Hidden Dragon

            Monday was always crazy. It was 5.30 p.m. There was a hawk flying and growling in my stomach. I did not have my lunch. I rushed to the China square to find something to eat. The restaurants were quiet. The restaurants owners or managers were sleepy, staring at their cash registers. Most tables were empty. It might have been busy or it might have been empty earlier. The waiters were holding the menu lists, waiting for customers by the doors.

            The hawk in my stomach led me into one of the restaurants, a small clean and quiet restaurant. The lady behind the cash register lifted her slanting sleepy eyes gazing at me as I entered the restaurant. The waiter, a woman in her 30s smiled faintly, seated me in the deep corner and gave me the menu list.

            “Welcome. Please choose what you eat, ok?” she left me with the menu list. She came back with a cup and a zinc tea pot. She put the small white porcelain cup and poured the Chinese tea.

            “You, ok?” she asked.

            “I am still thinking.” I said trying to figure out what to eat. I was often indecisive.

            She stood still with a smile on her pale face in front of me. I began to hear strange roaring noise from her stomach. A similar growl to the one from my stomach but of a different kind of animal, it must be a dragon. The hawk in my stomach and the dragon in hers began to talk.

            “You have not been fed by your master?”

            “No, I have not.”

            “But you are lucky. You will be fed soon.” the dragon in her stomach said jealously.

            “But your master works in a restaurant. She can feed you anytime she wants.”

            “No, the master of my master will not let her eat while she is working. We will eat after this place closes after 10 p.m.”

            “Oh, really. Why does not your master find another job?” the hawk in my stomach asked simplifying things.

            “She does not speak the language of this land. She only knew few words.”

            “You are a dragon. You are strong.” the hawk said.

            “Nothing compares to when we came here. I almost died. We were on a kind of big vessel. I was not fed for weeks.”

            “You, ok?” asked the lady whether I was ready to order. The dragon and the hawk stopped talking.

            “I think, I will have beef broccoli and rice.”

            “Chinese broccoli or American broccoli?” she asked.

            “What’s the difference?”

            “This… Chinese broccoli and this American broccoli.” she pointed at the pictures on the menu.

            “I will have the Chinese broccoli please. Thank you.” she took my order, took the menu list and left. The dragon in her stomach was still roaring.

            Few minutes later she came back with a bowl of rice, a plate of beef broccoli, and the chopsticks. She smiled as if she had said “enjoy your meal”.

            I began eating quietly. She went back to her post, stood still to the right of the entrance holding the menu list and wore a light smile on her pale face. I could still hear her dragon roaring faintly.

            She looked at me through the corner of her eyes and learned that I had finished eating. She gave me the bill and a fortune cookie on a small bamboo tray. I paid the bill and left two one-dollar bills and few coins on the table.

            “I hope that you will be fed soon. My master left some tips on the table.” said the hawk in my stomach.

            “No. The master of my master takes all of the tips.”

            I took the fortune cookie and gave it to her.

            “For you, for your good fortune.” I said.

            She took it in her hands, held it cautiously. She said nothing but I could see a smile on her face, a sweet smile of a dragon.

 

By: Ouda Teda Ena

Dialogue Magazine 1/XXXIV/2013

 

Vocabulary:

·         A hawk (noun) = a strong fast bird of prey/ a bird that kills other creatures for food = seekor elang

·         Rushed/rush (verb) = to move or to do something with great speed, often too fast = buru-buru

·         Lifted/lift (verb) = (transitive/intransitive) to raise something or somebody or be raised to a higher position or level = mengangkat

·         Slanting (adjective) = not straight or level; sloping = miring

·         Gazing/gaze (verb) = to look steadily at somebody or something for a long time, either because you are very interest or surprised, or because you are thinking of something else = menatap, memandang

·         Faintly (adverb) = that can not be clearly seen, heard, or smelt = dengan lemah

·         Figure out (verb phrase) = to think about somebody or something until you understand them or it = membayangkan

·         Indecisive (adjective) = unable to make decisions = ragu-ragu, bimbang

·         Whether (conjunction) = used to express a doubt or choice between two possibilities = apa(kah)

·         Chopsticks (noun) = a pair of thin sticks that are used for eating with, especially in some Asian countries = sumpit

·         Quietly (adverb) = without much noise = dengan tenang

·         Through (preposition) = from one end or side of somebody or something to other = melalui

·         Cautiously (adverb) = being careful about what you say or do, especially to avoid danger or mistakes; not taking any risks = dengan hati-hati

Momotaro the Peach Boy

ONCE upon a time there was an old man and his old wife living in the country in Japan. The old man was a woodcutter. He and his wife were very sad and lonely because they had no children.

One day the old man went into the mountains to cut firewood and the old woman went to the river to wash some clothes.

No sooner had the old woman begun her washing than she was very surprised to see a big peach come floating down the river. It was the biggest peach she'd ever seen in all her life. She pulled the peach out of the river and decided to take it home and give it to the old man for his supper that night.

Late in the afternoon the old man came home, and the old woman said to him: "Look what a wonderful peach I found for your supper." The old man said it was truly a beautiful peach. He was so hungry that he said: "Let's divide it and eat it right away."

So the old woman brought a big knife from the kitchen and was getting ready to cut the peach in half. But just then there was the sound of a human voice from inside the peach. "Wait! Don't cut me!" said the voice. Suddenly the peach split open, and a beautiful baby boy jumped out of the peach.

The old man and woman were astounded. But the baby said: "Don't be afraid. The God of Heaven saw how lonely you were without any children, so he sent me to be your son."

The old man and woman were very happy, and they took the baby to be their son. Since he was born from a peach, they named him Momotaro, which means Peach Boy. They loved Momotaro very much and raised him to be a fine boy.

When Momotaro was about fifteen years old, he went to his father and said: "Father, you have always been very kind to me. Now I am a big boy and I must do something to help my country. In a distant part of the sea there is an island named Ogre Island. Many wicked ogres live there, and they often come to our land and do bad things like carrying people away and stealing their things. So I'm going to go to Ogre Island and fight them and bring back the treasure which they have there. Please let me do this."

The old man was surprised to hear this, but he was also very proud of Momotaro for wanting to help other people. So he and the old woman helped Momotaro get ready for his journey to Ogre Island. The old man gave him a sword and armor, and the old woman fixed him a good lunch of millet dumplings. Then Momotaro began his journey, promising his parents that he would come back soon.

Momotaro went walking toward the sea. It was a long way. As he went along he met a spotted dog. The dog growled at Momotaro and was about to bite him, but then Momotaro gave him one of the dumplings. He told the spotted dog that he was going to fight the ogres on Ogre Island. So the dog said he'd go along too and help Momotaro.

Momotaro and the spotted dog kept on walking and soon they met a monkey. The spotted dog and the monkey started to have a fight. But Momotaro explained to the monkey that he and the spotted dog were going to fight the ogres on Ogre Island. Then the monkey asked if he couldn't go with them. So Momotaro gave the monkey a dumpling and let the monkey come with them.

Momotaro and the spotted dog and the monkey kept on walking. Suddenly they met a pheasant. The spotted dog and the monkey and the pheasant were about to start fighting. But when the pheasant heard that Momotaro was going to fight the ogres on Ogre Island, he asked if he could go too. So Momotaro gave the pheasant a dumpling and told him to come along.

So, with Momotaro as their general, the spotted dog and the monkey and the pheasant, who usually hated each other, all became good friends and followed Momotaro faithfully. They walked a long, long way, and finally reached the sea. At the edge of the sea Momotaro built a boat. They and all got in the boat and started across the sea toward Ogre Island.

When they came within sight of the island, they could see that the ogres had a very strong fort there. And there were many, many ogres. Some of them were red, some blue, and some black.

First the pheasant flew over the walls of the fort and began to peck at the ogres' heads. They all tried to hit the pheasant with their clubs, but he was very quick and dodged all their blows. And while the ogres weren't looking, the monkey slipped up and opened the gate of the fort. Then Momotaro and the spotted dog rushed into the fort and started fighting the ogres too.

It was a terrible battle! The pheasant pecked at the heads and eyes of the wicked ogres. And the monkey clawed at them. And the spotted dog bit them. And Momotaro cut them with his sword. At last the ogres were completely defeated. They all bowed down low before Momotaro and promised never to do wicked things again. Then they brought Momotaro all the treasure they had stored in the fort.

It was the most wonderful treasure you can imagine. There was much gold and silver and many precious jewels. There was an invisible coat and hat, arid a hammer that made a piece of gold every time you hit it on the ground, and many other wonderful things. Momotaro and his three helpers carried all this in their boat back to the land. Then they made a cart and put all the treasure in the cart and pulled it back to Momotaro's house.

How happy the old man and woman were when they saw their son return safely from Ogre Island! They were very rich now with all the treasure that Momotaro had brought and they all lived together very, very, happily.

 

Vocabulary

Pull sth out (V)        :

Supper (N)     : a main meal eaten in the evening, or a small meal eaten in the late evening

Jump out of sth (V)   : to move suddenly and in one motion

Astounded (Adj)   : very surprised or shocked

Ogre (N)  : monster

   Armor (N) : strong protective covering, especially for the body

 

 

 

 

Pheasant (N) : a large bird with a rounded body and long tail, which spends a lot of time on the ground and is often shot for sport and food

Millet dumpling (N) : Japanese food

 

 

 

Source Japanfolktale

The Old Man Who Made Trees Blossom

ONCE upon a time there was a very kind old man and his wife living in a certain village. Next door to them lived a very mean old man and his wife. The kind old couple had a little white dog named Shiro. They loved Shiro very much and always gave him good things to eat. But the mean old man hated dogs, and every time he saw Shiro he threw stones at him.　

One day Shiro began barking very loudly out in the farmyard. The kind old man went out to see what the matter was. Shiro kept barking and barking and began digging in the ground. 

"Oh, you want me to help you dig?" asked the old man. So he brought a spade and began digging. Suddenly his spade hit something hard. He kept digging and found a large pot full of many pieces of gold money. Then he thanked I Shiro very much for leading him to so much gold, and took the money to his house.
 
Now the mean old man had been peeping and had seen all this. He wanted some gold too. So the next day he asked the kind old man if he could borrow Shiro for a little while. "Why, of course you may borrow Shiro, if he'll be of any help to you," said the kind old man.
 
The mean old man took Shiro to his house and out into his field.
"Now find me some gold too," he ordered the dog, "or I'll beat you." So Shiro began digging at a certain spot. Then the mean old man tied Shiro up and began digging himself. But all he found in the hole was some terrible smelling garbage-no gold at all. This made him so angry that he hit Shiro over the head with his spade, and killed him.
 
The kind old man and woman were very sad about Shiro. They buried him in their field and planted a little pine tree over his grave. And every day they went to Shiro’s grave and watered the pine tree very carefully. The tree began to grow very fast, and in only few years it became very big. The kind old woman said: "Remember how Shiro used to love to eat rice-cakes? Let's cut down that big pine tree and make a mortar. Then with the mortar we'll make some rice-cakes in memory of Shiro."
 
So the old man cut down the tree and made a mortar out of its trunk.
Then they filled it full of steamed rice and began pounding the rice to make rice-cakes. But no sooner did the old man begin pounding than all the rice turned into gold! Now the kind old man and woman were richer than ever.
 
The mean old man had been peeping through the window and had seen the rice turn to gold. He still wanted some gold for himself very badly. So the next day he came and asked if he could borrow the mortar. "Why, of course you may borrow the mortar," said the kind old man.
 
The mean old man took the mortar home and filled it full of steamed rice. "Now watch," he said to his wife. "When I begin pounding this rice, it'll turn to gold." But when he began pounding, the rice turned to terrible smelling garbage, and there was no gold at all. This made him so angry that he got his ax and cut the mortar up into small pieces and burned it up in the stove.
 
When the kind old man went to get his mortar back, it was all burned to ashes. He was very sad, because the mortar had reminded him of Shiro. So he asked for some of the ashes and took them home with him.
 
It was the middle of winter and all the trees were bare. He thought he'd scatter some of the ashes around in his garden. When he did, all the cherry trees in the garden suddenly began to bloom right in the middle of winter. Everybody came to see this wonderful sight, and the prince who lived in a nearby castle heard about it.

 
Now this prince had a cherry tree in his garden that he loved very much. He could hardly wait for spring to come so he could see the beautiful blossoms on this cherry tree. But when spring came he discovered that the tree was dead and he felt very sad. So he sent for the kind old man and asked him to bring the tree back to life. The old man took some of the ashes and climbed the tree. Then he threw the ashes up into the dead branches, and almost more quickly than you can think, the tree was covered with the most beautiful blossoms it had ever had.
 
The prince had come on horseback to watch and he was very pleased.

He gave the kind old man a great deal of gold and many presents. And, best of all, he knighted the old man and gave him a new name, "Sir Old-Man-Who-Makes-Trees-Blossom."
Sir Old-Man-Who-Makes-Trees-Blossom and his wife were now very rich, and they lived very happily for many more years.

Vocabulary

Mean (Adj.)  : unkind or unpleasant

Throw (V)    : to send something through the air with force, especially by a sudden movement of the arm.

Bark (V)       : (of a dog) to make a loud rough noise

Dig (V)         : to break up and move soil using a tool, a machine or your hands

Spade (N)    : a tool used for digging especially

                     soil or sand, with a long handle and a flat blade.                              (Shovel, Scoop).

Peep (V)       : to secretly look at something for a short time, usually through a hole.

Tie up (V)    : fasten or to fasten something together using string, rope or something similar

Mortar (N)  : a hard strong bowl in which substances are crushed into a powder by hitting or rubbing them                        with a pestle (= heavy tool).

Pounding       : repeated and heavy striking or hitting of someone or something

Scatter (V)  : to cover a surface with things that

                     are far apart and in no particular

                     arrangement.

Knighted (V) : to give someone the rank of knight.

Source : japannipon.com