The legend of Surakarta Palace

The Legend of Surakarta Palace

A king living in a very old palace in Kartasura just west of Surakarta in Central Java long, long ago wanted to move to “somewhere better”, but he had no idea where that was. "Hmm... I want to move from this palace to somewhere better, but how?" said the king to himself .

After thinking different ways to find that “better” place, he chose to let an elephant decide.

An elephant was let loose in the palace courtyard. The elephant wandered around the courtyard before going out of the palace grounds. Wherever it went, the king and his family followed.

The elephant first stopped at the village of Kadipolo in Surakarta, so the king settled there and ordered his people to build a new palace in that village. "We will build a palace here" said the king.

While the people were working on the palace, the elephant started to walk again, leaving Kadipolo and stopping at a place called Solo, still within the region of Surakarta.

So the king halted work on the palace at Kadipolo, although it was partly built, and ordered everyone to Solo (Sala). There in Solo, which is the name people use for Surakarta, the king met an Islamic teacher called Kyai Sala, who asked the elephant, “why are you resting here?” The elephant didn’t answer. The king replied, “We are going to build a new palace because this is where the elephant stopped”.

“But” Kyai Sala said, “Why are you building a big palace here on ground that is as wet and sandy as this?”

“As long as Kyai Sala lives here”, the king replied, “We can build a new palace without any problem, because you will protect it.”

The next day, construction of the new palace began. Surakarta Palace, a big and beautiful structure was built to completion. The ground which was as wet and sandy as Kyai Sala had said, became drier every year after the palace was completed. The king who gained the title Paku Buwono I, was the first to live in Surakarta Palace.

QUESTIONS

1.) Where did the elephant first stopped ?
2.) What happened to Solo after the palace were built ?
3.) What is the antonym of better (in the first paragraph) ?
4.) Who is Paku Buwono I ?
5.) What is the synonyms of 'palace' ?


Direct Sentences in the text :

• "Hmm... I want to move from this palace to somewhere better, but how?"
•  "We will build a palace here"
• “why are you resting here?”
• The king replied, “We are going to build a new palace because this is where the elephant stopped”
• “But” Kyai Sala said
• “Why are you building a big palace here on ground that is as wet and sandy as this?”
• “As long as Kyai Sala lives here”
•  “We can build a new palace without any problem, because you will protect it.”
  
  

Paku Buwono’s descendants continued to live in that palace, even to this day.