Timun Mas, the Golden Cucumber Girl

Tonight’s story comes from Indonesia, from the island of Java. Java has towering volcanoes, green terraced rice fields and thick bamboo forests. In Javanese, “timun” means cucumber and “mas” means gold. So “Timun Mas” means golden cucumber.

Long ago, in a village at the foot of a mountain, there lived a widow called Mbok Srini. She lived alone and worked in the fields every day. What she wanted most in the world was a child to love and to talk to every evening.

One day a huge giant with green skin came through the village. People called him Buto Ijo, which means the Green Giant. He knew how much she longed for a child, and he gave her a cucumber seed. “Plant this, and you will have a child. But when the child has grown, you must give it back to me.”

She wanted a child so much that she agreed.

She planted the seed. A vine sprang up, spread across the ground and grew one big cucumber, as golden as real gold. She cut the cucumber open. Inside was a beautiful baby girl, looking up at her.

She cried with happiness, and she named her daughter Timun Mas.

Timun Mas grew up strong and hard-working, always helping her mother at home and in the fields. They loved each other dearly, and every day was a happy one. But the more Mbok Srini loved her daughter, the more frightened she became, because she remembered her promise to the giant.

Then one day Buto Ijo came back. The ground shook under his feet. “The girl has grown. Give her to me.”

Mbok Srini begged him to wait a little longer, because the girl was still too young. The giant agreed and went away.

She hurried up the mountain to an old hermit who lived there and told him everything. The hermit gave her four little cloth pouches: one of cucumber seeds, one of sewing needles, one of salt and one of shrimp paste.

She went home and gave the four pouches to Timun Mas. “When the giant comes close, throw one pouch behind you,” she said. “Throw them one at a time, in exactly the order I’ve told you.”

When the giant came back, Timun Mas ran out of the back door and into the forest. The giant chased after her, each of his strides as long as ten of hers.

When he got close, Timun Mas opened the first pouch and threw the cucumber seeds behind her. At once a cucumber field sprang up, thick and tangled, and the vines wrapped round and round the giant’s legs. It took him ages to pull himself free.

He chased her again. Timun Mas threw the second pouch, the needles. At once a forest of sharp bamboo sprang up, thick and close. The giant had to squeeze between every stalk, and it was a long, hard struggle to get through.

He chased her again, and he was very close now. Timun Mas threw the third pouch, the salt. At once a wide sea appeared. The giant had to wade across it, with the water up to his chest, until he was utterly exhausted.

But still he came after her. Timun Mas threw the last pouch, the shrimp paste. At once a lake of hot, bubbling mud appeared in front of the giant. He stepped in, and sank, and sank, and never came out again.

Timun Mas ran all the way home. Mbok Srini was standing at the door, and she opened her arms and held her daughter tight.

And from then on, mother and daughter lived together in peace, in their little house at the foot of the mountain, beside the cucumber field.