Narrative Text ( Indonesia Legend ) ( The Story of Kelana Sakti )

The Story of Kelana Sakti

Folklore from North Sumatra

ONCE upon a time in North Sumatra, there was a kingdom named Purnama. The king was King Indra Sakti. He was a wise king. All of his people lived prosperous and happy. The king and the queen had a baby boy. He was the prince of the palace.

In Purnama kingdom, there was a small village. Kelana Sakti and his parents lived there. Kelana Sakti was a nice boy. He was diligent and always helped his parents.

One day, there was a bad news of the kingdom. King Indra Sakti was terribly ill. All the palace healers tried to heal him but did not succeed. The King was getting weaker and weaker everyday. So, he called all his family and the palace commander, Panglima Badau to meet him.

“My wife, please forgive all my mistakes. I cannot live any longer. Please take care of our son. Make him the king when he is an adult,” said the king to the queen.

Then he continued, “Panglima Badau, I trust this kingdom to you. You are the king until my son is an adult. Please train him and teach him how to be a good king.”

Not long after that, King Indra Sakti died. Panglima Badau then became the king. He really enjoyed his time as a king. He often had parties and neglected the people.

Soon, the kingdom was in a mess and the king only had fun at his parties. To pay all his parties, Panglima Badau asked his people to pay expensive taxes. Soldiers went to people’s house to collect the money, and that was including Kelana Sakti’s house.

“Give me your money! You have to pay the tax!” said a soldier.

“I’m sorry. I don’t have enough money. I have spent my money to buy some food,” said Kelana Sakti’s father.

“You are a liar!” The soldier then brought Kelana Sakti’s parents to the palace. Punishment for people who refused to pay the taxes was sent to jail!

“Please don’t take my parents away!” said Kelana Sakti. A soldier was angry at him and hit him. Kelana Sakti was unconscious.

When he was awake, he was inside an old man’s house.

“Where am I? Where are my parents?”

“Don’t worry. You are in my house. You are safe here. Your parents are in the palace. The king sent them to the jail,” said the old man.

Since then, Kelana Sakti lived with the old man. He learned many things from him, especially martial arts.

When Kelana Sakti was an adult, he completely changed. He was a man with great skills of martial arts. It was time for him to go to the palace and freed his parents. The old man gave him the blessings and asked him to be careful.

So, Kelana Sakti fought bravely against the soldiers. He won. Then the last one was fighting against Panglima Badau himself. Again he won the fight and freed everybody in jail.

Then he sent Panglima Badau to the jail. The prince was so thankful to Kelana Sakti. The prince then asked Kelana Sakti to be the palace commander. ***