THE CRYING STONE

(ROSY DWI ANGGRAENI)

A long time ago, there was a family of a widow and her only daughter
living in a hinterland of West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. The widow was
just an old woman, while her daughter was a charming girl, whose name was
Darmi.
Both lived in a decrepit hut, they lived poor since the widow’s husband
passed away. He was gone leaving no inheritance to the family. Consequently,
to fulfill their needs, they were forced willy-nilly to much harder.
However, Darmi was not a hard-worker, totally different from her
mother. She was a lazy girl who spent most of her time dressing up and being
proud of her reflection in the mirror. One of her bad habits was showing off
her beauty to the local people. She never wanted to help her mother working
in the field. If her mother asked her for help, Darmi refused.
“ Girl, will you help at the field now?”. The mother asked.
“ No, I won’t!! I don’t want to go there. I’m afraid my skin turn’s dark,
mom. I’m a pretty girl !! everyone knows that. And I’m waiting for a rich young
man to propose to me.”
Darmi’s mother was speechless to hear that. Finally, Darmi’s mother
went to the fields alone and Darmi stayed at home. Worse Darmi used to beg
for money from her mother, soon after she went back from work.
Unfortunately, she earned too little to meet their daily need.
“ Mom, where is the money?!”. Darmi asked.
“ No, I won’t give this to you. We need this to buy some foods, honey.”
The mother said.
“ But I'm running out of face powder. I don’t have it any longer Mom!! I
need to buy a new one.
His mother was angry. Finally, his mother gave him the money. Darmi
behavior is very bad towards her mother. One day, Darmi’s mother was going
to the nearest market from her home. Darmi knew this, and she got her
mother to buy some cosmetics. However, Darmi’s mother didn’t know
anything about cosmetics. She asked Darmi to accompany her to the market.
“ Go with me to the market so you can choose which one that you
want.”
“ I don’t want to go with you!!.” Darmi answered.
“ But I don’t know which one honey!.”
“ Ok, Mom !! I will go with you, but please, you have to walk behind
me. Because I feel ashamed to walk along with an old woman like you. Look at
me!! I’m a graceful girl, so I don't want people to leave me because they know
you’re my mother!.”
Darmi’s mother walked behind her daughter. She brought a plastic
bag containing the things they got from there. Mother and child look different.
The mother’s Darmi looks very shabby in contrast to her beautiful child.
In another moment, an unknown man greeted Darmi. It appears that
the man would try to attract Darmi’s attention.
“ Hi, pretty girl! Where are you going ?.” asked the man while smiling.
“ As you can see by yourself, I’m here looking for cosmetics.” She
answered.
“ Cosmetics to beautify you? And who’s the old woman behind you?”
“ Oh.. of course, she’s my maid." Said Darmi.
What an attacking answer! Darmi’s mother could no longer restrain
her anger. Soon after Darmi said those words, the mother stopped and took a
sit on a swing on the sidewalk.
“ Why do you stop? Hey, do you listen to me?!!.”
She shouted because the mother was just silent. But Darmi
questioned her mother but she didn’t call her “mom”. Since then, Darmi’s
mother mumbled with her hands looked up to the sky. She was reciting
prayers to God so that her daughter was cursed to be a stone.
“ Hey, old woman!! What are you doing ?!!.”
 All of sudden, the sky turned dark. At that time, Darmi couldn’t move
her foot anymore. Gradually, her foots turned into the black stone that later on
covered her entire body.
“ Mom, mom !! what happened to me!! Mom help me please!!! I’m
so sorry mom, I'm sorry!! “. She cried loudly.
Everything went on. The curse upon Darmi’s entire body, the
disobedient girl. What a miracle the stone, due to the present, keeps spouting
water as if a crying girl. Since that time, people called the stone the crying
stone.

..THE END...

The moral story that we can take is not to be disobedient to parents.