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Makato and The Cowrie Shell

Makato was an orphan boy who worked hard to support himself. He heard stories of the kind King Pra Ruang of Sukhothai and decided to travel there. On his journey, he met an old woman who gave him water and invited him to work for her caring for elephants. One day, King Pra Ruang visited and Makato showed him a cowrie shell the king had previously given him. Makato used the shell to buy lettuce seeds and grew them, presenting the lettuces to the impressed king. The king rewarded Makato's intelligence and industry by giving him work in the palace, where Makato served loyally and married the king's daughter. He was eventually made ruler of Mon

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14K views4 pages

Makato and The Cowrie Shell

Makato was an orphan boy who worked hard to support himself. He heard stories of the kind King Pra Ruang of Sukhothai and decided to travel there. On his journey, he met an old woman who gave him water and invited him to work for her caring for elephants. One day, King Pra Ruang visited and Makato showed him a cowrie shell the king had previously given him. Makato used the shell to buy lettuce seeds and grew them, presenting the lettuces to the impressed king. The king rewarded Makato's intelligence and industry by giving him work in the palace, where Makato served loyally and married the king's daughter. He was eventually made ruler of Mon

Uploaded by

Jo-ann Valor
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Makato and the Cowrie Shell

(A Thai Folktale)by Supanee Khanchanathiti

once upon a time, there was a boy whose name was Makato. He was an
orphan, for hisfather and mother died when he was very young. He had
no brothers, sisters, cousins or friendsto take care of him, so he had to
make a living for himself. He did every kind of work
—
carryingheavy things, clearing away the forest, or feeding pigs. He never
idled. Although he was paidonly small wages, he was satisfied. He knew
that if he would not work, he would starve.Wherever he went, his
employers praised him for being sensible, hardworking
, good-temperedand cheerful.One fine evening after he had finished
chopping up a big pile of wood, he sat down to restand thought of all he
would like to do in the future. He wanted to try his luck in far
–
off strangelands, for he longed for exciting adventures.
―What are you thinking about so deeply, my boy?‖ asked his employer.

―I would like to go on a journey for adventure,‖ said Makato, pointing to


the northeast. ―Iheard that the land is fertile and the people are kind. I
wish I could see the land for myself.‖ His
eyes sparked with excitement.
―The land you wish to go to is called Sukhothai,‖ said his employer.
―They say Pra Ruang of
Sukhothai is a very kind
–hearted king. You might be lucky if you could go there.‖
Sometime later, Makato decided to try his fortune. He left his village and
set out in the wideworld .He walked along cheerfully, enjoying new
insights and talking to the people he met on theway. A
fter a month‘s journey, he reached a village on the boundary of the
Kingdom of sukhthai.
―Please, can I have some water to drink?‖ Makato asked an old
woman with a big water poton her head. ―I‘m so thirsty.‖

―Where did you come from? Why are you here alone? You look as if
you‘ve come a longway,‖ said the old woman, pouring cold water from
her pot into a small cup and handling it to
Makato.
―Thank you so much,‖ said the boy. ―Who are your father and mother?
Haven‘t you anyfamily?‖ the old woman asked aga
in.
―I come from the City of Mon over there,‖ replied Makato. ―Good
heavens! Have you reallycome from Môn? How is it that you are
travelling alone, such a young boy as you are?‖

―I wanted to see Pra Ruang of Sukhothai,‖ replied Makato.‖They say he


is a v
ery kind-
hearted king.‖ ―You are a very determined boy!‖ said the
woman.‖Come along with me .Whoknows? You might see Pra Ruang
someday.‖
Makato was glad to go with her. If he could work with this kind of woman,
he would have aplace to sleep, some food to eat and perhaps someday,
he might be lucky enough to see theking.The old woman was one of the
Pra Ruang Mahouts, which meant that she helped the
mahout find the food for the elephant and clean out the elephants‘ sheds.
He worked hard and
well, and the mahout and his wife grew fond of him.One day, the sky was
clear and the weather so fine, it seemed to Makato that it must be a
lucky day. As he worked in the elephants‘ sheds, a tall young man in a
splendid costume,
followed by attendants, came in. It was Pra Ruang himself. Makato
bowed low at once with hishands clasped together before him.
His heart beat fast. ―Where did the boy come from?‖ the king asked the
mahout, who wasattending him. ―How old is he?‖ the king asked further.
―12 years old, your Majesty,‖ replied themahout. ―A good
-
looking and hardworking boy,‖ said the king. ―Take good care of him.‖
As the king walked away, Makato saw a little cowrie
shell lying on the ground
He ran to

pick up and held it to the king, but the king said with a smile
, ―You may keep it.‖

―How wonderful!‖ Makato thought, ―the king has given me a cowrie


shell.‖
At the time, the people of Sukhothai used cowrie shells as
money. Although one cowrie hadlittle value, Makato wanted to make
as much use of it as possible, for
it was the king‘s gift. For a
long time, he could not think of a way to use it so that it would earn money
for him.One day, he passed by a stall in the market where the seeds of
many different plants weresold. He looked along the stall and caught sight
of a basket full of lettuce seed. Lettuces! He
could grow small plants like that. He asked the joyful woman at
the stall, ―Can I buy somelettuce seed?‖

―Oh yes, my boy. How much do you want?‖ said the old woman. ―I
have one cowrie shell!‖said Makato. ―One

cowrie shell!‖ said the woman, laughing.‖ That won‘t buy anything. I
can‘teven measure that much.‖

―Look!‖ said Makato eagerly. ―I will dip my finger into the pile of seeds.
Then, I will take the
seeds that stick to it. That must be right for one cowrie
shell.‖ ―Well, why not?‖ said the amusedwoman at his suggestions.
―All right boy. Help yourself.‖
Makato paid the woman his one cowrie shell .Then, he dipped his finger
into the pile of seeds. When he pulled his wet finger out, it was covered
with seeds. He carefully scraped themof his finger into the palm of his
hand and went away, happily clutching the seeds.Now that he had seeds,
Makato broke the soil and sowed them at once. He watered theseed bed
every day and soon, the young plants appeared. Day by day, he cleared
more groundand planted more lettuce seedlings until the kitchen garden
was covered with them. He wasvery proud of himself because he had
done so well.
―I wish I could give the king some lettuces,‖ he thought.
One day, the king passed by
the elephants‘ sheds again. Makato waited for an opportunity,
then knelt down and proudly presented his biggest lettuces to the king.
―Where did you get this?‖ the king asked, surprised. ―I grew them from
the cowrie shell yougave me, Your Majesty,‖ answe
red Makato, beaming with a smile.
―How could you do that?‖ asked the puzzled king. Makato told the king
the whole story.
The king was impressed with his intelligence and industry, so much so
that later on, he gaveMakato a job in the
palace. As the years passed, Makato grew tall and handsome. He
mastered every grace andserved the king well. He was so loyal that
the king trusted him absolutely. He was promoted tohigher positions until
he was given a title of Kun Wang, which meant that he was the
mostimpo
rtant person in the king‘s court. He was also happily married to the
beautiful young
daughter of the king. After that, the king made him the ruler of the Mon.So
it was that Makato, who had once been a poor orphan, became the king
of thatprosperous kingdom.

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