There was once a lazy man named Pak Belalang who lived in a country called Halban Chondong. The country was hit by a drought and the crops failed. The farmers in the country fret and cried for rain. However, at that time of difficulty, the lazy Pak Belalang dreamt of leading an easy life with his son and wife without the desire to work hard. He often think long and deep about it.

      One fine day, Pak Belalang saw a buffalo and two cows beneath a jackfruit tree. Seeing the fat cows and the  buffalo, he got an idea and called out to his son, Belalang. He said “Son, I want you to take the buffalo and the two cows beneath the jack fruit tree and hide them in the bushes.” Belalang obediently obeyed his father’s order and hid the buffalo and cows in the bushes.

      In the evening, the owners of the cows and buffalo came to the jackfruit tree to take them back to their sheds for the night. They were shocked to find their animals missing!

      “Where are my cows?  They never run away before!” the owners panic.

      Then, they went to the village head to report about their missing animals. As part of Pak Belalang plan, his son, Belalang came to see them and told them that his father, Pak Belalang was very good in making predictions.

      Without wasting time, they came to see Pak Belalang with the village head. Pak Belalang put on an act by filling a bowl with water and stared long and hard into the water. At the same time he stirred the water in the bowl with his index finger. He look very focus as if he was concentrating. The owners look at Pak Belalang with full of curiosity and wonder what was the prediction Pak Belalang was about to make.

      After few seconds, Pak Belalang announced, “I see the cows and the buffalo are in the bushes behind a red wooden house." "Which wooden house? There are everywhere in the village," ask the owners that were still in panic. Pak Belalang continue to predict, "There is a coconut tree with seven ripe coconuts in front of the house, hmm... that looks like my house!" The owners quickly went to Pak Belalang's house to find out whether the prediction was true. True enough, the buffalo and the cows were behind his house. They were so happy that they brought him gifts of fruits and vegetables. The news of Pak Belalang’s skills of genius in making prediction spread throughout Halban Chondong.

      After that, the king of Halban Chondong had lost his valuable seven jars of gold coins. At a meeting, the king instructed his minister, “Spread the news that whoever succeeds to find the seven jars of gold coins will receive many gifts.” The news spread to the head of the village and he quickly went to see Pak Belalang and asked him to meet the king. When the king heard about him, he immediately summoned Pak Belalang to the palace. “Pak Belalang, go and find out who stole my seven jars of gold coins,” he requested. “If you succeed, you will receive many gifts. But if you failed, I will have you beheaded.”

      By the time Pak Belalang returned home, it was already dark. He was worried on how he could find the seven jars of gold coins because he is just a fake fortune teller. He felt hungry. Luckily, the king had given him flour and sugar. So, Pak Belalang asked his wife to make kuih cucur, a kind of fried cake. Pak belalang’s wife mixed the flour and sugar into a thick paste and poured the dough little by little into a frying pan, it made a ‘cur….’ sound. While he was eating, Pak belalang began counting the sounds. “One… two… three” he counted up to seven.

      Coincidently, the thieves who had stolen the king’s gold coins were walking past his house at that time. There were seven of them altogether. Hearing Pak Belalang counting up to seven, they thought that Pak Belalang knew everything. Pale and trembling, they gave themselves up. Without hesitation, the thieves said to Pak Belalang, “Pak belalang, we beg you not to tell the king about us. The jars are in a cave in the jungle. Take them back to the palace.”
At first, Pak Belalang felt peculiar about them. After they begged to him, he then realized that they were the thieves who stole the seven jars of gold coins. Pak belalang was very happy with this turn of event. He immediately told the king where he could find the stolen jars of gold coins.

      The next day, after the king knew the news, he was very happy to recover his property. Pak Belalang was appointed as the Ahli Nujum Negara, the Official Fortune-teller. He returned home bearing many gifts as the king had promised before. His wife and son were lighted and live happily. The unexpected lazy man, Pak Belalang became the rich official fortune teller in the country.