A quiet calm day in the Warompen village, Irian Barat suddenly heard a loud voice, “Help! Help… My father!” cried a boy as he ran into the village on the bank of the Yeripol River.
The people came out of their houses and gathered around the boy. “What happened to your father, boy?” they all asked.
“It’s….. It’s..... Ro….. Ropokai!”
“What? Ropokai?” There were all frightened when they hear the name. “I’m sorry, boy,” one of the people said, “I don’t think we can do anything for your father…..” The boy was very sad.
Ropokai was a very big snake that lived in the Yeripol River. It came up when it was hungry, and no one knew when it would come. When it did, it ate anything it found, people or animals.
“Was your father alone?” the people of the village asked the boy.
“No. There were four other people with him.”
“What happened to them?”
“They are all dead. Ropokai ate them all. My father tried to swim to the bank, but the last time I saw him Ropokai was behind him!” The boy cried again.
“This must stop,” one of the older men said. “Let’s ask Ambonai to help us.”
Ambonai was a famous hunter. He was one of the best hunters in Irian Barat. He was bigger, taller and stronger than any other men in Irian. All the bad animals in the forest were afraid of him.
The people of Warompen decided to ask him to help them. They sent someone to talk to Ambonai. Ambonai agreed to help the people of Warompen.
So Ambonai came to the village. He asked when Ropokai usually came up, but no one could tell him. He waited and waited, but Ropokai did not appear. He met one of the Warompen girls, and
