Malin Kundang - Indonesian

Once there was a kind mommy named Mande. She had a little boy named Malin. They lived in a small, cozy house by the big, blue sea. Swish, swoosh went the waves all day long. Malin loved to watch the big, tall ships with their white sails. The sails looked like puffy white clouds in the sky. This is the legend of Malin Kundang. Malin wanted to be a captain and sail, sail, sail on a big ship. He hugged his mommy and said, "I will come back for you.".

Malin waved goodbye from a very tall ship. His mommy, Mande, waited for him. She waited every day. The sun came up, and the sun went down. Many, many years went by. One sunny morning, a beautiful, shiny ship sailed to the village. It was the biggest ship anyone had ever seen. A man in fancy, bright clothes came to the shore. It was Malin, all grown up. Mande was so happy. She ran to hug him. But Malin pretended he did not know his own mommy. Oh no. This made Mande's heart feel very, very sad.

Big, sad tears rolled down Mande's cheeks like raindrops. She was so sad that her son had forgotten her. As Malin's big ship started to sail away, the sky turned gray and a gentle storm began. A big, whooshing wave washed over Malin and his ship. When the water went away, Malin and his ship had turned into stone. If you go to the beach, you can still see the stone. It looks like a person kneeling down, as if to say, "I am sorry.". The story helps everyone remember to always be kind and to love their family very, very much.