There once stood a village on the slope of Mount Merbabu on the island of Java. The headman of this village had a son named
Joko Sarwono, a very stupid but honest and obedient young man.
One day the elder said to his son:
- Hey, my son Joko Sarwono, your father is already old, and his death is near. When I die, go bow to the big people, and may Allah send you happiness and glory. Every day I pray for your well-being and hope that the Almighty will hear my prayers, but you must always be honest, hardworking and obedient.
Tears flowed from Joko Sarwono's eyes and he respectfully replied:
“I will follow your orders in everything.”
Soon after this, the father fell ill and died. The villagers had to choose a new headman, and they decided that it would be the son of the deceased, Joko Sarwono.
However, the young man said:
- I cannot become your headman. I promised my father that after his death I would go to bow to the big people, and now I have to find them. Where do they live?
“If you need big people,” answered one of the old men, “you will find them in the capital.”
- That's where I'll go.
The next day, Joko Sarwono went to the capital. I got there and started asking who the big people were. They pointed out to him the military leader, the prince, the first minister, and finally the rajah himself, but Joko Sarwono shook his head - he believed that they were all ordinary people and that the late father was talking about completely different people. He continued his search.
Joko Sarwono had been wandering around the capital for several days, but still hadn’t met any big people. And suddenly he saw one of the Rajah's elephants - in the old days, the Rajahs of Indonesia rode elephants. The keepers had just bathed the elephant and were about to lead it back to its stable.
“This is probably the big man my father spoke about. Look what a big body he has! I should pay homage to him,” thought Joko Sarwono. He escorted the elephant to the stall and from that hour began to serve him day and night, like a rajah. He decorated the elephant's feet with bows, swept and cleaned his stall, and eventually the elephant and Joko Sarwono became real friends.
Joko Sarwono served the “big man” for forty days and forty nights. More than once the watchmen tried to drive him away, but Joko Sarwono did not leave.
And then one night the young man had a dream. An old man appeared to him in a dream and said:
- Hey, Joko Sarwono, you're wrong! After all, this is not a big man, but just an elephant that the Rajah rides. This is not a person, but an animal. But you are doing a good job, and it is clear that you are an honest, hardworking and obedient young man. Big people are called rajas, military leaders and all those who are great not in body size, but in power. And also find out that tomorrow the elephant will go mad and no one will be able to catch it except you, but do not catch it until you receive an order from the Raja himself.
Then Joko Sarwono woke up. A new day has already arrived, and indeed that morning the Rajah’s elephant went berserk and began to destroy everything around. No one tried to catch him for fear of being trampled. Then the Raja announced that he would appoint the person who could catch the elephant alive as governor of the district. Joko Sarwono heard the Raja's words and, remembering what the old man told him in a dream, went to catch the elephant. He, without resisting, allowed the young man to take him by the trunk and lead him to the rajah. The ruler of the country was pleased to see the courage, dexterity and strength of the young man. He immediately appointed him manager and apprenticed him to a good teacher.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru