Once
there was a wedding feast in one of the houses in Batu Kawa. The bride and
bridegroom sat together on a dais in the hall. Relatives and friends sat on the
floor around them.
Outside
the house, a few villagers were busy cooking rice in a large stone cauldron.
They were preparing lunch for everyone to eat once the wedding ceremony was
over.
Then
a cat walked into the house. One of the children took the cat outside and
pushed its tail into the fire! Meow! The poor animal gave a loud cry and teapt away.
It ran around, shrieking in pain.
A
few naughty children chased the cat and kicked it. The cat gave a loud yawl
again. The children just laughed. They thought it was fun to see the cat
jumping into the air.
None
of the guests stopped the children from treathing the cat in such a bad way.
Then an old man walked up to the children. He was very angry.
“Stop
that at once!” he scolded. “You must be careful how you treat animals. If you
harm a poor, helpless animal, great trouble will come uppon you.”
The
children did not say anything. When the old man left, they caught the cat again
and tossed it into the air. Meow! Meow! It was frightened, but the naughty
children did not let it go.
Suddenly
a strong wind began to blow. It blew against the doors and the windows. Bang!
Clang! It blew so hard that it overturned the caulsron. All the people at the
wedding feast could not move against the strong wind.
The
whole place shook. Part by part, the house broke loose. There were a flash and
lighting, then a loud clap of thunder. When the strong wind died down and the
sun shone again, there were only large
stones where the couple and the guests had been!
That
is why you can see a circle of stones of Batu Kawa. It is said that the two
largest stones in the centre were once were the bride and the bridegroom, and
the stones around them were the guests.
