Shwe Yi Win University - Strange Cambodian and International Stories

Strange world turtle

Long ago, an islander named LEKAMBAI lived on the island of SAMOA. One day, while he was fishing, a very strong wind blew up and he was blown away. He went into the direction of the wind and landed at the foot of a very strange rock. Around the rock was snow, fog, and darkness.

Likambi climbed the mountain. He was so tired that he had to stop often. Finally, he reached the land of the rain gods, which was among the clouds. When the rain god king heard about Likambi, he felt sorry for him and helped him return to his island.

The rain god said, “Lekambi, I can’t bear to see you separated from your family and alone here, so I will help you get to your family, and you must repay me for that help.”

Likambi happily agreed. Then the king said the following.

"Likambi, I will put you on the back of a tortoise and take you back to your home island of Samoa, but you must be very careful about two things. This is because as soon as you get on the back of a tortoise, you must close your eyes. You must not open them anyway. And... when you get to Samoa, give my tortoise a coconut and a mat woven from coconuts. Then my tortoise will go to the people of Tonga, so that the islanders will learn to plant coconuts and also weave mats."

Likambi made a promise to the gods and thanked them, and climbed onto the back of the giant turtle. Likambi climbed onto the back of the giant turtle and closed his eyes tightly. Immediately, the giant turtle spread its arms and legs and flew through the sky towards the sea. Likambi was afraid that he would drown when he crossed the water, but he did not open his eyes. Finally, the giant turtle surfaced again. Then it swam at full speed towards the island of Samoa.

At that moment, the sharks came closer, making various sounds, “Licambi, Licambi, we are coming to eat you.” But Licambi kept his eyes closed.

When the sharks were calm, he heard a voice say, "Lee Kamby, Lee Kamby, I'm here to beat you into the water." He felt the wind blow hard. Lee Kamby listened to the words of the god, closed his eyes, and braced himself.

When the strong wind stopped, the waves called out, “Likambi, Likambi, we have come to drown you.” Then Likambi closed his eyes and

He hugged the turtle tightly with both his arms. Finally, Likambi and the turtle arrived safely on the island of Samoa. Likambi ran to his house and looked for his wife and children. When he saw his children and wife, he forgot about the turtle.

Likambi lived happily with his family, and two days later he remembered the great tortoise. But it was too late. His friends were preparing to kill the great tortoise and cook it for him. Likambi was very sad. The promise he had made to the gods had been broken. “How can I deliver the coconuts to my benefactor? The gods will never forgive me,” he cried.

Likambi's friends were also saddened by their recklessness. So they dug a deep hole in the ground for six days. They buried the great tortoise in the ground. They buried a coconut and a mat made of coconut husks with the tortoise. Then they appointed Likambi's youngest son, LAVAI-PANI, as the caretaker of the tortoise's grave.

And so, after hundreds of years, the Samoans forgot about the Great Turtle and his tomb. They considered the story as a story told by their elders. The only one who did not consider it a story was Labae-Pani, the son of Likambi, who was the guardian of the Great Turtle's tomb. He had not grown old since the time he was a guardian. He was only young. His memory was also quite good. He remembered all the events of his father's past. But he did not speak openly. Therefore, everyone thought that he was a mute.

When the king of the rain met with the king of Tonga, he learned the truth. The king of the rain was very angry and gave the following order.

"Send your soldiers to the island of Samoa and ask for the shell of the magic turtle. With that shell, you can make a fishing hook the likes of which no human has ever seen." The King of Tonga chose the best warriors from his army and sent them to the island of Samoa.

The Tongan soldiers sailed for several days to the island of Samoa. When they arrived at Samoa, they asked, "Give us back the shell of the great turtle."

The Samoans laughed heartily at the Tongan words.

Then they said, "What are you asking for? This is only in the stories told by the elders in the past. We don't even know the location of the turtle's grave, let alone the turtle shell you're talking about."

Then the Tonga threatened, “Then we will kill you all.” • `Meanwhile, Labepani, who was guarding the grave of the Great Turtle, stood between the two groups and said, “I am the guardian of the Great Turtle. If you dig here, you will find the Great Turtle buried under this earth.”

The Samoans laughed at Labae-Panni's words. They sneered, "How can a child like you know this, when even the elders of this village know nothing?"

But the Tongans dug in the place indicated by Labae-Pani. On the sixth day they found the shell of the great tortoise. Thus the Samoans escaped from the Tongans. The Tongans, rejoicing, returned in their boats, carrying the tortoise shell.

As they returned to Tonga by boat, the Tongan soldiers consulted on the way.

"This turtle's shell is very strange. The Samoan boy has been guarding the turtle's grave for many years, but it is very strange that it has not aged. So this turtle's shell must be very powerful. I think it would be better for us to sail our boat to the windward side rather than carrying this turtle's shell to Tonga. This turtle's shell will protect us from all dangers on the way, I am sure."

So the Tongan army set sail and fled. The god of rain sent the god of wind to help them sail without any obstacles, and they finally reached Fiji. The Tongan army settled in Fiji, and Fiji became a prosperous island with a large population.

Now Fiji is a beautiful island, with coconut trees,