Dongeng - The Legend of Situ Bagendit

Dongeng dari Garut, Jawa Barat - Beberapa hari lalu, seorang ibu guru minta "diterbitkan" cerita Situ Bagendit dalam bahasa Inggris. Saya sendiri kurang mengetahui Situ Bagendit, tapi setelah "bersemedi" di dunia maya, akhirnya saya tahu apa dan di mana Situ Bagendit. Langsung saja ini cerita legenda berbahasa Inggris. Here we go!

Far away in an isolated village there was a young rich woman. The house that she had been living in was very big. Her wealth was plentiful. The young woman lived by herself. She didn’t have any friend at all.

“Wouw, I am very rich! Ha…ha…ha, I am the richest woman in this village!” said the young woman while she was looking at her gold and jewelries. It was so pity, that the young woman was very miserly. Her plentiful wealth never been used to help others.

“All of the wealth is mine, isn’t it? So what am I give it all to other for?” The young woman thought. However, many of villagers were poor. They lived in less condition. Sometimes some villagers were hunger, and didn’t get any food for days.

Because of the young woman miserly, the villagers called her Bagenda Endit. Bagenda Endit meant the miserly rich person. “Bagenda Endit, have mercy on me! My child has not eaten for few days”, said an old woman sadly.

“Hi, you crazy old woman! Get away from me!” yelled Bagenda Endit threw the old woman away. Because the old woman didn’t want to go, Bagenda Endit splashed her with water. Splash!, and all over the old woman body and her baby became wet.

Bagenda Endit was a feeling less woman. She didn’t even have a little bit mercy to the old woman and her baby. She even got more angry. After that, she asked the old woman to get out of her house yard. And then, she was dragging her out of the yard.

Although Bagenda Endit was very miserly, the village people kept coming in. The came for the water wheel. “No, I won’t let you to take away the water from my wheel! The water in the wheel is mine!” Bagenda Endit yelled angrily.

“Ha…ha…ha…you’re all stupid! You think you just can take the water from my wheel!” Bagenda Endit said while she was watching the thirst villagers outside the fence. Suddenly, a decrepit man was standing in Bagenda Endit house yard. He was walking tottery to the wheel while holding his stick.

When the old man was trying to take the water, Bagenda Endit saw it. Then, she hit the old man with a founder. “Have mercy on me Bagenda Endit! I want to take the water just for a drink”, said the old man when he was trying to get up.

Bagenda Endit kept beating the old man. And then, an astonishing thing happened. Suddenly the old man got up with a healthy body. He walked closer to Bagenda Endit. He pointed his stick at the cruel rich woman’s nose.

“Hi, Bagenda Endit, take the punishment from me!” said the old man loudly. Then he pointed at the wheel with his stick. Wus…byuur, the wheel was sprinkling the water swiftly. Not long enough, the water was flooding up. Bagenda Endit couldn’t save herself. She drawn with all of her wealth.

The village was disappeared. The thing that left was a wide and deep lake. The lake was named Situ Bagendit. Situ means a wide lake. It was named Situ Bagendit, because the wide lake came from a wheel that belongs to Bagenda Endit.