The Adventures of Hanianon (Episode 3: The Hard Day Part 1)

Written And Illustrated By: Ahmad Ali

(Please click here for Episode Two.)

In Calovinia, King Sakiorone was having a big feast. Everyone was happy except Sir Hanianon. He was frustrated because they were defeated every time they attacked their enemies.

The next day, he went to the blacksmith and asked the blacksmiths to make some ‘Dardanelles Guns’. ‘Dardanelles Gun’ was a type of cannon that was used by the armies of the Ottoman Empire and was also known as ‘Great Bombard’.

A month later, one of the Arguay’s scouts went to Calovinia asking for help. The Calovinian king agreed to help the Arguays so they could test their new weapon. He sent a troop of army and they brought along the Dardanelles Guns. The Dardanelles Guns were great weapon and they defeated the armies of Jupron.

King Antire the 20th of Jupron was very angry. He wanted to attack Calovinia. The king said to his armies,”Go and attack Calovinia now. I’m very sure we’ll win”.

At that moment, Uanuf Ali and 50 other great knights of Calovinia were hiding at the back of the king’s tent. They came inside and Uanuf Ali said to the king, “Do not count your chickens before they are hatched”. Uanuf Ali was one of the grandsons of the Calovinian king.

The Jupron attacked them but the Calovinian knights defeated the Jupron. And then it was the time for a duel between Uanuf Ali and King Antire the 20th.

Suddenly Queen Yarmadurna and Prince Lamandor of Jupron rushed into the tent to attack Uanuf Ali. But one of the Brotosh armies who had just arrived saw them and he stopped them from attacking Uanuf Ali.

King Antire the 20th went to hide in one of the rooms inside his castle. Prince Lamandor tried to attack Uanuf Ali again but Sir Hanianon pulled Uanuf Ali to safety and they went back to Calovinia.

A few days later, while Sir Hanianon was hunting, he met three tired and hungry villagers asking for help. They told Sir Hanianon that they ran away because Jupron’s armies was going to attack their village. Sir Hanianon helped them and after that he asked the villagers where did they came from.

One of the villager’s daughter named Aymijah answered, “Kalapaga”. So he went to Kalapaga with several other knights to help them defend their village from Jupron’s attacks. By the time they arrived there, the place was already under attack and Jupron armies had destroyed a large part of the village.

Sir Hanianon and the other knights helped to defend Kalapaga. But it was too late and Kalapaga was defeated. Sir Hanianon told them, “Don’t worry, the darkest hour is just before the dawn”.

To be continued

Visiting The ‘Bukit Puteri’

From left are my big sisters Kashah, Kafah, me and Kaman in front of the Bukit Puteri.

Bukit Puteri is a 208-metre hill facing the Terengganu River.

‘Bukit’ means hill and ‘puteri’ means princess.

It was formerly a fortress between 1831 and 1876.

It is a very beautiful place.

Uncle Hulaimi or Awang Goneng wrote a lot about Bukit Puteri  in his books, ‘Growing Up In Trengganu’ and ‘A Map Of Trengganu’.

Climbing up the stairs to the hill top.

On the way to the top of the hill.

First we reached the site of 'Meriam Beranak' or the 'Cannon That Give Birth'.

The 'Meriam Beranak'; the mother and the baby cannon.

Then we saw another cannon.

Next we visited the 'Pondok Genta' or the 'The Bell's Hut'. Inside the hut is the historic 'Genta' or 'The Bell'.

The Genta or the bell.

This is the large brass bell known as the ‘Genta’. It was struck during emergencies as well as during important festivals and royal events. Uncle Hulaimi wrote about the 'Genta' in his books.

Then we climbed up the stairs to the fortress.

The fortress.

My siblings and I in front of the fortress.

We saw the throne once we entered the fortress.

Behind the throne is the 'Gun Powder Hole'.

On the left is the throne and on the right is another cannon. This must be the place where the archers be during the wars.

The lighthouse.

The lighthouse is on the hill top.

Going down the hill.

The Bedil

This morning at 5:25 am, I watched the bedil at my

nenek’s house in Kuala Terengganu. The bedil sound is

boooooommmm and after  the fire works came out it

sounds tssssssssssssssss. The fire works was beautiful.

I can hear the bedil 3 times a day. 1st and 2nd for imsak

and 3rd for iftar to break our fast. Bedil is a huge fire

works. It is not dangerous because they use a timer to

fire the bedil. My dad said that long time ago they used a

cannon. Cannon is dangerous.

.

In Kuala Lumpur there is no bedil. We waited for

Maghrib azan on TV to break our fast. Just now I saw a

little house where they keep the bedil to be fired. The

house is on a hill.The hill is named Bukit Pak Apil. Do

you know what is bedil? Have you seen it?