Many years ago, in a place once known as Palembang, there lived a young prince called Sri Tri Buana.

One day the prince and a group of his friends sailed to one of the islands, where they planned to spend the day picnicking. The men went to hunt, while the women picked bananas and coconuts for the evening's feast. All was well.

But as the day went on, Sri Tri Buana grew restless with the hunt, for he had shot no deer at all. At last, he climbed to the top of the tallest rocks.

In the distance, he saw a sight he had never seen before 一 a dot of land with a shore so white, it looked like a long white cloth waving in the sea. He called to his friends, who climbed up the rocks to join him.

"I wish to see this land up close," Sri Tri Buana said. "I've never seen a beach so white. Let us sail there."

He and some of his men ran back to the shore, boarded their ship and set off for the island.

Before long they reached the shore of the island, where the white sand gleamed brighter than any jewel.

"It's the most beautiful place I've ever seen," said Sri Tri Buana as he looked around. "Let us explore this place."

As they walked across the sand to the edge of the forest, a beautiful animal appeared out of the shadowy undergrowth. The creature had a black head, a tawny red body, and a chest as dazzling white as the island's sand. It stopped and stared at the men for a few moments, then bounded gracefully away into the shadows.

"What was that?" Sri Tri Buana asked.

One of the men who knew these islands smiled. "That was a lion," he said.

Sri Tri Buana nodded. "Surely it is a sign that this place is a land of plenty. This is the place I want to stay at forever."

The prince renamed this place after the creature he had never before seen. There he ruled the place known as Singapura, or Lion City.