The Clay Marble

As Sarun and Nea grow closer, so too do Dara and Jantu—who amazes the younger girl with her storytelling skills and craftsmanship. Jantu takes a special delight in telling folktales, especially the story of “Khong the Brave,” a satirical fable about a coward who blunders his way into an undeserved reputation for bravery, partly by stealing credit for his wife’s heroics. Some of her other stories, such as a tale of four deaf brothers fighting each other, mock the various factions of Cambodians (the Khmer Rouge, the Khmer Serei, the Khmer People’s National Liberation Army, etc.) who are constantly at war. She also tells Dara and the other children factual stories about other times and places, stressing that most of the world’s people do not live under a perpetual cloud of warfare.

Even more remarkable than her stories is her ability to create ingenious toys and dolls out of the rawest of materials, such as clay, sticks, leaves, tin cans, or scraps of newspaper or plastic. It seems so effortless that Dara wonders if she has actual “magic” in her fingers. One day, Jantu builds a breeze-powered mobile out of straw, sticks, and string, featuring clockwork-like women pounding rice in a circle.