Long, long
time ago on the island of Simbau, in the Sulawesi Sea, there lived a king and
his beautiful daughter. The princess was not only beautiful, but she was also
wise and kind.
Many
princesses wanted to marry the king’s daughter and this made the king confused.
He then announced a contest: whoever presented the princess with the most
valuable gift would marry her.
Takatuliang,
a poor woodcarver, wated to join the contest but he was so poor that he had
nothing to present. Then he went far into the forest. There he chose the best
tree and carved it into a doll. Next, he took an old piece of cloth and sewed
it into a dress for the doll. After that, he cut his own hair and glued it to
the doll’s head.
On
the day of the contest, all of the princes gathered before the king and the
princess. One by one, they presented their gifts; diamonds, silk, gold jewelry.
Then came Takatuliang’s turn.
“What
do you have?” asked the princess
“I
bring only a doll,” said Takatuliang softly.
“How
many dolls like this do you have?” asked the princes again.
“Only
this one. I carved it myself and decorated it with my own hair and my father’s
old cloth. He died and this is the only thing he left me” answered Takatuliang.
The princess was very touched to hear
Takatuliang’s story. She decided to marry Takatuliang because he had presented
her everything he had. Together, Takatuliang and Princess lived happily ever
after.
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