the other side of the river.”
“Well, then. I want all of you to kiss me,” said Yuyu Kangkang in teasing fashion.
Kleting
Abang and her two sisters agreed. One by one, they stuck out their neck
and kissed the crab. After that, Yuyu Kangkang told them to get on his
back and took them across.
Not
very long afterwards, Kleting Kuning showed up at the river bank. Like
before, Yuyu Kangkang offered a help under the same condition: she had
to give him a kiss. Kleting Kuning refused it. She did not want to kiss
anyone while still having a husband. But she begged for help anyway.
The crab turned away. He did not want to lend a hand until he got a
kiss. Kleting Kuning began to lose patience. She lashed the stream with
her whip, making the river water dwindle. Witnessing such a power, Yuyu
Kangkang was petrified. He quickly took her across and even to Dadapan
Village.
In
Mbok Randa’s house, Kleting Kuning met her sisters and mother. Not long
after, Ande-Ande Lumut came out. The ladies showed off their beauties
in front of the prince. But he did not seem impressed by any of them.
Nyai Intan started to feel worried. She went forward and got on her
knees before the prince.
“Take one of my daughters, prince. They are all beautiful, aren’t they?” the widow begged.
Ande-Ande Lumut only smiled.
“They are indeed charming. But I am not going to pick any of them,” said Ande Ande Lumut.
“Guards!
Lead that lady in yellow dress here!” commanded him, referring to the
girl sitting on the back row. She was Kleting Kuning.
“I will take you as wife. Will you say yes?” the prince asked the modest looking lady.
Everyone in the place was surprised, moreover Nyai Intan and her daughters.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness! Why do you pick that rakish woman instead of my daughters?” asked Nyai Intan.
Again,
Ande-Ande Lumut smiled, and then said, “Nyai Intan! Just so you know
why I don’t choose your daughters. It is because they have been
disgraced by Yuyu Kangkang, the giant crab. I pick this lady because
she is still clean. She refused to kiss the crab.”
Afterwards,
Ande-Ande Lumut revealed to Kleting Kuning who he really was. The
husband and wife finally reunited again. As for Nyai Intan and her
daughters, they walked home with disappointment and embarrassment.
