Once upon a time, there lived a man named Kong. He had two wives named Am and Kum. One day he went with his two wives to visit relatives in a far away village. In between the two villages, they had to go through a forest which was the natural habitat of a notoriously fierce tiger. The tiger was the talk of the villagers because it had killed many passersby for so many years.

When Kong and his two wives reached the fearful spot, the tiger came and chased the travelers. Kong was so frightened that he went into hiding. His two wives were brave, however, and both of them fought with the tiger fearlessly until they successfully killed it. When Kong saw that the tiger was dead, he came out from hiding, tied its front legs together, tied its back legs together, slid a rod beneath the tied legs, and carried the dead beast on his shoulders into the village.

When the villagers saw the dead tiger, they were relieved and happy that Kong was the good and brave villager who had removed the danger for them. People were astounded and asked how he killed the dangerous animal. Kong did not waste any time in taking the credit. His wives reminded Kong that they were the ones who actually did the killing, but Kong said to them who would believe that two feeble females could kill a wild tiger? He then started to show the villagers how he used his fighting skills to kick and intimidate the tiger. The wives still protested against Kong's lie, but in the end, they decided to let him take the credit. The villagers were so impressed with Kong's fearlessness in fighting the tiger that they gave him a nickname: "Kong Hean" (Kong the Fearless).

A few months later, Kong's reputation reached the King's court. The King needed brave men in his service, so he summoned Kong Hean and his two wives to the palace and put Kong Hean in his army.

Soon after, the country went to war against another country over conflicts at the border. A leader was needed to fight the enemy. Kong Hean's bravery was just what the King needed and he was given an army to lead into battle. Kong Hean was very frightened. He thought for sure that his falsehoods and exaggeration would be his undoing. He took his two wives to say goodbye to the King because he was certain he was going to die.

Kong Hean mounted an elephant to lead the army into the war zone. He was followed by a band of foot soldiers. On the elephant, he was so shaky and trembling that he could not keep his body still. The elephant mistook his jerky motions as a signal to advance forward, so it raced into battle. The soldiers saw Kong Hean's apparent fearlessness and bravely followed him to victory. The King was very satisfied with Kong Hean and had no reason to doubt his famed bravery, so the King rewarded him with gold and jewelry.

After the country's border conflicts subsided, another natural menace arose which required the King's attention. The river which was the main transportation route used by all the people was no longer safe. A big fierce crocodile dominated the river and left no boat unturned. It killed many people who dared to travel by boat or used the river for any other reason.

Again the King needed a strong man to take care of the wild beast and again the King thought of the brave Kong Hean. He summoned Kong Hean and told him of his new mission in the river. Kong Hean thought this time he really could not escape his death. He said goodbye to his wives and went to the river. Many people also went wanting to witness Kong Hean capture the crocodile.

At the river bank, there was a big old Banyan tree with many roots and branches twisted around each other that formed many fork-like sections. Kong Hean chose the tree to prepare for his death. He climbed up the tree and sat on a branch waiting for the crocodile to knock him down. Sure enough, when the crocodile saw him sitting on the tree with his feet dangling above the water, it sprang forcefully forward out of the water. Instead of knocking down Kong Hean, the crocodile's entire body got trapped between the twisted roots and branches and it could not move.

Kong Hean, seeing the crocodile caught in the tree and immobilized, carefully climbed down the Banyan tree and shouted for the villagers to come and get rid of the crocodile. Again, Kong Hean was saved by his fate.

The King was pleased with Kong Hean's accomplishment and forever kept him in the palace.