Once on the island of Java there was a little girl
named Too-too-moo. She lived with her Mama in a one-room house in a
forest. They were poor but they were happy.
Or they would have been happy, if not for a
terrible giant who came every day.
Each morning, when Too-too-moo woke up, she fastened
her hair in a knot with her long hairpin. Then she hurried into the
woods to help Mama gather firewood and herbs to sell at the village
market.
When that was done, Mama cooked a small pot of plain
rice and shared it with Too-too-moo for breakfast. She also cooked a
huge pot of sweet porridge. She made it from tasty rice flour, fragrant
coconut milk, and lots of sugar.
But not even the tiniest bit of the porridge was for
Too-too-moo and her Mama. It was all for the giant. Mama knew, if the
giant came and did not find a full pot of porridge, he would eat
Too-too-moo instead!
Then Mama left for the market, while Too-too-moo did
the housework. She shook out their sleeping mat, swept the floor, and
washed their few dishes. Then she went outside to play.
Soon she heard the giant’s terrible footsteps.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Too-too-moo ran into the house, picked up the
covered pot of porridge, placed it outside on the doorstep, and shut and
locked the door. Then she crouched and trembled in a corner.
The giant stamped up to the house. With one huge
finger, he knocked on the door—Tock, tock, tock. Then he called,
“Too-too-moo!
Where are you?”
And Too-too-moo answered, “In the house.”
“And where is your Mama?”
“At the market.”
“And where is my PORRIDGE?”
“In the pot!”
The giant took off the cover, picked up the pot, and
swallowed the porridge in one big gulp. Then he threw down the pot and
stamped back through the forest.
This happened every day.
When Mama returned in the evening, she brought food
that she had bought with the money earned at the market. But since they
had to feed the giant, there was never enough for themselves.
One day, Mama did not sell as much as usual. When
she came home, she had only enough food for the giant. She and
Too-too-moo had to go hungry.
The next day was the same. And so was the day after
that.
Too-too-moo and her Mama were starving.
On the fourth morning, Too-too-moo got up, fastened
her hair with her long hairpin, and helped Mama gather firewood and
herbs. Then Mama cooked the porridge for the giant and left for the
market.
The sweet smell of the porridge filled the little
house. Too-too-moo was so hungry, she couldn’t stand it.
“I’ll eat just one spoonful,” she said to herself.
“The giant will never know.”
Too-too-moo uncovered the pot and ate one spoonful.
But she was too hungry to stop! Before she knew what she was doing, a
quarter of the porridge was gone.
Then she heard the giant’s terrible footsteps.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Too-too-moo quickly covered the pot, placed it
outside on the doorstep, and shut and locked the door. Then she crouched
and trembled in a corner.
The giant stamped up to the house. With one huge
finger, he knocked on the door—Tock, tock, tock. Then he called,
“Too-too-moo!
Where are you?”
And Too-too-moo answered, “In the house.”
“And where is your Mama?”
“At the market.”
“And where is my PORRIDGE?”
“In the pot!”
The giant took off the cover, picked up the pot,
stopped, and looked.
“This pot is not full!” bellowed the giant.
He threw it down and called again,
“Too-too-moo!
Where are YOU?”
Too-too-moo did not answer.
With one blow of his fist, the giant knocked down
the door. He reached in his long arm and felt all around till he found
Too-too-moo. Then he pulled her from the house, tossed her in his mouth,
and swallowed her in one big gulp.
Too-too-moo tumbled into the giant’s stomach.
“Please let me out!” she shouted.
But the giant didn’t listen as he turned and stamped
back through the forest.
Too-too-moo cried and shook with fear. Then all of a
sudden, she remembered her long hairpin.
Quickly she pulled it from her hair. With both hands
and all her strength, Too-too-moo stuck it into the giant.
“YOW!” howled the giant.
Too-too-moo stuck him again.
“OUCH! YOW!” The giant danced about, but there was
nothing he could do. “TOO-TOO-MOO, STOP!”
But Too-too-moo did not stop. She stuck the giant
again and again.
The bellowing giant raced through the woods. Mad
with pain, he did not look where he was going. He tripped on a root and
cracked his head on a rock.
The giant was dead!
But Too-too-moo was still trapped inside.
At that moment, Mama was on her way home. She had
been lucky that day, and had quickly sold all she had carried to market.
So she had bought rice and fish and vegetables, and even roasted
peanuts as a special treat for Too-too-moo.
But when she reached the house, she saw the porridge
thrown down and the door knocked in. She called,
“Too-too-moo!
Where are you?”
There was no answer.
Mama grabbed a big cooking knife and ran along the
trail of the giant’s footsteps, calling,
“Too-too-moo!
Where are YOU?”
Still no answer.
Then she came to where the giant lay dead. But her
daughter was nowhere to be seen, so she called one last time,
“TOO-TOO-MOO!
WHERE ARE YOU?”
And Too-too-moo answered, “IN THE GIANT!”
With both hands and all her strength, Mama slit open
the giant’s side.
And out climbed—
Too-too-moo!
From that time on, Too-too-moo and her Mama were
happy. There was no more giant to bother them. They always had enough to
eat. And they had sweet porridge for breakfast, every single day.
About the Story
This tale comes from Java, the main island of the
country of Indonesia. Indonesia itself lies entirely on islands,
stretching across the Pacific Ocean between southeast Asia and
Australia. Over 200 million people live there, and each major island has
its own distinctive culture.
The culture of Java is an eclectic one, and this
story echoes motifs from many lands. Japan has the tale of “The Inch
Boy,” a Tom Thumb character who jumps into an ogre’s stomach and defeats
him with his sewing-needle sword. Africa has many stories of mothers
who rescue children from the belly of an elephant or giant caterpillar.
In Western culture, Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother are cut
out of the stomach of the wolf. “Too-too-moo” blends these elements with
a distinctive Javanese flavor.
To my knowledge, this is the first time the tale has
been published outside of Asia. It is here retold chiefly from
“Tu-tu-mu and the Giant,” in Favourite Stories from Indonesia, by
Marguerite Siek, Heinemann Educational Books, Kuala Lumpur, 1972.
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