The Unlucky Mr. Lebay
 |
Folklore from West Sumatra
Pak
Lebai was a wishy-washy man. He
always changes his mind before he did
something. He lived in a village
next to a river. Every day, he always
used his sampan for travelling on the river.
One
day, Pak Lebai was paddling his
sampan at the river. Suddenly, he heard
someone called out his name. It was
his neighbor.
"Pak
Lebai, can you come to my house tomorrow? I will have a party", said the neighbor.
Pak
Lebai was happy. He loved party because he could eat
delicious food. He also could get a buffalo's head from the party.
Still
on the same day, he got another invitation.
Those two party invitations made him confused.
The
two parties were held at the same time, but at the different places. The two
neighbors who invited him lived on different sides of the river.
One neighbor lived on the east side
and another one lived on the west
side.
"I
will go to the east side. I can have two heads of buffalo. He is richer," said Pak Lebai.
On
the following day, he paddled his sampan
with great power to the east side. He
did not want to be late and lost the buffalo's head. On the way to the
party, he met some friends.
"The
party is awful. There are not many buffalo's heads. He is very stingy, "said one of them.
"I
don't care. I'm still going there. He is my friend. I'm sure he will give me
the buffalo's head," said Pak Lebai.
He
immediately paddled his sampan.
Right before he arrived at the east
side of the river, he changed his
mind. He knew the host was stingy.
He thought that he would not get a
buffalo's head.
So
he turned back his sampan and went
to the west side. Again, he paddled
his sampan with great power. He did
not have much time. Unfortunately, right before he arrived at the west side he met his friends again.
"What
are you doing here, Pak Lebai? The party is over." Pak Lebai was upset and blaming himself for being
wishy-washy.
He
also tired because he was paddling
back and forth in the river. Later he fell asleep in his sampan. He did not
realize his sampan was drifting away in the river. When he woke up, he was already in the different village.
When all his neighbors heard what happened to Pak Lebai, then they all started to call him Pak Lebai Malang or the poor Mister Lebai. ***
Generic
Structure
The
Unlucky Mr. Lebay
Folklore
from West Sumatra
Orientation
: Pak
Lebai was a wishy-washy man. He
always changes his mind before he did
something. He lived in a village next to a river. Every day, he always used his sampan for travelling on the
river.
Complication : One day, Pak Lebai was
paddling his sampan at the river. Suddenly, he heard someone called out
his name. It was his neighbor. "Pak Lebai, can you come to my house
tomorrow? I will have a party", said
the neighbor.
Pak Lebai
was happy. He loved party
because he could eat delicious food. He also could get a buffalo's head from
the party.
Still
on the same day, he got another invitation.
Those two party invitations made him confused.
The
two parties were held at the same time, but at the different places. The two
neighbors who invited him lived on different sides of the river.
One neighbor lived on the east side
and another one lived on the west
side.
Resolution : "I will go to the east side. I can have two heads of
buffalo. He is richer," said Pak
Lebai.
On
the following day, he paddled his sampan
with great power to the east side. He
did not want to be late and lost the buffalo's head.
On
the way to the party, he met some friends.
"The
party is awful. There are not many buffalo's heads. He is very stingy, "said one of them.
"I
don't care. I'm still going there. He is my friend. I'm sure he will give me
the buffalo's head," said Pak Lebai.
He
immediately paddled his sampan.
Right before he arrived at the east
side of the river, he changed his
mind. He knew the host was stingy.
He thought that he would not get a
buffalo's head.
So
he turned back his sampan and went
to the west side. Again, he paddled
his sampan with great power. He did
not have much time. Unfortunately, right before he arrived at the west side he met his friends again.
"What
are you doing here, Pak Lebai? The party is over." Pak Lebai was upset and
blaming himself for being wishy-washy.
Re-Orientation : He also tired
because he was paddling back and forth in the river. Later he fell asleep in
his sampan. He did not realize his sampan was drifting away in the river. When
he woke up, he was already in the different village.
When all his neighbors heard what happened to Pak Lebai, then they all started to call him Pak Lebai Malang or the poor Mister Lebai. ***
“Thanks” from : M. Aidil Pratama 10.1
