Aryo Menak and His Wife

     A long time ago the island of Madura there was almost nothing but forests. The trees were very tall and covered everything. There were fewer people on the island, life was still simple and it was a time for magic in Madura. Everybody knew that fairies would come to wash in the clean waters at night with only the stars and the moon to see them.

    Aryo Menak was a young farmer who enjoyed walking through the beautiful forests at any time of day. One night he was out walking after a big meal and he heard a strange splashing noise. He decided to follow the sound and see what he could discover.

    As he got closer to the sound, Aryo Menak began to crouch down and walk as quietly as he could. Finally he reached a small stream and was amazed to see some fairies washing in the stream. He hid in the bushes and watched them for a while because they were very beautiful. Then he noticed that the fairies had left their shawls on the ground near him.

     Now Aryo Menak was no fool. Like everybody, he knew that fairies have magic shawls that let them fly, so he reached down and took one of the shawls from the ground. Then he hid and waited.

    Soon, the fairies finished washing and they gathered up their shawls and flew away. All except the one whose shawl Aryo Menak had stolen. As the fairy stood there in the cold light of the moon, Aryo Menak stepped forward and told her that if she came home with him, he would marry her and take care of her.

    The frightened fairy agreed because she was afraid to be left on her own without her shawl. So they went home and were married.

      Aryo Menak was a successful farmer who owned a lot of rice fields. He and his wife were able to eat all of the rice that they wanted and not only did they never run out, but their supply of rice increased. His fairy wife told him that he could never go into the kitchen when she wasn't there.

     Aryo Menak was curious and one day when his wife was out he crept into the kitchen and looked around. When he lifted the lid on the rice pot, he saw that there was only one grain of rice.

     Later that day his wife returned home and when she checked the pot she saw that it hadn't filled with cooked rice. Straight away she knew that Aryo Menak had looked in the pot. The magic wouldn't work anymore and now she would have to work hard to prepare rice everyday.

      She was very upset and soon they started to run out of rice. One day the fairy was getting more rice from the storeroom and she saw the corner of her shawl hidden under the rice. She was so happy to find her shawl because now she could go home.

        As she flew away she called down to Aryo Menak and told him, 'If you want to see me, look for me in the full moon. That is where I will be'. Aryo cried and cried, begging his fairy wife to come back.

This is why even now men from Madura never cook rice.