About seven hundred years ago, there lived a Prince named Parameswara. One of his worst enemies was the Raja of Majapahit from Java. The Raja was a mighty warlord, and everyone was afraid of him. His tall figure with its broad physique was quite awesome. As he strutted around in his colourful robes, people would fall at his feet to honour him. The Raja had hundreds of warships and thousands of soldiers, and he wasn't afraid to put them all to work. He often sent his warships across the seas to fight. Sometimes it was to win new land. Other times it was just for sport. He really cared very little for the lives of his people.

But there was one man he cared strongly about, and that was Prince Parameswara. He cared about him because this was the one person who challenged him constantly, like a mosquito always on the attack. He wasn't exactly dangerous, but he was very annoying. The Raja was a tiny bit afraid that one day this Prince would rally enough supporters to steal his powerful position. He knew he had to watch him very carefully.

Now Parameswara was not terribly nice either. He thought nothing of playing sport with someone one day, and having them punished the next, if they did not allow him to win. He was extremely tired of being bullied by this Raja. In fact he would do anything to annoy the man because he enjoyed causing trouble. Knowing that the Raja was growing suspicious of him, he decided to throw him a real challenge. He asked his palace woodcarvers to make him a lion throne, and once it was completed, he sent a message to inform everyone that he was now the Lion King. This message was really meant for the Raja to tell him that Prince Parameswara was now more powerful than he.

Of course, the very idea made the Raja really wild. Immediately he sent troops of soldiers and ships to drive Prince Parameswara out of the country.

When Parameswara heard the news, he didn't feel quite so brave any more. Once he had been told that forces were coming over land, and by sea, to drive him away, he panicked. He realized that this time he had gone too far. Because he was a complete coward, he did not stop and confront the Raja. He just hurried to the nearest available boat with some of his men, and left the country as fast as he could.

They sailed for two days and two nights, until they reached an island by the name of Temasek. White sandy beaches, fringed with coconut palms, stretched back from the water's edge. The scent of frangipani wafted towards them on the breeze. Behind the trees, lush, green jungle covered the land. Monkeys swung freely amongst the tree-tops, and large colourful crabs scuttled undisturbed across the sand.

The only people to be seen were two fishermen, snoozing under a parasol on a boat nearby. This was truly paradise.

"I know the King of this island," Parameswara told the crew. "He was a close friend of my father's. I came here because I know he'll welcome us with open arms. He's known for his kindness and hospitality."

He was quite right. When the King heard of their arrival, he rushed out to meet them, and greeted him and his men like long lost friends. He took them to his palace, prepared a feast, and gave Prince Parameswara and his men palatial rooms to sleep in.

"Don't worry!" the King said, when he heard Prince Parameswara's story. "You can hide out here for as long as you like. The Raja will never dream of following you to this island. This is a peaceful place. The only people here are fisher-people who have inhabited the island for centuries. They are very calm and settled. You won't find any trouble here."

But Prince Parameswara had other plans. Remember, he wasn't such a nice person either. He had already caused trouble, threatened a ruler, and had to flee his own country. The seed of another wicked idea had already planted itself in his mind.

"Listen, men!" he whispered to them during the feast. "This is our perfect chance. If we kill the King, we can rule this country ourselves. The people of Temasek are quiet fisher-people. They won't stop us. Think how powerful we could be. We won't just stay here, we'll rule the place!"

So during the night, that kind King who had opened his doors to them, was killed in his bed while he slept. His family was loaded onto a boat with some provisions, and pushed out to sea. The next morning, Parameswara announced to the people of Temasek that he was their new King.

"I hereby change the island's name from Temasek to Singapura, or Lion City, after my carved and painted lion throne," he announced.

Sadly for the islanders, Parameswara was not a good King. He really knew nothing about how to run a country. He definitely did not know how to look after the people, protect them and make sure they were happy. After a while the once quiet fishing villages began to be attacked by pirates.

As Parameswara did nothing to stop the attacks, word soon spread to other islands, and Singapura was invaded by other people. The island became a very unsafe and difficult place to live.

As a result of this sad situation, many of the fisher-folk took their families and boats, and set sail for safer lands. They could not see any future in Singapura—and they decided to try to start new lives elsewhere. The island fell into ruin.

As attackers continued to try their luck against this Lion King, Parameswara again panicked. Because he was both a tyrant and a coward, he ran away for a second time, leaving the island to its fate.

He was never heard of again.

For almost 400 years the outside world forgot about Singapura, the Lion City. Once things settled down, the fisher-folk slowly moved back, bringing their families, and new friends they had made. Villages re-appeared, and grew. Peace once more reigned on the island of white sandy beaches, palm trees and lush jungle. The only thing that remained of Parameswara's time, was the name he gave to the island. For some reason it was still called Singapura, the Lion City.

Bigger ships from further away began to stop off at the island, on their way past. One day, a British man named Stamford Raffles landed, and decided that it would make a perfect port and trading post.

And the rest of the story, as anyone who lives in modern Singapore knows very well, is history!