Once upon a time, there was a wild water buffalo which lived in a deep tropical jungle. He led a carefree life wandering in the wilderness and showering in muddy rivers with his parents and siblings everyday. One day, while he was herding its siblings down a jungle path, an unpredictable heavy storm struck, sending all of them running helter-skelter and separating him from his family.
The buffalo spent some lonesome days in a futile search for his family before ending up in a small and poor farming village. Overcome with hunger and fatigue, he trudged to a stop at a wooden house where a little boy named Didi was sitting on the porch daydreaming.
As the only child in his family, Didi was fond of animals that crossed his path and found solace in playing with them. The mysterious presence of a buffalo snapped him out of his trance, ensued by an electric moment of intimate soul-to-soul connection when he locked eyes with his unexpected guest.
Sprang to his feet in excitement, Didi went on to usher the buffalo in and fed him. He sought permission from his parents to keep the buffalo and built a makeshift shed for him to settle down. Didi’s parents were swept up in the mood of exaltation as the buffalo not only proved himself capable of reducing their work burden by ploughing the land and transporting goods that eventually brought in a good harvest for the family, he was also an inseparable companion for their son. Hence, the family decided to name the buffalo as “Kerbau Emas”, the literal meaning of golden buffalo in English, for the windfall and auspiciousness this gifted animal brought upon them.
Didi would wake up everyday before dawn to feed Kerbau Emas before preparing him to work in the field. He could not wait to go home after school so he could hop on the back of the buffalo and be transported through villages for their little adventure. The scenery along the ride with Kerbau Emas left a lasting impression in his young mind – swaying palm trees in the breeze, gushing waterfalls with turquoise waters, homes built on poles over rivers, kids running barefoot while flying kites and the beautiful starry sky when the village was blanketed in total darkness at night time. On many occasions, Didi would be spotted talking to the buffalo while resting in the shade.
Their friendship grew stronger with every passing year and the story of their impossible friendship has been passed down and cherished through many generations in the village.
