A long time ago, a woman named Mak Kantan and her daughter, Melur,
were known to make the most delicious kuih in the village. One day, while
preparing kuih, they heard a crying sound. They discovered that the voice
came from the rice scattered on the ground that their neighbours had thrown
towards the backyard of Mak Kantan and Melur.
“Why are you crying, Rice?” asked Mak Kantan.
“I am sad that humans do not appreciate me,” replied the rice. “I’m their food.
But they throw me away instead.”
Mak Kantan and Melur felt the disappointment of the rice. So they picked
up each grain of rice from the ground. Having gathered a bowl of rice,
they formed it into the shape of flowers. The rice flowers gave out a sweet,
lingering fragrance.
They sold the rice flowers along with the kuih. Because of the sweet smell of
the rice flowers, they were popular among the villagers. From then on, Mak
Kantan and Melur would save all the left-over rice from their neighbours to
make rice flowers that they sold at the market.
One day, Mak Kantan wanted to present the rice flower to the king, Raja
Amirul Alam. However, the guards stopped them at the palace gates.
“Those rice flowers are not beautiful enough for the king,” said the guards as
they closed the gates.
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Telling Tales from Southeast Asia and Korea: Teachers’ Guide
While Mak Kantan and Melur were at the palace gates, the princess, Puteri
Puspa Sari, was walking around the garden.
“What sweet smell in the air!” Puteri Puspa Sari said with delight. She
followed the smell but she could not find where it came from. “I want
that sweet smell,” she said to herself. But a moment later the smell had
disappeared. Her longing for the sweet smell led to a strange illness.
Raja Amirul Alam was very worried for his beloved daughter. “My dear child,
I will search for that scent for you so you will get well instantly,” the king
promised.
A month passed but Raja Amirul Alam did not find the smell anywhere in
his kingdom. Meanwhile, Puteri Puspa Sari was still ill. Her beauty was fast
fading and the king was worried more than ever.
One day, Raja Amirul Alam passed by Mak Kantan’s house. He was curious
at the girl collecting left-over rice that people had thrown away. He saw how
the girl made the rice into the shape of flowers.
“What sweet smell in the air!” the king said as he was standing outside Mak
Kantan’s house. He noticed that the sweet smell came from the rice flowers.
“My child, tell me about the story of the rice flowers and the sweet smell they
give,” the king asked. Melur told him the story of how they made rice flowers
from left-over rice. This impressed the king very much.
“I will invite you and your mother to the palace. Bring with you the rice
flowers. I believe their sweet smell is what my daughter had been longing
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Telling Tales from Southeast Asia and Korea: Teachers’ Guide
for,” Raja Amirul Alam said.
So mother and daughter headed to the palace where they presented the
rice flowers to Puteri Puspa Sari. “This is indeed the sweet smell I wanted!”
exclaimed the princess. She quickly recovered from her strange illness upon
smelling the rice flowers.
“Mak Kantan and Melur, you brought back the health of my daughter because
of the sweet smell of the rice flowers you made. I am inviting you to live in the
palace as a reward,” the king declared.
From then on, Mak Kantan and Melur lived in the palace where they made
rice flowers to keep the princess happy.