Takatuliang, The Woodcarver

    Once upon a time, there lived King Simbau and his beautiful daughter, Princess Sangiang Mapaele, in a kingdom on the island of Simbau, in the Sulawesi Sea. The king was very wise and kind. The princess was not only beautiful, but also kindhearted. She often went out of the palace to meet her people.

    Because of her beauty and kindness many princes and rich men wanted to marry the king's daughter. This made the king very confused. He wanted to choose the best husband for his daughter. He, then, announced a contest. Whoever presented the princess with the most valuable gift would marry her.

    In a small villages there lived Takatuliang, a poor young woodcarver. He heard about the contest and decided to try. He was so poor that he had nothing to present. He thought very long and hard. So he went far into the forest. There he chose the best tree and carved it into a doll. Next, he took an old piece of cloth and sewed it into a dress for the doll. After that, he cut his own hair and glued it to the doll's head.

    On the day of the contest, all of the princes gathered before King Simbau and the beautiful princess. The first prince presented his gift. He said proudly, "Dear princess, this is the proof of my love, a comb carved from ivory." "How many combs like this do you have?" asked the princess. "I have many of them," said the prince.

    Then, Princess Mapaele turned to the second prince. "What do you bring for me?" asked the princess. "I bring this silk as the proof of my love," said the prince proudly. How many pieces of silk like this do you have?" asked the princess. "Oh, a lot, my dear," said the prince.

    "What about you?" asked the princess to the third prince, "what do you bring for me?" He presented her with a very beautiful necklace. "This is the proof of my love, my dear princess. And I still have many necklaces like this."

    Finally it was Takatuliang's turn. Takatuliang bowed his head. "I bring only a doll," said Takatuliang softly. "How many dolls like this do you have?" asked the princess again. "Only this one. I carved it myself and decorated it with my own hair and my father's old cloth. He died and this is the only thing he left me," answered Takatuliang.

   Princess Sangiang Mapaele was very touched to hear Takatuliang's story. She decided to marry Takatuliang because he had given his everything he had. Together, Takatuliang and the princess lived happily ever after.

Answer the questions.

What did Takatuliang do to join the contest?