SI TANGGANG

In a tiny village by the sea, there lived a very poor family: father, Si Talang,
mother Si Deruma, and their son, Si Tanggang. Life was hard, and every day they
struggled to make a living. Si Tanggang, a young man of 19 years of age, was
unhappy with his impoverished life. Si Tanggang also loved his parents as much as
they do him, and desperately wanted to help them. And so one evening, as he was
helping Si Deruma mend the fishing nets, he quietly spoke to her.

“Mother, you and Father have sacrificed so much of your energy to raise me. Both
of you are getting old and should not work so hard. The only way I can help improve
our lives is for me to travel the world. I want to hunt for valuable treasures and to
bring back a lot of money so that we can all live like rich people. I ask for your
permission and blessings to leave home.”

Si Deruma was saddened to hear this. Si Tanggang was her only child and she did
not want to be apart from him. And so, with a heavy heart, the old mother said yes.

The next day, Si Tanggang said goodbye to his parents and left the village in his
tiny sampan. One day, a pirate ship attacked and captured Si Tanggang. He was
forced to become a slave for the pirates. He worked hard and before long, he had
gained the trust of everyone on board, especially the captain. He liked Si Tanggang
so much that he made Si Tanggang his right-hand man. Together, they sailed the
high seas and discovered many treasures. When the pirate captain later died, Si
Tanggang took charge of the ship and ventured out to even more far-reaching
places.

Many, many years after he left his parents behind, Si Tanggang has now become a
successful and wealthy merchant. He has also married the daughter of a sultan and
lived in a beautiful mansion by the sea.

As fate would have it, one fine day, Si Tanggang was sailing in his ship with his wife
when he chanced upon an old man and a woman rowing a small sampan. Si Tanggang
looked to see who they were, and was shocked to see that it was his father and
mother! Si Talang and Si Deruma When the sampan came close to the ship, Si
Deruma called out to Si Tanggang:
“My son, do you not remember us anymore? It’s your mother! Your father and I
missed you very much!”.

Si Tanggang’s wife turned to her husband and asked, “Are they really your parents,
dear? But they looked so dirty.

Immediately Si Tanggang’s face turned red with anger. “Of course these two are
NOT MY PARENTS! They are just old people who think I am their son because I
am rich!”
“I have brought your favorite food ~ pisang salai and pais ikan! Here, my son, I
made them specially for you, take them!” Si Deruma continued as she reached out
to hand over the food to him.

“GET AWAY FROM ME, OLD WOMAN!” Si Tanggang shouted. “I AM NOT YOUR
SON. I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND I DON’T EVER WANT TO SEE YOU
TWO NEAR MY SHIP AGAIN!!”

Both Si Deruma and Si Talang were heart-broken to hear those harsh words. They
turned around the sampan and paddled slowly back to shore. Si Deruma cried all
the way, and after they landed, she fell to her knees on the ground and prayed to
God: “O Lord Almighty, let there be retribution to my son for he is arrogant. Let
him not forget that it was I who had brought him into this world!”

Almost immediately after Si Deruma finished her prayers, the sky turned dark, the
wind blew strong as if a typhoon has come, and the waves swelled so high that Si
Tanggang’s ship was battered and nearly sank.

Si Tanggang became very frightened and felt a sudden rush of guilt for what he
did to his mother. He knew that the stormy sea was God’s punishment unto him for
being disloyal to his parents.

“Mother…I have wronged you and father! Forgive me, please…”, Si Tanggang cried
out, “Ask God to calm the sea once more for I don’t want to die….!!”

Si Deruma could only cry in hearing her son’s pleading, as God’s fury continued to
turn Si Tanggang, his wife and everyone on board the ship into boulders!