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Cover Story |
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| Title |
A Test for the Experts |
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One day a ship turned up at the Toroja harbour. The sailor who owned the ship had two ducks and a piece of black coloured wood. He appeared before the King and said, 'Your Highness, if you tell me which of these two ducks is male and which female, and which said of this stick is the top and which the bottom, I offer you my ship'. The King immediately summoned his expert and asked him to solve the problem within three days. If the expert were to fail in this task he would be beheaded.
When the time was almost up and the expert had still not solved the problem he decided to commit suicide. At the river he heard some common people discussing his very problem. 'Silly King, he doesn't know that he should leave the two ducks near water. The one which gets into the water first is the male'. They laughed loudly. The second problem was also no problem at all. 'If you put the stick in the water, the heavier end will sink more than the lighter end which is therefore the top'.
Having found his answers, the expert quickly went to the King and demonstrated his expertise. Highly pleased, the Raja of Toroja named him as his successor.
(Source: Abridged from 'Toroja' in Folk Tales of Indonesia (ed) Afwani Soebiantoro and Manel Ratnatunga) |
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee: 7(4), 1996 |
