THE LITTLE PINKIE OF BELITUNG ISLAND

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Long ago, there lived a married couple in a village on Belitung Island. Though they were poor, they didn’t have any complaints about life and they went through all the tough times with pleasure. The only fly in the ointment was that they didn’t have children. Every evening and before going to bed, they prayed solemnly in the hope that God would grant them the desire of their hearts.

“My Lord, please give us a child and I don't mind if he is just as small as a little pinkie!”

Apparently, God heard their prayer and not long after that the wife got pregnant. The husband and wife were extremely happy because they were going to have a baby very soon.

After a few months, the wife gave birth to a baby boy. However, they were very surprised to see that the baby looked really like a little finger.

“Oh dear, why is our baby as small as a pinkie?” asked the wife, in a sad voice.

The husband just kept silent. He looked as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. Suddenly, he remembered what they said in their prayer.

“Do you still remember what we said in our prayer?” asked the husband.
“You said you wouldn’t mind if the child was as small as a little pinkie, didn’t you?” the husband stared at his wife.

“Yes, I did.” She said, “God grants prayers’ requests according to their will.”

The husband and wife took care of their child with all their hearts. Time went by so quickly and it was six years already. But their kid was still as big as a pinkie. That was why they called him little pinkie.

Though the little pinkie was very small, he ate a lot more food than his parents did. The couple felt worried and nervous because the food they bought with their hard earned money was just enough to feed their beloved son. As the couple could no longer afford it, they tried to find the way to kick him out.

“How do we kick the little pinkie out of our house?” asked the wife.
“I know how to do it,” answered the husband.
“Tell me how,” said the wife in a confused manner.
“I’m going to the forest with him tomorrow,” said the husband.
“What for?” asked the wife, raising her eyebrows.
“I’ll leave him alone in the forest,” said the husband.

The wife agreed to the plan. The next day, the husband asked the little pinkie to go to the forest with him. The father told his son that they were going to take some firewood home. Afterwards, the father began to cut a big tree.

“My son, stand there. Dad is going to cut down this tree.”
“Okay daddy,” said the little pinkie.

The son was unaware that the tree would fell towards him as his father did it on purpose. Suddenly, the tree fell on the little pinkie. The father felt so pleased rather than sad.

“Ha, ha, ha, you’re dead, dwarf,” said the father, laughing.

The father came close to the tree. After he was sure that the little pinkie had died, he went home to tell his wife all he had done. The wife was happy after knowing the little pinkie died in the forest.

“From now on, we’ll live comfortably,” said the wife.

The couple heard someone shouting outside the house.

“Daddy, where should I put the firewood?”

“It sounds like little pinkie.” The wife said, “Isn’t he dead already?”
“Let’s go out to take a look,” said the husband.

They both were very surprised to see the little pinkie carrying a big tree on his shoulder.

“Dad, where should I put this tree?” asked the little finger.
“Just put it over there,” said the father.

After putting down the big tree, the little pinkie went into the kitchen directly. As he had just done a hard work, he felt so hungry. He ate all the food and rice cooked by his mother. Both his parents looked so confused and didn’t know what to do.

It was tougher to make money day by day and the little pinkie ate much more than ever before. The father and mother then had another plan to get rid of the little pinkie.

“Oh dear, what should we do now?” asked the wife, showing melancholy.
“I’ll ask him to go and help me cut stones tomorrow,” answered the husband.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure this time we’ll succeed,” he continued, smiling.

The little pinkie went to cut stones with his father the next day. After reaching the foot of the hill, the father stopped going forwards.

“My son, dad wants to go up the hill and loosen the stones.” The father said, “You wait here, take and put all the stones in one place.”

“Okay dad,” said the little pinkie.

The father climbed up the hill with a wooden stick for lifting up stones. He just loosened the little stones at first. When he lifted up a big stone, he purposely aimed at the little pinkie standing at the foot of the hill.

Bang…… bang…… bang……. A large stone fell upon the little pinkie.

Seeing that the little pinkie was hit by the stone, the father climbed down the hill and approached his son who was already flattened.

“Little pinkie…….. Little pinkie………….” the father shouted out his son’s name.

He called his son’s name several times, but there was no answer. He was sure that the little pinkie had died. He was very happy and went home to tell his wife this good news. His wife didn’t immediately believe it, a doubtful expression showed up in her face.

“Are you sure he is dead?” asked the wife.

“Yeah, he was flattened by a big stone,” the husband nodded.

“Thank God!” the wife said, “Our life will be peaceful afterwards.”

Surprisingly, they heard the calls outside the house in the afternoon.

“Daddy, where should I put this stone?”
“Put it over there,” answered the father spontaneously.

The couple were extremely frightened as if they had seen a ghost in the daytime. After putting down the big stone, the little pinkie rushed in the kitchen to seek food to eat because he was very hungry at the moment. He felt he had a hole instead of his stomach.

Eventually, the couple took pity on their unfortunate son and had never tried to kill him again. They realized that God granted their prayer according to what they asked for. They were pleased to accept the little pinkie as their family member.

The little pinkie who possessed the miraculous power helped his father earn a living diligently. He did all the hard work, so that his father could have more time to relax. The family loved each other and lived a very wonderful and peaceful life.