Pinoy Folk Tales

The Battle of the Crabs

2009-02-25T17:08:00.004-08:00

_Visayan_

One day the land crabs had a meeting and one of them said:

"What shall we do with the waves? They sing so loudly all the time

that we cannot possibly sleep."

"Well," answered one of the oldest of the crabs, "I think we should

make war on them."

The others agreed to this, and it was decided that the next day all

the male crabs should get ready to fight the waves. They started for

the sea, as agreed, when they met a shrimp.

"Where are you going, my friends?" asked the shrimp.

"We are going to fight the waves," answered the crabs, "for they make

so much noise at night that we cannot sleep."

"I do not think you will succeed," said the shrimp, "for the waves

are very strong and your legs are so weak that even your bodies bend

almost to the ground when you walk." Wherewith he laughed loudly.

This made the crabs very angry, and they pinched the shrimp until he

promised to help them win the battle.

Then they all went to the shore. But the crabs noticed that the eyes

of the shrimp were set unlike their own, so they thought his must be

wrong and they laughed at him and said:

"Friend shrimp, your face is turned the wrong way. What weapon have

you to fight with the waves?"

"My weapon is a spear on my head," replied the shrimp, and just then

he saw a big wave coming and ran away. The crabs did not see it,

however, for they were all looking toward the shore, and they were

covered with water and drowned.

By and by the wives of the crabs became worried because their husbands

did not return, and they went down to the shore to see if they could

help in the battle. No sooner had they reached the water, however,

than the waves rushed over them and killed them.

Some time after this thousands of little crabs appeared near the shore,

and the shrimp often visited them and told them of the sad fate of

their parents. Even today these little crabs can be seen on the shore,

continually running back and forth. They seem to rush down to fight

the waves, and then, as their courage fails, they run back to the

land where their forefathers lived. They neither live on dry land,

as their ancestors did, nor in the sea where the other crabs are,

but on the beach where the waves wash over them at high tide and try

to dash them to pieces.

The Spider and the Fly

2009-02-25T17:08:00.003-08:00

_Visayan_

Mr. Spider wanted to marry Miss Fly. Many times he told her of his

love and begged her to become his wife, but she always refused for

she did not like him.

One day when she saw Mr. Spider coming again Miss Fly closed all

the doors and windows of her house and made ready a pot of boiling

water. Then she waited, and when Mr. Spider called, begging her

to allow him to enter, she answered by throwing boiling water at

him. This made Mr. Spider very angry and he cried:

"I will never forgive you for this, but I and my descendants will

always despise you. We will never give you any peace."

Mr. Spider kept his word, and even today one can see the hatred of

the spider for the fly.

The Hawk and the Hen

2009-02-25T17:08:00.001-08:00

_Visayan_

A hawk flying about in the sky one day decided that he would like to

marry a hen whom he often saw on earth. He flew down and searched

until he found her, and then asked her to become his wife. She at

once gave her consent on the condition that he would wait until she

could grow wings like his, so that she might also fly high. The hawk

agreed to this and flew away, after giving her a ring as an engagement

present and telling her to take good care of it.

The hen was very proud of the ring and placed it around her neck. The

next day, however, she met the cock who looked at her in astonishment

and said:

"Where did you get that ring? Do you not know that you promised to

be my wife? You must not wear the ring of anyone else. Throw it away."

And the hen threw away the beautiful ring.

Not long after this the hawk came down bringing beautiful feathers

to dress the hen. When she saw him coming she was frightened and ran

to hide behind the door, but the hawk called to her to come and see

the beautiful dress he had brought her.

The hen came out, and the hawk at once saw that the ring was gone.

"Where is the ring I gave you?" he asked. "Why do you not wear it?"

The hen was frightened and ashamed to tell the truth so she answered:

"Oh, sir, yesterday when I was walking in the garden, I met a large

snake and he frightened me so that I ran as fast as I could to the

house. Then I missed the ring and I searched everywhere but could

not find it."

The hawk looked sharply at the hen, and he knew that she was deceiving

him. Then he said to her:

"I did not believe that you could behave so badly. When you have

found the ring I will come down again and make you my wife. But as

a punishment for breaking your promise, you must always scratch the

ground to look for the ring. And every chicken of yours that I find,

I shall snatch away."

Then he flew away, and ever since all the hens throughout the world

have been scratching to find the hawk's ring.

Why Dogs Wag their Tails

2009-02-25T17:07:00.003-08:00

_Visayan_

A rich man in a certain town once owned a dog and a cat, both of

which were very useful to him. The dog had served his master for many

years and had become so old that he had lost his teeth and was unable

to fight any more, but he was a good guide and companion to the cat

who was strong and cunning.

The master had a daughter who was attending school at a convent some

distance from home, and very often he sent the dog and the cat with

presents to the girl.

One day he called the faithful animals and bade them carry a magic

ring to his daughter.

"You are strong and brave," he said to the cat "You may carry the ring,

but you must be careful not to drop it"

And to the dog he said: "You must accompany the cat to guide her and

keep her from harm."

They promised to do their best, and started out. All went well until

they came to a river. As there was neither bridge nor boat, there

was no way to cross but to swim.

"Let me take the magic ring," said the dog as they were about to

plunge into the water.

"Oh, no," replied the cat, "the master gave it to me to carry."

"But you cannot swim well," argued the dog. "I am strong and can take

good care of it."

But the cat refused to give up the ring until finally the dog

threatened to kill her, and then she reluctantly gave it to him.

The river was wide and the water so swift that they grew very tired,

and just before they reached the opposite bank the dog dropped

the ring. They searched carefully, but could not find it anywhere,

and after a while they turned back to tell their master of the sad

loss. Just before reaching the house, however, the dog was so overcome

with fear that he turned and ran away and never was seen again.

The cat went on alone, and when the master saw her coming he called

out to know why she had returned so soon and what had become of her

companion. The poor cat was frightened, but as well as she could she

explained how the ring had been lost and how the dog had run away.

On hearing her story the master was very angry, and commanded that all

his people should search for the dog, and that it should be punished

by having its tail cut off.

He also ordered that all the dogs in the world should join in the

search, and ever since when one dog meets another he says: "Are you

the old dog that lost the magic ring? If so, your tail must be cut

off." Then immediately each shows his teeth and wags his tail to

prove that he is not the guilty one.

Since then, too, cats have been afraid of water and will not swim

across a river if they can avoid it.

Mansumandig

2009-02-25T17:07:00.001-08:00

_Visayan_

One day a man said to his wife: "My wife, we are getting very poor

and I must go into business to earn some money."

"That is a good idea," replied his wife. "How much capital have you?"

"I have twenty-five centavos," [165] answered the man; "and I am

going to buy rice and carry it to the mines, for I have heard that

it brings a good price there."

So he took his twenty-five centavos and bought a half-cavan of rice

which he carried on his shoulder to the mine. Arriving there he told

the people that he had rice for sale, and they asked eagerly how much

he wanted for it.

"Why, have you forgotten the regular price of rice?" asked the man. "It

is twenty-five centavos."

They at once bought the rice, and the man was very glad because he

would not have to carry it any longer. He put the money in his belt

and asked if they would like to buy any more.

"Yes," said they, "we will buy as many cavans as you will bring."

When the man reached home his wife asked if he had been successful.

"Oh, my wife," he answered, "it is a very good business. I could not

take the rice off my shoulder before the people came to buy it."

"Well, that is good," said the wife; "we shall become very rich."

The next morning the man bought a half-cavan of rice the same as before

and carried it to the mine and when they asked how much it would be,

he said:

"It is the same as before--twenty-five centavos." He received the

money and went home.

"How is the business today?" asked his wife.

"Oh, it is the same as before," he said. "I could not take the rice

off my shoulder before they came for it."

And so he went on with his business for a year, each day buying

a half-cavan of rice and selling it for the price he had paid for

it. Then one day his wife said that they would balance accounts,

and she spread a mat on the floor and sat down on one side of it,

telling her husband to sit on the opposite side. When she asked him

for the money he had made during the year, he asked:

"What money?"

"Why, give me the money you have received," answered his wife;

"and then we can see how much you have made."

"Oh, here it is," said the man, and he took the twenty-five centavos

out of his belt and handed it to her.

"Is that all you have received this year?" cried his wife

angrily. "Haven't you said that rice brought a good price at the

mines?"

"That is all," he replied.

"How much did you pay for the rice?"

"Twenty-five centavos."

"How much did you receive for it?"

"Twenty-five centavos."

"Oh, my husband," cried his wife, "how can you make any gain if you

sell it for just what you paid for it."

The man leaned his head against the wall and thought. Ever since then

he has been called "Mansumandig," a man who leans back and thinks.

Then the wife said, "Give me the twenty-five centavos, and I will try

to make some money." So he handed it to her, and she said, "Now you go

to the field where the people are gathering hemp and buy twenty-five

centavos worth for me, and I will weave it into cloth."

When Mansumandig returned with the hemp she spread it in the sun,

and as soon as it was dry she tied it into a long thread and put it

on the loom to weave. Night and day she worked on her cloth, and when

it was finished she had eight varas. This she sold for twelve and a

half centavos a vara, and with this money she bought more hemp. She

continued weaving and selling her cloth, and her work was so good

that people were glad to buy from her.

At the end of a year she again spread the mat on the floor and took

her place on one side of it, while her husband sat on the opposite

side. Then she poured the money out of the blanket in which she kept

it upon the mat. She held aside her capital, which was twenty-five

centavos, and when she counted the remainder she found that she

had three hundred pesos. Mansumandig was greatly ashamed when he

remembered that he had not made cent, and he leaned his head against

the wall and thought After a while the woman pitied him, so she gave

him the money and told him to buy carabao.

He was able to buy ten carabao and with these he plowed his fields. By

raising good crops they were able to live comfortably all the rest

of their lives.

The Virtue of the Cocoanut

2009-02-25T17:06:00.002-08:00

_Visayan_

One day a man took his blow-gun [163]and his dog and went to the

forest to hunt. As he was making his way through the thick woods he

chanced upon a young cocoanut tree growing in the ground.

It was the first tree of this kind that he had ever seen, and it

seemed so peculiar to him that he stopped to look at it.

When he had gone some distance farther, his attention was attracted

by a noisy bird in a tree, and he shot it with his blow-gun. By and by

he took aim at a large monkey, which mocked him from another treetop,

and that, too, fell dead at his feet.

Then he heard his dog barking furiously in the distant bushes, and

hastening to it he found it biting a wild pig. After a hard struggle

he killed the pig, and then, feeling satisfied with his success,

he took the three animals on his back and returned to the little plant.

"I have decided to take you home with me, little plant," he said,

"for I like you and you may be of some use to me."

He dug up the plant very carefully and started home, but he had

not gone far when he noticed that the leaves had begun to wilt,

and he did not know what to do, since he had no water. Finally, in

despair, he cut the throat of the bird and sprinkled the blood on the

cocoanut. No sooner had he done this than the plant began to revive,

and he continued his journey.

Before he had gone far, however, the leaves again began to wilt, and

this time he revived it with the blood of the monkey. Then he hastened

on, but a third time the leaves wilted, and he was compelled to stop

and revive it with the blood of the pig. This was his last animal,

so he made all the haste possible to reach home before his plant

died. The cocoanut began to wilt again before he reached his house,

but when he planted it in the ground, it quickly revived, and grew

into a tall tree.

This hunter was the first man to take the liquor called tuba [164]

from the cocoanut tree, and he and his friends began to drink it. After

they had become very fond of it, the hunter said to his friends:

"The cocoanut tree is like the three animals whose blood gave it life

when it would have died. The man who drinks three or four cups of

tuba becomes like the noisy bird that I shot with my blow-gun. One

who drinks more than three or four cups becomes like the big monkey

that acts silly; and one who becomes drunk is like the pig that sleeps

even in a mud-hole."

The First Monkey

2009-02-25T17:06:00.001-08:00

_Visayan_

Many years ago at the foot of a forest-covered hill was a small town,

and just above the town on the hillside was a little house in which

lived an old woman and her grandson.

The old woman, who was very industrious, earned their living by

removing the seeds from cotton, and she always had near at hand

a basket in which were cotton and a long stick that she used for

a spindle. The boy was lazy and would not do anything to help his

grandmother, but every day went down to the town and gambled.

One day, when he had been losing money, the boy went home and was

cross because his supper was not ready.

"I am hurrying to get the seeds out of this cotton," said the

grandmother, "and as soon as I sell it, I will buy us some food."

At this the boy fell into a rage, and he picked up some cocoanut

shells and threw them at his grandmother. Then she became angry and

began to whip him with her spindle, when suddenly he was changed into

an ugly animal, and the cotton became hair which covered his body,

while the stick itself became his tail.

As soon as the boy found that he had become an ugly creature he ran

down into the town and began whipping his companions, the gamblers,

with his tail, and immediately they were turned into animals like

himself.

Then the people would no longer have them in the town, but drove

them out. They went to the forest where they lived in the trees,

and ever since they have been known as monkeys.

The Sun and the Moon

2009-02-25T17:05:00.002-08:00

_Visayan_

Once upon a time the Sun and the Moon were married, and they had many

children who were the stars. The Sun was very fond of his children,

but whenever he tried to embrace any of them, he was so hot that he

burned them up. This made the Moon so angry that finally she forbade

him to touch them again, and he was greatly grieved.

One day the Moon went down to the spring to do some washing, and

when she left she told the Sun that he must not touch any of their

children in her absence. When she returned, however, she found that

he had disobeyed her, and several of the children had perished.

She was very angry, and picked up a banana tree to strike him,

whereupon he threw sand in her face, and to this day you can see the

dark marks on the face of the Moon.

Then the Sun started to chase her, and they have been going ever

since. Sometimes he gets so near that he almost catches her, but she

escapes, and by and by she is far ahead again.

Juan Gathers Guavas

2009-02-25T17:05:00.001-08:00

_Tagalog_

One day Juan's father sent him to get some ripe guavas, for a number of

the neighbors had come in and he wanted to give them something to eat.

Juan went to the guava bushes and ate all the fruit he could hold,

and then he decided to play a joke on his father's guests instead

of giving them a feast of guavas. A wasp's nest hung near by. With

some difficulty he succeeded in taking it down and putting it into

a tight basket that he had brought for the fruit. He hastened home

and gave the basket to his father, and then as he left the room where

the guests were seated he closed the door and fastened it.

As soon as Juan's father opened the basket the wasps flew over the

room; and when the people found the door locked they fought to get

out of the windows. After a while Juan opened the door, and when he

saw the swollen faces of the people, he cried.

"What fine, rich guavas you must have had! They have made you all

so fat!".

The Adventures of Juan

2009-02-25T17:04:00.000-08:00

_Tagalog_

Juan was always getting into trouble. He was a lazy boy, and more

than that, he did not have good sense. When he tried to do things,

he made such dreadful mistakes that he might better not have tried.

His family grew very impatient with him, scolding and beating him

whenever he did anything wrong. One day his mother, who was almost

discouraged with him, gave him a bolo [157] and sent him to the forest,

for she thought he could at least cut firewood. Juan walked leisurely

along, contemplating some means of escape. At last he came to a tree

that seemed easy to cut, and then he drew his long knife and prepared

to work.

Now it happened that this was a magic tree and it said to Juan:

"If you do not cut me I will give you a goat that shakes silver from

its whiskers."

This pleased Juan wonderfully, both because he was curious to see

the goat, and because he would not have to chop the wood. He agreed

at once to spare the tree, whereupon the bark separated and a goat

stepped out. Juan commanded it to shake its whiskers, and when the

money began to drop he was so delighted that he took the animal and

started home to show his treasure to his mother.

On the way he met a friend who was more cunning than Juan, and when

he heard of the boy's rich goat he decided to rob him. Knowing Juan's

fondness for tuba [158], he persuaded him to drink, and while he was

drunk, the friend substituted another goat for the magic one. As soon

as he was sober again, Juan hastened home with the goat and told his

people of the wonderful tree, but when he commanded the animal to

shake its whiskers, no money fell out. The family, believing it to

be another of Juan's tricks, beat and scolded the poor boy.

He went back to the tree and threatened to cut it down for lying to

him, but the tree said:

"No, do not cut me down and I will give you a net which you may cast on

dry ground, or even in the tree tops, and it will return full of fish."

So Juan spared the tree and started home with his precious net, but

on the way he met the same friend who again persuaded him to drink

tuba. While he was drunk, the friend replaced the magic net with

a common one, so that when Juan reached home and tried to show his

power, he was again the subject of ridicule.

Once more Juan went to his tree, this time determined to cut it

down. But the offer of a magic pot, always full of rice and spoons

which provided whatever he wished to eat with his rice, dissuaded him,

and he started home happier than ever. Before reaching home, however,

he met with the same fate as before, and his folks, who were becoming

tired of his pranks, beat him harder than ever.

Thoroughly angered, Juan sought the tree a fourth time and was

on the point of cutting it down when once more it arrested his

attention. After some discussion, he consented to accept a stick to

which he had only to say, "Boombye, Boomba," and it would beat and

kill anything he wished.

When he met his friend on this trip, he was asked what he had and

he replied:

"Oh, it is only a stick, but if I say 'Boombye, Boomba' it will beat

you to death."

At the sound of the magic words the stick leaped from his hands and

began beating his friend until he cried:

"Oh, stop it and I will give back everything that I stole from

you." Juan ordered the stick to stop, and then he compelled the man to

lead the goat and to carry the net and the jar and spoons to his home.

There Juan commanded the goat, and it shook its whiskers until his

mother and brothers had all the silver they could carry. Then they

ate from the magic jar and spoons until they were filled. And this

time Juan was not scolded. After they had finished Juan said:

"You have beaten me and scolded me all my life, and now you are glad

to accept my good things. I am going to show you something else:

'Boombye, Boomba'." Immediately the stick leaped out and beat them

all until they begged for mercy and promised that Juan should ever

after be head of the house.

From that time Juan was rich and powerful, but he never went anywhere

without his stick. One night, when some thieves came to his house,

he would have been robbed and killed had it not been for the magic

words "Boombye, Boomba," which caused the death of all the robbers.

Some time after this he married a beautiful princess, and because of

the kindness of the magic tree they always lived happily.

The Story of Benito

2009-02-25T17:03:00.004-08:00

_Tagalog_

Benito was an only son who lived with his father and mother in a

little village. They were very poor, and as the boy grew older and

saw how hard his parents struggled for their scanty living he often

dreamed of a time when he might be a help to them.

One evening when they sat eating their frugal meal of rice the father

told about a young king who lived in a beautiful palace some distance

from their village, and the boy became very much interested. That

night when the house was dark and quiet and Benito lay on his mat

trying to sleep, thoughts of the young king repeatedly came to his

mind, and he wished he were a king that he and his parents might

spend the rest of their lives in a beautiful palace.

The next morning he awoke with a new idea. He would go to the king and

ask for work, that he might in that way be able to help his father

and mother. He was a long time in persuading his parents to allow

him to go, however, for it was a long journey, and they feared that

the king might not be gracious. But at last they gave their consent,

and the boy started out The journey proved tiresome. After he reached

the palace, he was not at first permitted to see the king. But the

boy being very earnest at last secured a place as a servant.

It was a new and strange world to Benito who had known only the life

of a little village. The work was hard, but he was happy in thinking

that now he could help his father and mother. One day the king sent

for him and said:

"I want you to bring to me a beautiful princess who lives in a land

across the sea. Go at once, and if you fail you shall be punished

severely,"

The boy's heart sank within him, for he did not know what to do. But

he answered as bravely as possible, "I will, my lord," and left the

king's chamber. He at once set about preparing things for a long

journey, for he was determined to try at least to fulfil the command.

When all was ready Benito started. He had not gone far before he

came to a thick forest, where he saw a large bird bound tightly

with strings.

"Oh, my friend," pleaded the bird, "please free me from these bonds,

and I will help you whenever you call on me."

Benito quickly released the bird, and it flew away calling back to

him that its name was Sparrow-hawk.

Benito continued his journey till he came to the sea. Unable to find

a way of crossing, he stopped and gazed sadly out over the waters,

thinking of the king's threat if he failed. Suddenly he saw swimming

toward him the King of the Fishes who asked:

"Why are you so sad?"

"I wish to cross the sea to find the beautiful Princess," answered

the boy.

"Well, get on my back," said the Fish, "and I will carry you across."

So Benito stepped on his back and was carried to the other shore.

Soon he met a strange woman who inquired what it was he sought,

and when he had told her she said:

"The Princess is kept in a castle guarded by giants. Take this magic

sword, for it will kill instantly whatever it touches." And she handed

him the weapon.

Benito was more than grateful for her kindness and went on full of

hope. As he approached the castle he could see that it was surrounded

by many giants, and as soon as they saw him they ran out to seize him,

but they went unarmed for they saw that he was a mere boy. As they

approached he touched those in front with his sword, and one by one

they fell dead. Then the others ran away in a panic, and left the

castle unguarded. Benito entered, and when he had told the Princess

of his errand, she was only too glad to escape from her captivity

and she set out at once with him for the palace of the king.

At the seashore the King of the Fishes was waiting for them, and they

had no difficulty in crossing the sea and then in journeying through

the thick forest to the palace, where they were received with great

rejoicing. After a time the King asked the Princess to become his wife,

and she replied:

"I will, O King, if you will get the ring I lost in the sea as I was

crossing it"

The King immediately thought of Benito, and sending for him he

commanded him to find the ring which had been lost on the journey

from the land of the giants.

It seemed a hopeless task to the boy, but, anxious to obey his master,

he started out. At the seaside he stopped and gazed over the waters

until, to his great delight, he saw his friend, the King of the Fishes,

swimming toward him. When he had been told of the boy's troubles,

the great fish said: "I will see if I can help you," and he summoned

all his subjects to him. When they came he found that one was missing,

and he sent the others in search of it. They found it under a stone

so full that it could not swim, and the larger ones took it by the

tail and dragged it to the King.

"Why did you not come when you were called?" inquired the King Fish.

"I have eaten so much that I cannot swim," replied the poor fish.

Then the King Fish, suspecting the truth, ordered it cut open,

and inside they found the lost ring. Benito was overjoyed at this,

and expressing his great thanks, hastened with the precious ring to

his master.

The King, greatly pleased, carried the ring to the Princess and said:

"Now that I have your ring will you become my wife?"

"I will be your wife," replied the Princess, "if you will find my

earring that I lost in the forest as I was journeying with Benito."

Again the King sent for Benito, and this time he commanded him to

find the earring. The boy was very weary from his long journeys, but

with no complaint he started out once more. Along the road through

the thick forest he searched carefully, but with no reward. At last,

tired and discouraged, he sat down under a tree to rest.

Suddenly there appeared before him a mouse of great size, and he was

surprised to find that it was the King of Mice.

"Why are you so sad?" asked the King Mouse.

"Because," answered the boy, "I cannot find an earring which the

Princess lost as we were going through the forest together."

"I will help you," said the Mouse, and he summoned all his subjects.

When they assembled it was found that one little mouse was missing,

and the King sent the others to look for him. In a small hole among

the bamboo trees they found him, and he begged to be left alone,

for, he said, he was so full that he could not walk. Nevertheless

they pulled him along to their master, who, upon finding that there

was something hard inside the mouse, ordered him cut open; and inside

they found the missing earring.

Benito at once forgot his weariness, and after expressing his great

thanks to the King Mouse he hastened to the palace with the prize. The

King eagerly seized the earring and presented it to the Princess,

again asking her to be his wife.

"Oh, my King," replied the Princess, "I have one more request to

make. Only grant it and I will be your wife forever."

The King, believing that now with the aid of Benito he could grant

anything, inquired what it was she wished, and she replied:

"Get me some water from heaven and some from the lower world, and I

shall ask nothing more."

Once more the King called Benito and sent him on the hardest errand

of all.

The boy went out not knowing which way to turn, and while he was

in a deep study his weary feet led him to the forest. Suddenly he

thought of the bird who had promised to help him, and he called,

"Sparrowhawk!" There was a rustle of wings, and the bird swooped

down. He told it of his troubles and it said:

"I will get the water for you."

Then Benito made two light cups of bamboo which he fastened to the

bird's legs, and it flew away. All day the boy waited in the forest,

and just as night was coming on the bird returned with both cups

full. The one on his right foot, he told Benito, was from heaven,

and that on his left was from the lower world. The boy unfastened

the cups, and then, as he was thanking the bird, he noticed that the

journey had been too much for it and that it was dying. Filled with

sorrow for his winged friend, he waited and carefully buried it,

and then he hastened to the palace with the precious water.

When the Princess saw that her wish had been fulfilled she asked the

King to cut her in two and pour over her the water from heaven. The

King was not able to do this, so she cut herself, and then as he

poured the water over her he beheld her grow into the most beautiful

woman he had ever seen.

Eager to become handsome himself, the King then begged her to pour

over him the water from the other cup. He cut himself, and she did

as he requested, but immediately there arose a creature most ugly

and horrible to look upon, which soon vanished out of sight. Then

the Princess called Benito and told him that because he had been

so faithful to his master and so kind to her, she chose him for

her husband.

They were married amid great festivities and became king and queen of

that broad and fertile land. During all the great rejoicing, however,

Benito never forgot his parents. One of the finest portions of his

kingdom he gave to them, and from that time they all lived in great

happiness.

The Creation Story

2009-02-25T17:03:00.003-08:00

_Tagalog_

When the world first began there was no land, but only the stea and

the sky, and between them was a kite. [154] One day the bird which

had nowhere to light grew tired of flying about, so she stirred up

the sea until it threw its waters against the sky. The sky, in order

to restrain the sea, showered upon it many islands until it could no

longer rise, but ran back and forth. Then the sky ordered the kite

to light on one of the islands to build her nest, and to leave the

sea and the sky in peace.

Now at this time the land breeze and the sea breeze were married,

and they had a child which was a bamboo. One day when this bamboo was

floating about on the water, it struck the feet of the kite which

was on the beach. The bird, angry that anything should strike it,

pecked at the bamboo, and out of one section came a man and from the

other a woman.

Then the earthquake called on all the birds and fish to see what

should be done with these two, and it was decided that they should

marry. Many children were born to the couple, and from them came all

the different races of people.

After a while the parents grew very tired of having so many idle and

useless children around, and they wished to be rid of them, but they

knew of no place to send them to. Time went on and the children became

so numerous that the parents enjoyed no peace. One day, in desperation,

the father seized a stick and began beating them on all sides.

This so frightened the children that they fled in different directions,

seeking hidden rooms in the house--some concealed themselves in

the walls, some ran outside, while others hid in the fireplace,

and several fled to the sea.

Now it happened that those who went into the hidden rooms of the

house later became the chiefs of the Islands; and those who concealed

themselves in the walls became slaves. Those who ran outside were free

men; and those who hid in the fireplace became negroes; while those

who fled to the sea were gone many years, and when their children

came back they were the white people.

The White Squash

2009-02-25T17:03:00.001-08:00

_Ilocano_

In a queer little bamboo house in front of a big garden lived a man

and his wife all alone. They had always been kind and good to everyone,

but still they were not happy, because the child for which they longed

had never come to them. Each day for many years they had prayed for

a son or a daughter, but their prayers had been unanswered. Now that

they were growing old they believed that they must always live alone.

In the garden near their house this couple grew fine white squash,

and as the vines bore the year around, they had never been in need

of food. One day, however, they discovered that no new squash had

formed to take the place of those they had picked, and for the first

time in many seasons they had no vegetables.

Each day they examined the vines, and though the big, yellow flowers

continued to bloom and fade, no squash grew on the stems. Finally,

one morning after a long wait, the woman cried out with delight, for

she had discovered a little green squash. After examining it, they

decided to let it ripen that they might have the seeds to plant. They

eagerly watched it grow, and it became a beautiful white vegetable,

but by the time it was large enough for food they were so hungry that

they decided to eat it.

They brought a large knife and picked it, but scarcely had they

started to open it when a voice cried out from within, "Please be

careful that you do not hurt me."

The man and woman stopped their work, for they thought that a spirit

must have spoken to them. But when the voice again called and begged

them to open the squash, they carefully opened it, and there inside

was a nice baby boy. [153] He could already stand alone and could

talk. And the man and his wife were overjoyed.

Presently the woman went to the spring for a jar of water, and

when she had brought it she spread a mat on the floor and began to

bathe the baby. As the drops of water fell off his body, they were

immediately changed to gold, so that when the bath was finished gold

pieces covered the mat. The couple had been so delighted to have the

baby that it had seemed as if there was nothing more to wish for, but

now that the gold had come to them also they were happier than ever.

The next morning the woman gave the baby another bath, and again

the water turned to gold. They now had enough money to build a large

house. The third morning she brought water for his bath again, but he

grew very sad and flew away. At the same time all the gold disappeared

also, and the man and his wife were left poor and alone.

The Story of a Monkey

2009-02-25T17:02:00.002-08:00

_Ilocano_

One day when a monkey was climbing a tree in the forest in which he

lived, he ran a thorn into his tail. Try as he would, he could not

get it out, so he went to a barber in the town and said:

"Friend Barber, I have a thorn in the end of my tail. Pull it out,

and I will pay you well."

The barber tried to pull out the thorn with his razor, but in doing

so he cut off the end of the tail. The monkey was very angry and cried:

"Barber, Barber, give me back my tail, or give me your razor!"

The barber could not put back the end of the monkey's tail, so he

gave him his razor.

On the way home the monkey met an old woman who was cutting wood for

fuel, and he said to her:

"Grandmother, Grandmother, that is very hard. Use this razor and then

it will cut easily."

The old woman was very pleased with the offer and began to cut with the

razor, but before she had used it long it broke. Then the monkey cried:

"Grandmother, Grandmother, you have broken my razor! You must get a

new one for me or else give me all the firewood."

The old woman could not get a new razor so she gave him the firewood.

The monkey took the wood and was going back to town to sell it,

when he saw a woman sitting beside the road making cakes.

"Grandmother, Grandmother," said he, "your wood is most gone; take

this of mine and bake more cakes."

The woman took the wood and thanked him for his kindness, but when

the last stick was burned, the monkey cried out:

"Grandmother, Grandmother, you have burned up all my wood! Now you

must give me all your cakes to pay for it."

The old woman could not cut more dry wood at once, so she gave him

all the cakes.

The monkey took the cakes and started for the town, but on the way he

met a dog which bit him so that he died. And the dog ate all the cakes.

The Presidente who had Horns

2009-02-25T17:02:00.001-08:00

_Ilocano_

Once there was a presidente [151] who was very unjust to his people,

and one day he became so angry that he wished he had horns so that

he might frighten them. No sooner had he made this rash wish, than

horns began to grow on his head.

He sent for a barber who came to his house to cut his hair, and as

he worked the presidente asked:

"What do you see on my head?"

"I see nothing," answered the barber; for although he could see the

horns plainly, he was afraid to say so.

Soon, however, the presidente put up his hands and felt the horns, and

then when he inquired again the barber told him that he had two horns.

"If you tell anyone what you have seen, you shall be hanged," said the

presidente as the barber started away, and he was greatly frightened.

When he reached home, the barber did not intend to tell anyone, for

he was afraid; but as he thought of his secret more and more, the

desire to tell someone became so strong that he knew he could not keep

it. Finally he went to the field and dug a hole under some bamboo,

and when the hole was large enough he crawled in and whispered that

the presidente had horns. He then climbed out, filled up the hole,

and went home.

By and by some people came along the road on their way to market,

and as they passed the bamboo they stopped in amazement, for surely

a voice came from the trees, and it said that the presidente had

horns. These people hastened to market and told what they had heard,

and the people there went to the bamboo to listen to the strange

voice. They informed others, and soon the news had spread all over the

town. The councilmen were told, and they, too, went to the bamboo. When

they had heard the voice, they ran to the house of the presidente. But

his wife said that he was ill and they could not see him.

By this time the horns had grown until they were one foot in length,

and the presidente was so ashamed that he bade his wife tell the

people that he could not talk. She told this to the councilmen when

they came on the following day, but they replied that they must see

him, for they had heard that he had horns, and if this were true he

had no right to govern the people.

She refused to let them in, so they broke down the door. They saw the

horns on the head of the presidente and killed him. For, they said,

he was no better than an animal.

The Poor Fisherman and His Wife

2009-02-25T17:01:00.002-08:00

_Ilocano_

Many, many years ago a poor fisherman and his wife lived with their

three sons in a village by the sea. One day the old man set his snare

in the water not far from his house, and at night when he went to look

at it, he found that he had caught a great white fish. This startled

the old man very much, for he had never seen a fish like this before,

and it occurred to him that it was the priest of the town.

He ran to his wife as fast as he could and cried:

"My wife, I have caught the priest."

"What?" said the old woman, terrified at the sight of her frightened

husband.

"I have caught the priest," said the old man again.

They hurried together to the river where the snare was set, and when

the old woman saw the fish, she cried:

"Oh, it is not the priest but the governor."

"No, it is the priest," insisted the old man, and they went home

trembling with fear.

That night neither of them was able to sleep for thought of the

terrible thing that had happened and wondering what they should do. Now

the next day was a great holiday in the town. At four o'clock in the

morning cannons were fired and bells rang loudly. The old man and

woman, hearing all the noise and not knowing the reason for it,

thought that their crime had been discovered, and the people were

searching for them to punish them, so they set out as fast as they

could to hide in the woods. On and on they went, stopping only to

rest so as to enable them to resume their flight.

The next morning they reached the woods near Pilar, where there also

was a great holiday, and the sexton was ringing the bells to call

the people to mass. As soon as the old man and woman heard the bells

they thought the people there had been notified of their escape,

and that they, too, were trying to catch them. So they turned and

started home again.

As they reached their house, the three sons came home with their one

horse and tied it to the trunk of the caramay tree. Presently the

bells began to ring again, for it was twelve o'clock at noon. Not

thinking what time of day it was, the old man and woman ran out

of doors in terror, and seeing the horse jumped on its back with

the intention of riding to the next town before anyone could catch

them. When they had mounted they began to whip the horse. In their

haste, they had forgotten to untie the rope which was around the

trunk of the caramay tree. As the horse pulled at the rope fruit fell

from the tree upon the old man and woman. Believing they were shot,

they were so frightened that they died.

The Monkey and the Turtle

2009-02-25T17:01:00.001-08:00

_Ilocano_

A monkey, looking very sad and dejected, was walking along the bank

of the river one day when he met a turtle.

"How are you?" asked the turtle, noticing that he looked sad.

The monkey replied, "Oh, my friend, I am very hungry. The squash of

Mr. Farmer were all taken by the other monkeys, and now I am about

to die from want of food."

"Do not be discouraged," said the turtle; "take a bolo and follow me

and we will steal some banana plants."

So they walked along together until they found some nice plants which

they dug up, and then they looked for a place to set them. Finally

the monkey climbed a tree and planted his in it, but as the turtle

could not climb he dug a hole in the ground and set his there.

When their work was finished they went away, planning what they should

do with their crop. The monkey said:

"When my tree bears fruit, I shall sell it and have a great deal

of money."

And the turtle said: "When my tree bears fruit, I shall sell it and

buy three varas of cloth to wear in place of this cracked shell."

A few weeks later they went back to the place to see their plants and

found that that of the monkey was dead, for its roots had had no soil

in the tree, but that of the turtle was tall and bearing fruit.

"I will climb to the top so that we can get the fruit," said the

monkey. And he sprang up the tree, leaving the poor turtle on the

ground alone.

"Please give me some to eat," called the turtle, but the monkey threw

him only a green one and ate all the ripe ones himself.

When he had eaten all the good bananas, the monkey stretched his arms

around the tree and went to sleep. The turtle, seeing this, was very

angry and considered how he might punish the thief. Having decided

on a scheme, he gathered some sharp bamboo which he stuck all around

under the tree, and then he exclaimed:

"Crocodile is coming! Crocodile is coming!"

The monkey was so startled at the cry that he fell upon the sharp

bamboo and was killed.

Then the turtle cut the dead monkey into pieces, put salt on it, and

dried it in the sun. The next day, he went to the mountains and sold

his meat to other monkeys who gladly gave him squash in return. As

he was leaving them he called back:

"Lazy fellows, you are now eating your own body; you are now eating

your own body."

Then the monkeys ran and caught him and carried him to their own home.

"Let us take a hatchet," said one old monkey, "and cut him into very

small pieces."

But the turtle laughed and said: "That is just what I like, I have

been struck with a hatchet many times. Do you not see the black scars

on my shell?"

Then one of the other monkeys said: "Let us throw him into the water,"

At this the turtle cried and begged them to spare his life, but they

paid no heed to his pleadings and threw him into the water. He sank

to the bottom, but very soon came up with a lobster. The monkeys

were greatly surprised at this and begged him to tell them how to

catch lobsters.

"I tied one end of a string around my waist," said the turtle. "To

the other end of the string I tied a stone so that I would sink."

The monkeys immediately tied strings around themselves as the turtle

said, and when all was ready they plunged into the water never to

come up again.

And to this day monkeys do not like to eat meat, because they remember

the ancient story.

The Story of Bantugan

2009-02-25T17:00:00.002-08:00

_Moro_

Before the Spaniards occupied the island of Mindanao, there lived

in the valley of the Rio Grande a very strong man, Bantugan, whose

father was the brother of the earthquake and thunder. [146]

Now the Sultan of the Island [147] had a beautiful daughter whom

Bantugan wished to marry, but the home of the Sultan was far off,

and whoever went to carry Bantugan's proposal would have a long and

hazardous journey. All the head men consulted together regarding who

should be sent, and at last it was decided that Bantugan's own son,

Balatama, was the one to go. Balatama was young but he was strong and

brave, and when the arms of his father were given him to wear on the

long journey his heart swelled with pride. More than once on the way,

however, his courage was tried, and only the thought of his brave

father gave him strength to proceed.

Once he came to a wooden fence which surrounded a stone in the form of

a man, and as it was directly in his path he drew his fighting knife

to cut down the fence. Immediately the air became as black as night

and stones rained down as large as houses. This made Balatama cry, but

he protected himself with his father's shield and prayed, calling on

the winds from the homeland until they came and cleared the air again.

Thereupon Balatama encountered a great snake [148] in the road,

and it inquired his errand. When told, the snake said:

"You cannot go on, for I am guard of this road and no one can pass."

The animal made a move to seize him, but with one stroke of his

fighting knife the boy cut the snake into two pieces, one of which

he threw into the sea and the other into the mountains.

After many days the weary lad came to a high rock in the road,

which glistened in the sunlight. From the top he could look down

into the city for which he was bound. It was a splendid place with

ten harbors. Standing out from the other houses was one of crystal

and another of pure gold. Encouraged by this sight he went on, but

though it seemed but a short distance, it was some time before he at

last stood at the gate of the town.

It was not long after this, however, before Balatama had made known his

errand to the Sultan, and that monarch, turning to his courtiers, said:

"You, my friends, decide whether or not I shall give the hand of my

daughter to Bantugan in marriage."

The courtiers slowly shook their heads and began to offer objections.

Said one, "I do not see how Bantugan can marry the Sultan's daughter

because the first gift must be a figure of a man or woman in pure

gold."

"Well," said the son of Bantugan, "I am here to learn what you want

and to say whether or not it can be given."

Then a second man spoke: "You must give a great yard with a floor of

gold, which must be three feet thick."

"All this can be given," answered the boy.

And the sister of the Princess said: "The gifts must be as many as

the blades of grass in our city."

"It shall be granted," said Balatama.

"You must give a bridge built of stone to cross the great river,"

said one.

And another: "A ship of stone you must give, and you must change into

gold all the cocoanuts and leaves in the Sultan's grove."

"All this can be done," said Balatama. "My uncles will give all save

the statue of gold, and that I shall give myself. But first I must

go to my father's town to secure it."

At this they were angry and declared that he had made sport of them

and unless he produced the statue at once they would kill him.

"If I give you the statue now," said he, "there will come dreadful

storms, rain, and darkness."

But they only laughed at him and insisted on having the statue,

so he reached in his helmet and drew it forth.

Immediately the earth began to quake. A great storm arose, and stones

as large as houses rained until the Sultan called to Balatama to put

back the statue lest they all be killed.

"You would not believe what I told you," said the boy; "and now I am

going to let the storm continue."

But the Sultan begged him and promised that Bantugan might marry his

daughter with no other gifts at all save the statue of gold. Balatama

put back the statue into his helmet, and the air became calm again

to the great relief of the Sultan and his courtiers. Then Balatama

prepared to return home, promising that Bantugan would come in three

months for the wedding.

All went well with the boy on the way home until he came to the fence

surrounding the stone in the form of a man, and there he was detained

and compelled to remain four months.

Now about this time a Spanish general heard that Bantugan was preparing

to marry the Sultan's daughter, whom he determined to wed himself. A

great expedition was prepared, and he with all his brothers embarked on

his large warship which was followed by ten thousand other ships. They

went to the Sultan's city, and their number was so great that they

filled the harbor, frightening the people greatly.

Then the General's brother disembarked and came to the house of the

Sultan. He demanded the Princess for the General, saying that if the

request were refused, the fleet would destroy the city and all its

people. The Sultan and his courtiers were so frightened that they

decided to give his daughter to the General, the next full moon being

the date set for the wedding.

In the meantime Bantugan had been preparing everything for the

marriage which he expected to take place at the appointed time. But

as the days went by and Balatama did not return, they became alarmed,

fearing he was dead. After three months had passed, Bantugan prepared

a great expedition to go in search of his son, and the great warship

was decorated with flags of gold.

As they came in sight of the Sultan's city, they saw the Spanish

fleet in the harbor, and one of his brothers advised Bantugan not

to enter until the Spaniards left They then brought their ship to

anchor. But all were disappointed that they could not go farther, and

one said, "Why do we not go on? Even if the blades of grass turn into

Spaniards we need not fear." Another said: "Why do we fear? Even if

the cannon-balls come like rain, we can always fight." Finally some

wanted to return to their homes and Bantugan said: "No, let us seek

my son. Even though we must enter the harbor where the Spaniards are,

let us continue our search." So at his command the anchors were lifted,

and they sailed into the harbor where the Spanish fleet lay.

Now at this very time the Spanish general and his brother were with

the Sultan, intending to call upon the Princess. As the brother talked

with one of the sisters of the Princess they moved toward the window,

and looking down they saw Bantugan's ships entering the harbor. They

could not tell whose flags the ships bore. Neither could the Sultan

when he was called. Then he sent his brother to bring his father who

was a very old man, to see if he could tell. The father was kept in

a little dark room by himself that he might not get hurt, and the

Sultan said to his brother:

"If he is so bent with age that he cannot see, talk, or walk, tickle

him in the ribs and that will make him young again; and, my Brother,

carry him here yourself lest one of the slaves should let him fall

and he should hurt himself."

So the old man was brought, and when he looked out upon the ships

he saw that the flags were those of the father of Bantugan who had

been a great friend of his in his youth. And he told them that he and

Bantugan's father years ago had made a contract that their children

and children's children should intermarry, and now since the Sultan

had promised his daughter to two people, he foresaw that great trouble

would come to the land. Then the Sultan said to the General:

"Here are two claimants to my daughter's hand. Go aboard your ships

and you and Bantugan make war on each other, and the victor shall

have my daughter."

So the Spaniards opened fire upon Bantugan, and for three days the

earth was so covered with smoke from the battle that neither could

see his enemy. Then the Spanish general said:

"I cannot see Bantugan or the fleet anywhere, so let us go and claim

the Princess."

But the Sultan said: "We must wait until the smoke rises to make sure

that Bantugan is gone."

When the smoke rose, the ships of Bantugan were apparently unharmed

and the Sultan said:

"Bantugan has surely won, for his fleet is uninjured while yours is

badly damaged. You have lost."

"No," said the General, "we will fight it out on dry land."

So they both landed their troops and their cannon, and a great fight

took place, and soon the ground was covered with dead bodies. And the

Sultan commanded them to stop, as the women and children in the city

were being killed by the cannon-balls, but the General said:

"If you give your daughter to Bantugan we shall fight forever or

until we die."

Then the Sultan sent for Bantugan and said:

"We must deceive the Spaniard in order to get him to go away. Let us

tell him that neither of you will marry my daughter, and then after

he has gone, we shall have the wedding."

Bantugan agreed to this, and word was sent to the Spaniards that the

fighting must cease since many women and children were being killed. So

it was agreed between the Spaniard and Bantugan that neither of them

should marry the Princess. Then they both sailed away to their homes.

Bantugan soon returned, however, and married the Princess, and

on the way back to his home they found his son and took him with

them. For about a week the Spanish general sailed toward his home

and then he, too, turned about to go back, planning to take the

Princess by force. When he found that she had already been carried

away by Bantugan, his wrath knew no bounds. He destroyed the Sultan,

his city, and all its people. And then he sailed away to prepare a

great expedition with which he should utterly destroy Bantugan and

his country as well.

One morning Bantugan looked out and saw at the mouth of the Rio Grande

the enormous fleet of the Spaniards whose numbers were so great that

in no direction could the horizon be seen. His heart sank within him,

for he knew that he and his country were doomed.

Though he could not hope to win in a fight against such great numbers,

he called his headmen together and said:

"My Brothers, the Christian dogs have come to destroy the land. We

cannot successfully oppose them, but in the defense of the fatherland

we can die."

So the great warship was again prepared, and all the soldiers of

Islam embarked, and then with Bantugan standing at the bow they sailed

forth to meet their fate.

The fighting was fast and furious, but soon the great warship of

Bantugan filled with water until at last it sank, drawing with it

hundreds of the Spanish ships. And then a strange thing happened. At

the very spot where Bantugan's warship sank, there arose from the sea a

great island which you can see today not far from the mouth of the Rio

Grande. It is covered with bongo palms, and deep within its mountains

live Bantugan and his warriors. A Moro sailboat passing this island

is always scanned by Bantugan's watchers, and if it contains women

such as he admires, they are snatched from their seats and carried

deep into the heart of the mountain. For this reason Moro women fear

even to sail near the island of Bongos.

When the wife of Bantugan saw that her husband was no more and that

his warship had been destroyed, she gathered together the remaining

warriors and set forth herself to avenge him. In a few hours her

ship was also sunk, and in the place where it sank there arose the

mountain of Timaco.

On this thickly wooded island are found white monkeys, the servants

of the Princess, who still lives in the center of the mountain. On

a quiet day high up on the mountain side one can hear the chanting

and singing of the waiting-girls of the wife of Bantugan.

Mythology of Mindanao

2009-02-25T17:00:00.001-08:00

_Moro_

A long, long time ago Mindanao was covered with water, and the sea

extended over all the lowlands so that nothing could be seen but

mountains. Then there were many people living in the country, and all

the highlands were dotted with villages and settlements. For many years

the people prospered, living in peace and contentment. Suddenly there

appeared in the land four horrible monsters which, in a short time,

had devoured every human being they could find.

Kurita, a terrible creature with many limbs, lived partly on land and

partly in the sea, but its favorite haunt was the mountain where the

rattan grew; and here it brought utter destruction on every living

thing. The second monster, Tarabusaw, an ugly creature in the form

of a man, lived on Mt. Matutun, and far and wide from that place he

devoured the people, laying waste the land. The third, an enormous

bird called Pah, [142] was so large that when on the wing it covered

the sun and brought darkness to the earth. Its egg was as large as a

house. Mt. Bita was its haunt, and there the only people who escaped

its voracity were those who hid in caves in the mountains. The fourth

monster was a dreadful bird also, having seven heads and the power

to see in all directions at the same time. Mt. Gurayn was its home

and like the others it wrought havoc in its region.

So great was the death and destruction caused by these terrible animals

that at length the news spread even to the most distant lands, and

all nations were grieved to hear of the sad fate of Mindanao.

Now far across the sea in the land of the golden sunset was a city

so great that to look at its many people would injure the eyes of

man. When tidings of these great disasters reached this distant city,

the heart of the king Indarapatra [143] was filled with compassion,

and he called his brother, Sulayman, [144] begging him to save the

land of Mindanao from the monsters.

Sulayman listened to the story, and as he heard he was moved with pity.

"I will go," said he, zeal and enthusiasm adding to his strength,

"and the land shall be avenged."

King Indarapatra, proud of his brother's courage, gave him a ring and

a sword as he wished him success and safety. Then he placed a young

sapling by his window [145] and said to Sulayman:

"By this tree I shall know your fate from the time you depart from

here, for if you live, it will live; but if you die, it will die also."

So Sulayman departed for Mindanao, and he neither walked nor used a

boat, but he went through the air and landed on the mountain where

the rattan grew. There he stood on the summit and gazed about on all

sides. He looked on the land and the villages, but he could see no

living thing. And he was very sorrowful and cried out:

"Alas, how pitiful and dreadful is this devastation!"

No sooner had Sulayman uttered these words than the whole mountain

began to move, and then shook. Suddenly out of the ground came the

horrible creature, Kurita. It sprang at the man and sank its claws

into his flesh. But Sulayman, knowing at once that this was the

scourge of the land, drew his sword and cut the Kurita to pieces.

Encouraged by his first success, Sulayman went on to Mt. Matutun

where conditions were even worse. As he stood on the heights viewing

the great devastation there was a noise in the forest and a movement

in the trees. With a loud yell, forth leaped Tarabusaw. For a moment

they looked at each other, neither showing any fear. Then Tarabusaw

threatened to devour the man, and Sulayman declared that he would kill

the monster. At that the animal broke large branches off the trees

and began striking at Sulayman who, in turn, fought back. For a long

time the battle continued until at last the monster fell exhausted

to the ground and then Sulayman killed him with his sword.

The next place visited by Sulayman was Mt. Bita. Here havoc was present

everywhere, and though he passed by many homes, not a single soul

was left. As he walked along, growing sadder at each moment, a sudden

darkness which startled him fell over the land. As he looked toward

the sky he beheld a great bird descending upon him. Immediately he

struck at it, cutting off its wing with his sword, and the bird fell

dead at his feet; but the wing fell on Sulayman, and he was crushed.

Now at this very time King Indarapatra was sitting at his window,

and looking out he saw the little tree wither and dry up.

"Alas!" he cried, "my brother is dead"; and he wept bitterly.

Then although he was very sad, he was filled with a desire for revenge,

and putting on his sword and belt he started for Mindanao in search

of his brother.

He, too, traveled through the air with great speed until he came to

the mountain where the rattan grew. There he looked about, awed at

the great destruction, and when he saw the bones of Kurita he knew

that his brother had been there and gone. He went on till he came to

Matutun, and when he saw the bones of Tarabusaw he knew that this,

too, was the work of Sulayman.

Still searching for his brother, he arrived at Mt. Bita where the

dead bird lay on the ground, and as he lifted the severed wing he

beheld the bones of Sulayman with his sword by his side. His grief

now so overwhelmed Indarapatra that he wept for some time. Upon

looking up he beheld a small jar of water by his side. This he knew

had been sent from heaven, and he poured the water over the bones,

and Sulayman came to life again. They greeted each other and talked

long together. Sulayman declared that he had not been dead but asleep,

and their hearts were full of joy.

After some time Sulayman returned to his distant home, but Indarapatra

continued his journey to Mt. Gurayn where he killed the dreadful bird

with the seven heads. After these monsters had all been destroyed

and peace and safety had been restored to the land, Indarapatra began

searching everywhere to see if some of the people might not be hidden

in the earth still alive.

One day during his search he caught sight of a beautiful woman at a

distance. When he hastened toward her she disappeared through a hole

in the ground where she was standing. Disappointed and tired, he sat

down on a rock to rest, when, looking about, he saw near him a pot

of uncooked rice with a big fire on the ground in front of it. This

revived him and he proceeded to cook the rice. As he did so, however,

he heard someone laugh near by, and turning he beheld an old woman

watching him. As he greeted her, she drew near and talked with him

while he ate the rice.

Of all the people in the land, the old woman told him, only a very

few were still alive, and they hid in a cave in the ground from whence

they never ventured. As for herself and her old husband, she went on,

they had hidden in a hollow tree, and this they had never dared leave

until after Sulayman killed the voracious bird, Pah.

At Indarapatra's earnest request, the old woman led him to the cave

where he found the headman with his family and some of his people. They

all gathered about the stranger, asking many questions, for this

was the first they had heard about the death of the monsters. When

they found what Indarapatra had done for them, they were filled

with gratitude, and to show their appreciation the headman gave his

daughter to him in marriage, and she proved to be the beautiful girl

whom Indarapatra had seen at the mouth of the cave.

Then the people all came out of their hiding-place and returned to

their homes where they lived in peace and happiness. And the sea

withdrew from the land and gave the lowlands to the people.

The Widow's Son

2009-02-25T16:59:00.004-08:00

_Subanun_ (_Mindanao_)

In a little house at the edge of a village lived a widow with her

only son, and they were very happy together. The son was kind to his

mother, and they made their living by growing rice in clearings on

the mountain side and by hunting wild pig in the forest.

One evening when their supply of meat was low, the boy said:

"Mother, I am going to hunt pig in the morning, and I wish you would

prepare rice for me before daylight."

So the widow rose early and cooked the rice, and at dawn the boy

started out with his spear and dog.

Some distance from the village, he entered the thick forest. He walked

on and on, ever on the lookout for game, but none appeared. At last

when he had traveled far and the sun was hot, he sat down on a rock to

rest and took out his brass box [138] to get a piece of betel-nut. He

prepared the nut and leaf for chewing, and as he did so he wondered

why it was that he had been so unsuccessful that day. But even as he

pondered he heard his dog barking sharply, and cramming the betel-nut

into his mouth he leaped up and ran toward the dog.

As he drew near he could see that the game was a fine large pig,

all black save its four legs which were white. He lifted his spear

and took aim, but before he could throw the pig started to run,

and instead of going toward a water course it ran straight up the

mountain. The boy went on in hot pursuit, and when the pig paused he

again took aim, but before he could throw it ran on.

Six times the pig stopped just long enough for the boy to take aim,

and then started on before he could throw. The seventh time, however,

it halted on the top of a large flat rock and the boy succeeded in

killing it.

He tied its legs together with a piece of rattan and was about to

start for home with the pig on his back, when to his surprise a door

in the large stone swung open and a man stepped out.

"Why have you killed my master's pig?" asked the man.

"I did not know that this pig belonged to anyone," replied the widow's

son. "I was hunting, as I often do, and when my dog found the pig I

helped him to catch it"

"Come in and see my master," said the man, and the boy followed him

into the stone where he found himself in a large room. The ceiling and

floor were covered with peculiar cloth that had seven wide stripes

of red alternating with a like number of yellow stripes. When the

master of the place appeared his trousers were of seven colors,

[139] as were also his jacket and the kerchief about his head.

The master ordered betel-nut, and when it was brought they chewed

together. Then he called for wine, and it was brought in a jar so

large that it had to be set on the ground under the house, and even

then the top came so high above the floor that they brought a seat

for the widow's son, and it raised him just high enough to drink

from the reed in the top of the jar. He drank seven cups of wine,

and then they ate rice and fish and talked together.

The master did not blame the boy for killing the pig, and declared that

he wished to make a brother of him. So they became friends, and the

boy remained seven days in the stone. At the end of that time, he said

that he must return to his mother who would be worried about him. In

the early morning he left the strange house and started for home.

At first he walked briskly, but as the morning wore on he went more

slowly, and finally when the sun was high he sat down on a rock to

rest. Suddenly looking up, he saw before him seven men each armed with

a spear, a shield, and a sword. They were dressed in different colors,

and each man had eyes the same color as his clothes. The leader, who

was dressed all in red with red eyes to match, spoke first, asking

the boy where he was going. The boy replied that he was going home

to his mother who would be looking for him, and added:

"Now I ask where you are going, all armed ready for war."

"We are warriors," replied the man in red. "And we go up and down the

world killing whatever we see that has life. Now that we have met you,

we must kill you also."

The boy, startled by this strange speech, was about to answer when he

heard a voice near him say: "Fight, for they will try to kill you,"

and upon looking up he saw his spear, shield, and sword which he had

left at home. Then he knew that the command came from a spirit, so he

took his weapons and began to fight. For three days and nights they

contended, and never before had the seven seen one man so brave. On

the fourth day the leader was wounded and fell dead, and then, one

by one, the other six fell.

When they were all killed, the widow's son was so crazed with fighting

that he thought no longer of returning home, but started out to find

more to slay.

In his wanderings he came to the home of a great giant whose house

was already full of the men he had conquered in battle, and he called

up from outside:

"Is the master of the house at home? If he is, let him come out

and fight."

This threw the giant into a rage, and seizing his shield and his

spear, the shaft of which was the trunk of a tree, he sprang to the

door and leaped to the ground, not waiting to go down the notched

pole which served for steps. He looked around for his antagonist,

and seeing only the widow's son he roared:

"Where is the man that wants to fight? That thing? It is only a fly!"

The boy did not stop to answer, but rushed at the giant with his knife;

and for three days and nights they struggled, till the giant fell,

wounded at the waist.

After that the widow's son stopped only long enough to burn the giant's

house, and then rushed on looking for someone else to slay. Suddenly

he again heard the voice which had bade him fight with the seven men,

and this time it said: "Go home now, for your mother is grieved at

your absence." In a rage he sprang forward with his sword, though he

could see no enemy. Then the spirit which had spoken to him made him

sleep for a short time. When he awoke the rage was spent.

Again the spirit appeared, and it said: "The seven men whom you killed

were sent to kill you by the spirit of the great stone, for he looked

in your hand and saw that you were to marry the orphan girl whom

he himself wished to wed. But you have conquered. Your enemies are

dead. Go home now and prepare a great quantity of wine, for I shall

bring your enemies to life again, and you will all live in peace."

So the widow's son went home, and his mother, who had believed him

dead, was filled with joy at his coming, and all the people in the town

came out to welcome him. When he had told them his story, they hastened

to get wine, and all day they bore jarsful to the widow's house.

That night there was a great feast, and the spirit of the great stone,

his seven warriors, the friendly spirit, and the giant all came. The

widow's son married the orphan girl, while another beautiful woman

became the wife of the spirit of the stone.

The Sun and the Moon

2009-02-25T16:59:00.003-08:00

_Mandaya_ (_Mindanao_)

The Sun and the Moon were married, but the Sun was very ugly and

quarrelsome. One day he became angry at the Moon and started to chase

her. She ran very fast until she was some distance ahead of him, when

she grew tired and he almost caught her. Ever since he has been chasing

her, at times almost reaching her, and again falling far behind.

The first child of the Sun and Moon was a large star, and he was like

a man. One time the Sun, becoming angry at the star, cut him up into

small pieces and scattered him over the whole sky just as a woman

scatters rice, and ever since there have been many stars.

Another child of the Sun and Moon was a gigantic crab. [135] He still

lives and is so powerful that every time he opens and closes his eyes

there is a flash of lightning. Most of the time the crab lives in

a large hole in the bottom of the sea, and when he is there we have

high tide; but when he leaves the hole, the waters rush in and there

is low tide. His moving about also causes great waves on the surface

of the sea.

The crab is quarrelsome like his father; and he sometimes becomes so

angry with his mother, the Moon, that he tries to swallow her. [136]

When the people on earth, who are fond of the Moon, see the crab near

her, they run out of doors and shout and beat on gongs until he is

frightened away, and thus the Moon is saved.

The Children of the Limokon

2009-02-25T16:59:00.001-08:00

_Mandaya_ (_Mindanao_)

In the very early days before there were any people on the earth,

the limokon (a kind of dove) [134] were very powerful and could talk

like men though they looked like birds. One limokon laid two eggs, one

at the mouth of the Mayo River and one farther up its course. After

some time these eggs hatched, and the one at the mouth of the river

became a man, while the other became a woman.

The man lived alone on the bank of the river for a long time, but

he was very lonely and wished many times for a companion. One day

when he was crossing the river something was swept against his legs

with such force that it nearly caused him to drown. On examining it,

he found that it was a hair, and he determined to go up the river and

find whence it came. He traveled up the stream, looking on both banks,

until finally he found the woman, and he was very happy to think that

at last he could have a companion.

They were married and had many children, who are the Mandaya still

living along the Mayo River.

In the Beginning

2009-02-25T16:58:00.002-08:00

_Bilaan_ (_Mindanao_)

In the beginning there were four beings, [131] and they lived on an

island no larger than a hat. On this island there were no trees or

grass or any other living thing besides these four people and one

bird. [132] One day they sent this bird out across the waters to

see what he could find, and when he returned he brought some earth,

a piece of rattan, and some fruit.

Melu, the greatest of the four, took the soil and shaped it and beat

it with a paddle in the same manner in which a woman shapes pots of

clay, and when he finished he had made the earth. Then he planted

the seeds from the fruit, and they grew until there was much rattan

and many trees bearing fruit.

The four beings watched the growth for a long time and were well

pleased with the work, but finally Melu said:

"Of what use is this earth and all the rattan and fruit if there are

no people?"

And the others replied, "Let us make some people out of wax."

So they took some wax and worked long, fashioning it into forms,

but when they brought them to the fire the wax melted, and they saw

that men could not be made in that way.

Next they decided to try to use dirt in making people, and Melu and

one of his companions began working on that. All went well till they

were ready to make the noses. The companion, who was working on that

part, put them on upside down. Melu told him that the people would

drown if he left them that way, but he refused to change them.

When his back was turned, however, Melu seized the noses, one by one,

and turned them as they now are. But he was in such a hurry that he

pressed his finger at the root, and it left a mark in the soft clay

which you can still see on the faces of people.

The Story of the Creation

2009-02-25T16:58:00.001-08:00

_Bilaan_ (_Mindanao_)

In the very beginning there lived a being so large that he can not

be compared with any known thing. His name was Melu, [129] and when

he sat on the clouds, which were his home, he occupied all the space

above. His teeth were pure gold, and because he was very cleanly

and continually rubbed himself with his hands, his skin became pure

white. The dead skin which he rubbed off his body [130] was placed

on one side in a pile, and by and by this pile became so large that

he was annoyed and set himself to consider what he could do with it.

Finally Melu decided to make the earth; so he worked very hard in

putting the dead skin into shape, and when it was finished he was so

pleased with it that he determined to make two beings like himself,

though smaller, to live on it.

Taking the remnants of the material left after making the earth he

fashioned two men but just as they were all finished except their

noses, Tau Tana from below the earth appeared and wanted to help him.

Melu did not wish any assistance, and a great argument ensued. Tau

Tana finally won his point and made the noses which he placed on the

people upside down. When all was finished, Melu and Tau Tana whipped

the forms until they moved. Then Melu went to his home above the

clouds, and Tau Tana returned to his place below the earth.

All went well until one day a great rain came, and the people on the

earth nearly drowned from the water which ran off their heads into

their noses. Melu, from his place on the clouds, saw their danger,

and he came quickly to earth and saved their lives by turning their

noses the other side up.

The people were very grateful to him, and promised to do anything

he should ask of them. Before he left for the sky, they told him

that they were very unhappy living on the great earth all alone, so

he told them to save all the hair from their heads and the dry skin

from their bodies and the next time he came he would make them some

companions. And in this way there came to be a great many people on

the earth.

Lumabet

2009-02-25T16:57:00.006-08:00

_Bagobo_ (_Mindanao_)

Soon after people were created on the earth, there was born a child

named Lumabet, who lived to be a very, very old man. He could talk

when he was but one day old, and all his life he did wonderful things

until the people came to believe that he had been sent by Manama,

the Great Spirit.

When Lumabet was still a young man he had a fine dog, and he enjoyed

nothing so much as taking him to the mountains to hunt. One day the dog

noticed a white deer. Lumabet and his companions started in pursuit,

but the deer was very swift and they could not catch it. On and on

they went until they had gone around the world, and still the deer

was ahead. One by one his companions dropped out of the chase, but

Lumabet would not give up until he had the deer.

All the time he had but one banana and one camote (sweet potato)

for food, but each night he planted the skins of these, and in the

morning he found a banana tree with ripe fruit and a sweet potato

large enough to eat. So he kept on until he had been around the world

nine times, and he was an old man and his hair was gray. At last he

caught the deer, and then he called all the people to a great feast,

to see the animal.

While all were making merry, Lumabet told them to take a knife and

kill his father. They were greatly surprised, but did as he commanded,

and when the old man was dead, Lumabet waved his headband over him

and he came to life again. Eight times they killed the old man at

Lumabet's command, and the eighth time he was small like a little boy,

for each time they had cut off some of his flesh. They all wondered

very much at Lumabet's power, and they were certain that he was a god.

One morning some spirits came to talk with Lumabet, and after they

had gone he called the people to come into his house.

"We cannot all come in," said the people, "for your house is small

and we are many."

"There is plenty of room," said he; so all went in and to their

surprise it did not seem crowded.

Then he told the people that he was going on a long journey and that

all who believed he had great power could go with him, while all

who remained behind would be changed into animals and buso. [125]

He started out, many following him, and it was as he said. For those

that refused to go were immediately changed into animals and buso.

He led the people far away across the ocean to a place where the earth

and the sky meet. When they arrived they saw that the sky moved up

and down like a man opening and closing his jaws.

"Sky, you must go up," commanded Lumabet.

But the sky would not obey. So the people could not go through. Finally

Lumabet promised the sky that if he would let all the others through,

he might have the last man who tried to pass. Agreeing to this,

the sky opened and the people entered. But when near the last the

sky shut down so suddenly that he caught not only the last man but

also the long knife of the man before.

On that same day, Lumabet's son, who was hunting, did not know that

his father had gone to the sky. When he was tired of the chase, he

wanted to go to his father, so he leaned an arrow against a baliti tree

and sat down on it. Slowly it began to go down and carried him to his

father's place, but when he arrived he could find no people. He looked

here and there and could find nothing but a gun made of gold. [126]

This made him very sorrowful and he did not know what to do until

some white bees which were in the house said to him:

"You must not weep, for we can take you to the sky where your

father is."

So he did as they bade, and rode on the gun, and the bees flew away

with him, until in three days they reached the sky.

Now, although most of the men who followed Lumabet were content to

live in the sky, there was one who was very unhappy, and all the time

he kept looking down on the land below. The spirits made fun of him

and wanted to take out his intestines so that he would be like them

and never die, but he was afraid and always begged to be allowed to

go back home.

Finally Manama told the spirits to allow him to go, so they made a

chain of the leaves of the karan grass and tied it to his legs. Then

they let him down slowly head first, and when he reached the ground

he was no longer a man but an owl.

Origin

2009-02-25T16:57:00.005-08:00

_Bagobo_ (_Mindanao_)

In the beginning there lived one man and one woman, Toglai and

Toglibon. Their first children were a boy and a girl. When they were

old enough, the boy and the girl went far away across the waters

seeking a good place to live in. Nothing more was heard of them until

their children, the Spaniards and Americans, came back. After the

first boy and girl left, other children were born to the couple,

but they all remained at Cibolan on Mt. Apo with their parents,

until Toglai and Toglibon died and became spirits.

Soon after that there came a great drought which lasted for three

years. All the waters dried up, so that there were no rivers, and no

plants could live.

"Surely," said the people, "Manama is punishing us and we must go

elsewhere to find food and a place to dwell in."

So they started out. Two went in the direction of the sunset, carrying

with them stones from Cibolan River. After a long journey they reached

a place where were broad fields of cogon grass and an abundance of

water, and there they made their home. Their children still live in

that place and are called Magindanau, because of the stones which

the couple carried when they left Cibolan.

Two children of Toglai and Toglibon went to the south, seeking a home,

and they carried with them women's baskets (baraan). When they found a

good spot, they settled down. Their descendants, still dwelling at that

place, are called Baraan or Bilaan, because of the women's baskets.

So two by two the children of the first couple left the land of their

birth. In the place where each settled a new people developed, and

thus it came about that all the tribes in the world received their

names from things that the people carried out of Cibolan, or from

the places where they settled.

All the children left Mt. Apo save two (a boy and a girl), whom hunger

and thirst had made too weak to travel. One day when they were about

to die the boy crawled out to the field to see if there was one

living thing, and to his surprise he found a stalk of sugar-cane

growing lustily. He eagerly cut it, and enough water came out to

refresh him and his sister until the rains came. Because of this,

their children are called Bagobo.

Bulanawan and Aguio

2009-02-25T16:57:00.003-08:00

_Bukidnon_ (_Mindanao_)

Langgona and his wife had twin boys named Bulanawan and Aguio. One

day, when they were about two years old, the mother took Bulanawan to

the field with her when she went to pick cotton. She spread the fiber

she had gathered the day before on the ground to dry near the child,

and while she was getting more a great wind suddenly arose which

wound the cotton around the baby and carried him away. Far away to

a distant land the wind took Bulanawan, and in that place he grew

up. When he was a man, he became a great warrior. [121]

One day while Bulanawan and his wife were walking along the seashore,

they sat down to rest on a large, flat rock, and Bulanawan fell

asleep. Now Aguio, the twin brother of Bulanawan, had become a great

warrior also, and he went on a journey to this distant land, not

knowing that his brother was there. It happened that he was walking

along the seashore in his war-dress [122] on this same day, and when

he saw the woman sitting on the large, flat rock, he thought her very

beautiful, and he determined to steal her.

As he drew near he asked her to give him some of her husband's

betel-nut to chew, and when she refused he went forward to fight her

husband, not knowing they were brothers. As soon as his wife awakened

him Bulanawan sprang up, seized her, put her in the cuff of his sleeve,

[123] and came forth ready to fight. Aguio grew very angry at this, and

they fought until their weapons were broken, and the earth trembled.

Now the two brothers of the rivals felt the earth tremble although they

were far away, and each feared that his brother was in trouble. One

was in the mountains and he started at once for the sea; the other was

in a far land, but he set out in a boat for the scene of the trouble.

They arrived at the same time at the place of battle, and they

immediately joined in it. Then the trembling of the earth increased

so much that Langgona, the father of Aguio and Bulanawan, sought out

the spot and tried to make peace. But he only seemed to make matters

worse, and they all began fighting him. So great did the disturbance

become that the earth was in danger of falling to pieces.

Then it was that the father of Langgona came and settled the trouble,

and when all were at peace again they discovered that Aguio and

Bulanawan were brothers and the grandsons of the peacemaker.

How Children Became Monkeys

2009-02-25T16:57:00.001-08:00

_Bukidnon_ (_Mindanao_)

One day a mother took her two children with her when she went to

color cloth. Not far from her home was a mud hole [119] where the

carabao liked to wallow, and to this hole she carried her cloth,

some dye pots, and two shell spoons.

After she had put the cloth into the mud to let it take up the dark

color, she built a fire and put over it a pot containing water and

the leaves used for dyeing. Then she sat down to wait for the water

to boil, while the children played near by.

By and by when she went to stir the leaves with a shell spoon, some

of the water splashed up and burned her hand, so that she jumped and

cried out. This amused the children and their laughter changed them

into monkeys, and the spoons became their tails. [120]

The nails of the monkeys are still black, because while they were

children they had helped their mother dye the cloth.

Magbangal

2009-02-25T16:56:00.003-08:00

_Bukidnon_ (_Mindanao_)

Magbangal was a good hunter, and he often went to a certain hill

where he killed wild pigs for food. One night as it was nearing the

planting season, he sat in his house thinking, and after a long time

he called to his wife. She came to him, and he said:

"Tomorrow I shall go to the hill and clear the land for our planting,

but I wish you to stay here."

"Oh, let me go with you," begged his wife, "for you have no other

companion."

"No," said Magbangal, "I wish to go alone, and you must stay at home."

So finally his wife agreed, and in the morning she arose early to

prepare food for him. When the rice was cooked and the fish ready

she called him to come and eat, but he said:

"No, I do not want to eat now, but I will return this afternoon and

you must have it ready for me."

Then he gathered up his ten hatchets and bolos, [118] a sharpening

stone, and a bamboo tube for water, and started for the hill. Upon

reaching his land he cut some small trees to make a bench. When it

was finished, he sat down on it and said to the bolos, "You bolos must

sharpen yourselves on the stone." And the bolos went to the stone and

were sharpened. Then to the hatchets he said, "You hatchets must be

sharpened," and they also sharpened themselves.

When all were ready, he said: "Now you bolos cut all the small brush

under the trees, and you hatchets must cut the large trees." So the

bolos and the hatchets went to work, and from his place on the bench

Magbangal could see the land being cleared.

Magbangal's wife was at work in their house weaving a skirt, but

when she heard the trees continually falling she stopped to listen

and thought to herself, "My husband must have found many people to

help him clear our land. When he left here, he was alone, but surely

he cannot cut down the trees so fast. I will see who is helping him."

She left the house and walked rapidly toward the field, but as she

drew nearer she proceeded more slowly, and finally stopped behind

a tree. From her hiding-place, she could see her husband asleep on

the bench, and she could also see that the bolos and hatchets were

cutting the trees with no hands to guide them.

"Oh," said she, "Magbangal is very powerful. Never before have I

seen bolos and hatchets working without hands, and he never told me

of his power."

Suddenly she saw her husband jump up, and, seizing a bolo, he cut

off one of his own arms. He awoke and sat up and said:

"Someone must be looking at me, for one of my arms is cut off."

When he saw his wife he knew that she was the cause of his losing

his arm, and as they went home together, he exclaimed:

"Now I am going away. It is better for me to go to the sky where I

can give the sign to the people when it is time to plant; and you

must go to the water and become a fish."

Soon after he went to the sky and became the constellation Magbangal;

and ever since, when the people see these stars appear in the sky,

they know that it is time to plant their rice.

The Flood Story

2009-02-25T16:56:00.001-08:00

_Bukidnon_ (_Mindanao_)

A long time ago there was a very big crab [115] which crawled into

the sea. And when he went in he crowded the water out so that it ran

all over the earth and covered all the land.

Now about one moon before this happened, a wise man had told the people

that they must build a large raft. [116] They did as he commanded and

cut many large trees, until they had enough to make three layers. These

they bound tightly together, and when it was done they fastened the

raft with a long rattan cord to a big pole in the earth.

Soon after this the floods came. White water poured out of the hills,

and the sea rose and covered even the highest mountains. The people

and animals on the raft were safe, but all the others drowned.

When the waters went down and the raft was again on the ground,

it was near their old home, for the rattan cord had held.

But these were the only people left on the whole earth.

How the Moon and the Stars Came to Be

2009-02-25T16:55:00.002-08:00

_Bukidnon_ (_Mindanao_)

One day in the times when the sky was close to the ground a spinster

went out to pound rice. [113] Before she began her work, she took

off the beads from around her neck and the comb from her hair, and

hung them on the sky, which at that time looked like coral rock.

Then she began working, and each time that she raised her pestle into

the air it struck the sky. For some time she pounded the rice, and

then she raised the pestle so high that it struck the sky very hard.

Immediately the sky began to rise, [114] and it went up so far that

she lost her ornaments. Never did they come down, for the comb became

the moon and the beads are the stars that are scattered about.

Tilin, The Rice Bird

2009-02-25T16:55:00.001-08:00

_Igorot_

One day when a mother was pounding out rice to cook for supper,

her little girl ran up to her and cried:

"Oh, Mother, give me some of the raw rice to eat."

"No," said the mother, "it is not good for you to eat until it is

cooked. Wait for supper."

But the little girl persisted until the mother, out of patience, cried:

"Be still. It is not good for you to talk so much!"

When she had finished pounding the rice, the woman poured it into a

rice winnower and tossed it many times into the air. As soon as the

chaff was removed she emptied the rice into her basket and covered it

with the winnower. Then she took the jar upon her head, and started

for the spring to get water.

Now the little girl was fond of going to the spring with her mother,

for she loved to play in the cool water while her mother filled the

jars. But this time she did not go, and as soon as the woman was

out of sight, she ran to the basket of rice. She reached down to

take a handful of the grain. The cover slipped so that she fell,

and was covered up in the basket.

When the mother returned to the house, she heard a bird crying,

"King, king, nik! nik! nik!" She listened carefully, and as the

sound seemed to come from the basket, she removed the cover. To her

surprise, out hopped a little brown rice bird, and as it flew away

it kept calling back:

"Goodbye, Mother; goodbye, Mother. You would not give me any rice

to eat."

The Tattooed Men

2009-02-25T16:54:00.004-08:00

_Igorot_

Once there were two young men, very good friends, who were unhappy

because neither of them had been tattooed. [110] They felt that they

were not as beautiful as their friends.

One day they agreed to tattoo each other. One marked the breast and

back of the other, his arms and legs, and even his face. And when he

had finished, he took soot off the bottom of a cooking-pot and rubbed

it into all the marks; and he was tattooed beautifully.

The one who had done the work said to the other:

"Now, my friend, you are very beautiful, and you must tattoo me."

Then the tattooed one scraped a great pile of black soot off the

cooking-pots, and before the other knew what he was about, he had

rubbed it all over him from the top of his head to the bottom of his

feet; and he was very black and greasy. The one who was covered with

soot became very angry and cried:

"Why do you treat me so when I tattooed you so carefully?"

They began to fight, but suddenly the beautifully tattooed one became

a great lizard which ran away and hid in the tall grass, while the

sooty one became a crow and flew away over the village.

The Serpent Eagle

2009-02-25T16:54:00.003-08:00

_Igorot_

Once there lived two boys whose mother sent them every day to the

forest to get wood [108] for her fires. Each morning, as they started

out, she gave them some food for their trip, but it was always poor

and there was little of it, and she would say:

"The wood that you brought yesterday was so poor that I cannot give

you much to eat today."

The boys tried very hard to please her, but if they brought nice pine

wood she scolded them, and if they brought large dry reeds she said:

"These are no good for my fire, for they leave too much ashes in

the house."

Try as they would, they failed to satisfy her; and their bodies grew

very thin from working hard all day and from want of enough to eat.

One morning when they left for the mountains the mother gave them a

bit of dog meat to eat, and the boys were very sad. When they reached

the forest one of them said:

"You wait here while I climb the tree and cut off some branches."

He went up the tree and soon called down, "Here is some wood," and

the bones of his arm dropped to the ground.

"Oh," cried his brother, "it is your arm!"

"Here is some more wood," cried the other, and the bones of the other

arm dropped to the ground.

Then he called again, and the bones of his leg fell, then those of his

other leg, and so on till all the bones of his body lay on the ground.

"Take these home," he said, "and tell the woman that here is her wood;

she only wanted my bones."

The younger boy was very sad, for he was alone, and there was no one

to go down the mountain with him. He gathered up the bundle of wood,

wondering meanwhile what he should do, but just as he finished a

serpent eagle called down from the tree tops:

"I will go with you, Brother."

So the boy put the bundle of wood on his shoulder, and as he was

going down the mountain, his brother, who was now a serpent eagle,

flew over his head. When he reached the house, he put down the bundle

and said to his mother:

"Here is your wood."

When she looked at it she was very much frightened and ran out of

the house.

Then the serpent eagle circled round and round above her head and

called:

"Quiukok! quiukok! quiukok! I do not need your food any more."

How the First Head was Taken

2009-02-25T16:54:00.001-08:00

_Igorot_

One day the Moon, who was a woman named Kabigat, sat out in the yard

making a large copper pot. The copper was still soft and pliable like

clay, and the woman squatted on the ground with the heavy pot against

her knees while she patted and shaped it. [106]

Now while she was working a son of Chal-chal, the Sun, came by and

stopped to watch her mould the form. Against the inside of the jar she

pressed a stone, while on the outside with a wooden paddle dripping

with water she pounded and slapped until she had worked down the

bulges and formed a smooth surface.

The boy was greatly interested in seeing the jar grow larger, more

beautiful, and smoother with each stroke, and he stood still for some

time. Suddenly the Moon looked up and saw him watching her. Instantly

she struck him with her paddle, cutting off his head.

Now the Sun was not near, but he knew as soon as the Moon had cut off

his son's head. And hurrying to the spot, he put the boy's head back

on, and he was alive again.

Then the Sun said to the Moon, "You cut off my son's head, and because

you did this ever after on the earth people will cut off each other's

heads."

Lumawig on Earth

2009-02-25T16:53:00.002-08:00

_Igorot_

One day when Lumawig, [100] the Great Spirit, looked down from his

place in the sky he saw two sisters gathering beans. And he decided

to go down to visit them. When he arrived at the place he asked them

what they were doing. The younger, whose name was Fukan, answered:

"We are gathering beans, but it takes a long time to get enough,

for my sister wants to go bathing all the time."

Then Lumawig said to the older sister:

"Hand me a single pod of the beans."

And when she had given it to him, he shelled it into the basket and

immediately the basket was full. [101] The younger sister laughed at

this, and Lumawig said to her:

"Give me another pod and another basket."

She did so, and when he had shelled the pod, that basket was full

also. Then he said to the younger sister:

"Go home and get three more baskets."

She went home, but when she asked for three more baskets her mother

said that the beans were few and she could not need so many. Then

Fukan told her of the young man who could fill a basket from one pod

of beans, and the father, who heard her story, said:

"Go bring the young man here, for I think he must be a god."

So Fukan took the three baskets back to Lumawig, and when he had

filled them as he did the other two, he helped the girls carry them

to the house. As they reached their home, he stopped outside to cool

himself, but the father called to him and he went up into the house

and asked for some water. The father brought him a cocoanut shell full,

and before drinking Lumawig looked at it and said:

"If I stay here with you, I shall become very strong."

The next morning Lumawig asked to see their chickens, and when they

opened the chicken-coop out came a hen and many little chicks. "Are

these all of your chickens?" asked Lumawig; and the father assured

him that they were all. He then bade them bring rice meal that he

might feed them, and as the chickens ate they all grew rapidly till

they were cocks and hens.

Next Lumawig asked how many pigs they had, and the father replied

that they had one with some little ones. Then Lumawig bade them fill

a pail with sweet potato leaves and he fed the pigs. And as they ate

they also grew to full size.

The father was so pleased with all these things that he offered his

elder daughter to Lumawig for a wife. But the Great Spirit said he

preferred to marry the younger; so that was arranged. Now when his

brother-in-law learned that Lumawig desired a feast at his wedding,

he was very angry and said:

"Where would you get food for your wedding feast? There is no rice,

nor beef, nor pork, nor chicken,"

But Lumawig only answered, "I shall provide our wedding feast."

In the morning they all set out for Lanao, for Lumawig did not care

to stay any longer in the house with his brother-in-law. As soon as

they arrived he sent out for some tree trunks, but the trees that

the people brought in were so small that Lumawig himself went to the

forest and cut two large pine trees which he hurled to Lanao.

When the people had built a fire of the trees he commanded them to

bring ten kettles filled with water. Soon the water was boiling hot

and the brother-in-law laughed and said:

"Where is your rice? You have the boiling water, but you do not seem

to think of the rice."

In answer to this Lumawig took a small basket of rice and passed

it over five kettles and they were full. Then he called "Yishtjau,"

and some deer came running out of the forest. These were not what he

wanted, however, so he called again and some pigs came. He told the

people that they were each to catch one and for his brother-in-law

he selected the largest and best.

They all set out in pursuit of the pigs and the others quickly caught

theirs, but though the brother-in-law chased his until he was very

tired and hot he could not catch it Lumawig laughed at him and said:

"You chase that pig until he is thin and still you cannot catch it,

though all the others have theirs."

Thereupon he grasped the hind legs of the pig and lifted it. All the

people laughed and the brother-in-law said:

"Of course you can catch it, because I chased it until it was tired."

Lumawig then handed it to him and said, "Here, you carry it." But no

sooner had the brother-in-law put it over his shoulder than it cut

loose and ran away.

"Why did you let it go?" asked Lumawig. "Do you care nothing for it,

even after I caught it for you? Catch it again and bring it here."

So the brother-in-law started out again, and he chased it up stream

and down, but he could not catch it. Finally Lumawig reached down

and picked up the pig and carried it to the place where the others

were cooking.

After they had all eaten and drunk and made their offerings to the

spirits, Lumawig said:

"Come, let us go to the mountain to consult the omen concerning the

northern tribes."

So they consulted the omen, but it was not favorable, and they were

starting home when the brother-in-law asked Lumawig to create some

water, as the people were hot and thirsty.

"Why do you not create water, Lumawig?" he repeated as Lumawig paid

no attention to him. "You care nothing that the people are thirsty

and in need of drink."

Then they quarreled and were very angry and Lumawig

said to the people, "Let us sit down and rest."

While they rested, Lumawig struck the rock with his spear and water

came out. [102] The brother-in-law jumped up to get a drink first, but

Lumawig held him back and said he must be the last to drink. So they

all drank, and when they had finished, the brother-in-law stepped up,

but Lumawig gave him a push which sent him into the rock and water

came from his body.

"You must stay there," said Lumawig, "because you have troubled me

a great deal." And they went home, leaving him in the rock.

Some time after this Lumawig decided to go back to the sky to live,

but before he went he took care that his wife should have a home. He

made a coffin of wood [103] and placed her in it with a dog at her

feet and a cock at her head. And as he set it floating on the water,

[104] he told it not to stop until it reached Tinglayen. Then, if

the foot end struck first, the dog should bark; and if the head end

was the first to strike, the cock should crow. So it floated away,

and on and on, until it came to Tinglayen.

Now a widower was sharpening his ax on the bank of the river, and when

he saw the coffin stop, he went to fish it out of the water. On shore

he started to open it, but Fugan cried out, "Do not drive a wedge,

for I am here," So the widower opened it carefully and took Fugan up

to the town, and then as he had no wife of his own, he married her.

The Flood Story

2009-02-25T16:53:00.001-08:00

_Igorot_

Once upon a time, when the world was flat and there were no mountains,

there lived two brothers, sons of Lumawig, the Great Spirit. The

brothers were fond of hunting, and since no mountains had formed

there was no good place to catch wild pig and deer, and the older

brother said:

"Let us cause water to flow over all the world and cover it, and then

mountains will rise up." [97]

So they caused water to flow over all the earth, and when it was

covered they took the head-basket [98] of the town and set it for a

trap. The brothers were very much pleased when they went to look at

their trap, for they had caught not only many wild pigs and deer but

also many people.

Now Lumawig looked down from his place in the sky and saw that his

sons had flooded the earth and that in all the world there was just one

spot which was not covered. And he saw that all the people in the world

had been drowned except one brother and sister who lived in Pokis.

Then Lumawig descended, and he called to the boy

and girl, saying:

"Oh, you are still alive."

"Yes," answered the boy, "we are still alive, but we are very cold."

So Lumawig commanded his dog and deer to get fire [99] for the boy

and girl. The dog and the deer swam quickly away, but though Lumawig

waited a long time they did not return, and all the time the boy and

girl were growing colder.

Finally Lumawig himself went after the dog and the deer, and when he

reached them he said:

"Why are you so long in bringing the fire to Pokis? Get ready and

come quickly while I watch you, for the boy and girl are very cold."

Then the dog and the deer took the fire and started to swim through the

flood, but when they had gone only a little way the fire was put out.

Lumawig commanded them to get more fire and they did so, but they

swam only a little way again when that of the deer went out, and

that of the dog would have been extinguished also had not Lumawig

gone quickly to him and taken it.

As soon as Lumawig reached Pokis he built a big fire which warmed the

brother and sister; and the water evaporated so that the world was

as it was before, except that now there were mountains. The brother

and sister married and had children, and thus there came to be many

people on the earth.

The Creation

2009-02-25T16:52:00.002-08:00

_Igorot_

In the beginning there were no people on the earth. Lumawig, [93]

the Great Spirit, came down from the sky and cut many reeds. [94] He

divided these into pairs which he placed in different parts of the

world, and then he said to them, "You must speak." Immediately the

reeds became people, and in each place was a man and a woman who could

talk, but the language of each couple differed from that of the others.

Then Lumawig commanded each man and woman to marry, which they did. By

and by there were many children, all speaking the same language as

their parents. These, in turn, married and had many children. In this

way there came to be many people on the earth.

Now Lumawig saw that there were several things which the people on

the earth needed to use, so he set to work to supply them. He created

salt, and told the inhabitants of one place to boil it down and sell

it to their neighbors. But these people could not understand the

directions of the Great Spirit, and the next time he visited them,

they had not touched the salt.

Then he took it away from them and gave it to the people of a place

called Mayinit. [95] These did as he directed, and because of this

he told them that they should always be owners of the salt, and that

the other peoples must buy of them.

Then Lumawig went to the people of Bontoc and told them to get clay

and make pots. They got the clay, but they did not understand the

moulding, and the jars were not well shaped. Because of their failure,

Lumawig told them that they would always have to buy their jars,

and he removed the pottery to Samoki. [96] When he told the people

there what to do, they did just as he said, and their jars were well

shaped and beautiful. Then the Great Spirit saw that they were fit

owners of the pottery, and he told them that they should always make

many jars to sell.

In this way Lumawig taught the people and brought to them all the

things which they now have.

Dogedog

2009-02-25T16:52:00.001-08:00

_Tinguian_

Dogedog had always been very lazy, and now that his father and mother

were dead and he had no one to care for him, he lived very poorly. He

had little to eat. His house was old and small and so poor that it

had not even a floor. Still he would rather sit all day and idle away

his time than to work and have more things.

One day, however, when the rainy season was near at hand, Dogedog

began thinking how cold he would be when the storms came, and he felt

so sorry for himself that he decided to make a floor in his house.

Wrapping some rice in a banana leaf for his dinner, he took his long

knife and went to the forest to cut some bamboo. He hung the bundle

of rice in a tree until he should need it; but while he was working

a cat came and ate it. When the hungry man came for his dinner, there

was none left. Dogedog went back to his miserable little house which

looked forlorn to him even, now that he had decided to have a floor.

The next day he went again to the forest and hung his rice in the

tree as he did before, but again the cat came and ate it. So the man

had to go home without any dinner.

The third day he took the rice, but this time he fixed a trap in the

tree, and when the cat came it was caught.

"Now I have you!" cried the man when he found the cat; "and I shall

kill you for stealing my rice."

"Oh, do not kill me," pleaded the cat, "and I will be of some use

to you."

So Dogedog decided to spare the cat's life, and he took it home and

tied it near the door to guard the house.

Some time later when he went to look at it, he was very much surprised

to find that it had become a cock.

"Now I can go to the cock-fight at Magsingal," cried the man. And he

was very happy, for he had much rather do that than work.

Thinking no more of getting wood for his floor, he started out at

once for Magsingal with the cock under his arm. As he was crossing

a river he met an alligator which called out to him:

"Where are you going, Dogedog?"

"To the cock-fight at Magsingal," replied the man as he fondly stroked

the rooster.

"Wait, and I will go with you," said the alligator; and he drew

himself out of the water.

The two walking along together soon entered a forest where they met

a deer and it asked:

"Where are you going, Dogedog?"

"To the cock-fight at Magsingal," said the man.

"Wait and I will go with you," said the deer; and he also joined them.

By and by they met a mound of earth that had been raised by the ants,

and they would have passed without noticing it had it not inquired:

"Where are you going, Dogedog?"

"To the cock-fight at Magsingal," said the man once more; and the

mound of earth joined them.

The company then hurried on, and just as they were leaving the forest,

they passed a big tree in which was a monkey.

"Where are you going, Dogedog?" shrieked the monkey. And without

waiting for an answer he scrambled down the tree and followed them.

As the party walked along they talked together, and the alligator

said to Dogedog:

"If any man wants to dive into the water, I can stay under longer

than he."

Then the deer, not to be outdone, said:

"If any man wants to run, I can run faster."

The mound of earth, anxious to show its strength, said:

"If any man wants to wrestle, I can beat him."

And the monkey said:

"If any man wants to climb, I can go higher."

They reached Magsingal in good time and the people were ready for the

fight to begin. When Dogedog put his rooster, which had been a cat,

into the pit, it killed the other cock at once, for it used its claws

like a cat.

The people brought more roosters and wagered much money, but Dogedog's

cock killed all the others until there was not one left in Magsingal,

and Dogedog won much money. Then they went outside the town and

brought all the cocks they could find, but not one could win over

that of Dogedog.

When the cocks were all dead, the people wanted some other sport,

so they brought a man who could stay under water for a long time,

and Dogedog made him compete with the alligator. But after a while

the man had to come up first Then they brought a swift runner and he

raced with the deer, but the man was left far behind. Next they looked

around until they found a very large man who was willing to contend

with the mound of earth, but after a hard struggle the man was thrown.

Finally they brought a man who could climb higher than anyone else,

but the monkey went far above him, and he had to give up.

All these contests had brought much money to Dogedog, and now he had

to buy two horses to carry his sacks of silver. As soon as he reached

home, he bought the house of a very rich man and went to live in

it. And he was very happy, for he did not have to work any more.

The Alligator's Fruit

2009-02-25T16:51:00.004-08:00

_Tinguian_

Two women went to gather some wild fruit from a vine which belonged

to the alligator.

"You must be careful not to throw the rind with your teeth marks

on it where the alligator can see it," said one of the women to the

other as they sat eating the fruit.

But the other woman paid no attention and threw the rind showing

teeth marks into the river, where the alligator saw it.

Thus he knew at once who had taken his fruit, and he was very angry. He

went to the house of the woman and called to the people:

"Bring out the woman that I may eat her, for she has eaten my fruit"

"Very well," answered the people. "But sit down and wait a little

while."

Then they put the iron soil-turner into the fire, and when it was

red hot, they took it to the door and said to the alligator:

"Here, eat this first."

He opened his mouth, and they pushed the red hot iron down his throat,

and he died.

The Carabao and the Shell

2009-02-25T16:51:00.003-08:00

_Tinguian_

One very hot day, when a carabao went into the river to bathe, he

met a shell and they began talking together.

"You are very slow," said the carabao to the shell.

"Oh, no," replied the shell. "I can beat you in a race."

"Then let us try and see," said the carabao.

So they went out on the bank and started to run.

After the carabao had gone a long distance he stopped and called,

"Shell!"

And another shell lying by the river answered, "Here I am!"

Then the carabao, thinking that it was the same shell with which he

was racing, ran on.

By and by he stopped again and called, "Shell!"

Again another shell answered, "Here I am!"

The carabao was surprised that the shell could keep up with him. But

he ran on and on, and every time he stopped to call, another shell

answered him. But he was determined that the shell should not beat him,

so he ran until he dropped dead.

The Man with the Cocoanuts

2009-02-25T16:51:00.001-08:00

_Tinguian_

One day a man who had been to gather his cocoanuts loaded his horse

heavily with the fruit. On the way home he _met_ a boy whom he asked

how long it would take to reach the house.

"If you go slowly," said the boy, looking at the load on the horse,

"you will arrive very soon; but if you go fast, it will take you

all day."

The man could not believe this strange speech, so he hurried his

horse. But the cocoanuts fell off and he had to stop to pick them

up. Then he hurried his horse all the more to make up for lost time,

but the cocoanuts fell off again. Many times he did this, and it was

night when he reached home.

The Turtle and the Lizard

2009-02-25T16:50:00.002-08:00

_Tinguian_

A turtle and a big lizard once went to the field of Gotgotapa to steal

ginger, [88] When they reached the place the turtle said to the lizard:

"We must be very still or the man will hear us and come out."

But as soon as the lizard tasted the ginger he was so pleased that

he said:

"The ginger of Gotgotapa is very good."

"Be still," said the turtle; but the lizard paid no attention to the

warning, and called louder than ever:

"The ginger of Gotgotapa is very good."

Again and again he cried out, until finally the man heard him and

came out of the house to catch the robbers.

The turtle could not run fast, so he lay very still, and the man did

not see him. But the lizard ran and the man chased him. When they

were out of sight, the turtle went into the house and hid under a

cocoanut shell upon which the man used to sit. [89]

The man ran after the lizard for a long distance, but he could not

catch him. After a while he came back to the house and sat down on

the shell.

By and by, the turtle called, "Kook." The man jumped up and looked all

around. Unable to tell where the noise came from, he sat down again,

A second time the turtle called, and this time the man looked

everywhere in the house except under the shell, but could not find

the turtle. Again and again the turtle called, and finally the man,

realizing that all his attempts were unsuccessful, grew so excited

that he died.

Then the turtle ran out of the house, and he had not gone far before

he met the lizard again. They walked along together until they saw

some honey in a tree, and the turtle said:

"I will go first and get some of the honey."

The lizard would not wait, but ran ahead, and when he seized the honey,

the bees came out and stung him. So he ran back to the turtle for help.

After a while they came to a bird snare, and the turtle said:

"That is the silver wire that my grandfather wore about his neck."

Then the lizard ran fast to get it first, but he was caught in the

snare and was held until the man came and killed him. Then the wise

turtle went on alone.

The Boy who Became a Stone

2009-02-25T16:50:00.001-08:00

_Tinguian_

One day a little boy named Elonen sat out in the yard making a bird

snare, and as he worked, a little bird called to him: "Tik-tik-lo-den"

(come and catch me).

"I am making a snare for you," said the boy; but the bird continued

to call until the snare was finished.

Then Elonen ran and threw the snare over the bird and caught it, and he

put it in a jar in his house while he went with the other boys to swim.

While he was away, his grandmother grew hungry, so she ate the bird,

and when Elonen returned and found that his bird was gone, he was so

sad that he wished he might go away and never come back. He went out

into the forest and walked a long distance, until finally he came to

a big stone and said: "Stone, open your mouth and eat me." And the

stone opened its mouth and swallowed the boy.

When his grandmother missed the boy, she went out and looked

everywhere, hoping to find him. Finally she passed near the stone

and it cried out, "Here he is." Then the old woman tried to open the

stone but she could not, so she called the horses to come and help

her. They came and kicked it, but it would not break. Then she called

the carabao and they hooked it, but they only broke their horns. She

called the chickens, which pecked it, and the thunder, which shook it,

but nothing could open it, and she had to go home without the boy.

The Mistaken Gifts

2009-02-25T16:49:00.004-08:00

_Tinguian_

When Siagon was about eight years old his parents began looking for

a girl who would make a suitable wife. At last when they had decided

on a beautiful maiden, who lived some distance from them, they sent

a man to her parents to ask if they would like Siagon for a son-in-law.

Now when the man arrived at the girl's house the people were all

sitting on the floor eating periwinkle, and as they sucked the meat

out of the shell, they nodded their heads. The man, looking in at

the door, saw them nod, and he thought they were nodding at him. So

he did not tell them his errand, but returned quickly to the boy's

parents and told them that all the people at the girl's house were

favorable to the union.

Siagon's parents were very much pleased that their proposal had been

so kindly received, and immediately prepared to go to the girl's

house to arrange for the wedding.

Finally all was ready and they started for her house, carrying with

them as presents for her parents two carabao, two horses, two cows,

four iron kettles, sixteen jars of basi, two blankets, and two

little pigs.

The surprise of the girl's people knew no bounds when they saw all

this coming to their house, for they had not even thought of Siagon

marrying their daughter.

Sogsogot

2009-02-25T16:49:00.003-08:00

_Tinguian_

One day, a long time ago, some men went to the mountains to hunt deer

and wild pig, and among them was one named Sogsogot.

They all went into the thick forest to look for game, but after a

while Sogsogot called his dog and withdrew to an open spot near by,

where he waited for the deer to come out.

While he stood there eagerly watching, a big bird [85] swooped down,

caught him in its claws, and carried him away. Far off over the

mountains the bird soared, until finally it came to a big tree where

it had its nest, and here it left the man and flew away.

Sogsogot's first thought was to make his escape, but he found that

the tree was so tall that he could not get down, and after a time he

ceased his attempts to get away and began to look over his companions

in the nest--two young birds and three little pigs.

By and by he became hungry, so he cut up the three little pigs, and

after he had eaten all he wished he fed the two birds. When this meat

was gone the mother bird brought more pigs and deer, and the man had

all he could eat. Then he fed the little birds, which grew very fast

and soon were able to fly. One day when they were standing on the

edge of the nest Sogsogot caught hold of the birds' legs, and they

fluttered down and carried him safely to the ground.

He hastened home as fast as he could go and told the people of his

wonderful trip. They made a ceremony for the spirits, and all the

people rejoiced that the lost man had returned.

Some time after this Sogsogot went to a hostile town to fight, and

while he was gone his wife died. On the way back to his town he met

the spirit of his wife driving a cow and two pigs, and not knowing

that she was a spirit he asked her where she was going.

"I am not a person any more," she answered him; "I am dead." And when

he wanted to touch her hand, she gave him only her shortest finger. He

begged to go with her so she said, "Go first to our home and get a

white chicken; then follow the footmarks of the cow and pigs."

He did as she commanded him, and after a while he came to a place

where she was bathing in the river. She said to him:

"Now you may come with me to our spirit town. [86] I shall hide you

in the rice-bin and shall bring food to you every day. But at night

the people in the town will want to eat you, and when they come to

the bin you must take some of the feathers of the white chicken and

throw at them."

The man went with her, and when they arrived at the spirit town she

hid him in the rice-bin. At night the people came to eat him, as she

had said they would; but when he threw the chicken feathers at them

they were frightened away.

For two weeks Sogsogot lived in this place, but when the feathers

were nearly gone he was afraid to stay any longer, for every night

the spirits came to eat him. He begged his wife to allow him to go,

and finally she showed him the way home, giving him rice to eat on

his journey.

As soon as the man arrived home and inquired for his wife, the

people told him that she had died and they had buried her under the

house. Then he knew that it was her spirit that had taken him to the

strange town.

Man and the Alan

2009-02-25T16:49:00.001-08:00

_Tinguian_

A Tinguian was once walking along a trail in the wood when he heard a

strange sound in a large tree near him, and looking up he was startled

to see that it was the home of the Alan--spirits who live in the wood.

He stopped and gazed for a moment at the horrible creatures, large

as people, hanging from the limbs of the tree with their heads down

like bats. They had wings to fly, and their toes were at the back

of their feet, while their long fingers, which pointed backward,

were fastened at the wrist.

"Surely," thought the man, "these terrible beings will eat me if

they can catch me. I will run away as fast as I can while they are

asleep." He tried to run but he was too frightened, and after a few

steps he fell face down on the ground.

At this the Alan began to wail loudly, for they saw him fall and

believed him dead And they came down out of the tree with gold and

beads which they laid on him.

After a while the man gathered courage and, jumping up, he cried as

loudly as he could, "Go away!"

The Alan did not move, but they looked at him and said: "Give us the

one bead _nagaba_ [a peculiar bead of double effect], and you may

have the rest." When the man refused to do this, they were angry and

turned away, crying, "Then we are going to burn your house, for you

are a bad man."

Thereupon the man went home as fast as he could go, but very soon

after that his house burned, for the Alan kept their word.

The Alan and the Hunters

2009-02-25T16:48:00.004-08:00

_Tinguian_

Two men once went to hunt wild pig in the mountains, and after some

time they speared and killed one, but they had no fire over which to

singe it.

One man climbed a tree to see if there was a fire near by, and

discovering smoke at some distance, he started toward it. When he

reached the place, he found that the fire was in the house of an Alan,

[82] and he was very much afraid; but creeping up into the house,

he found that the Alan and her baby were fast asleep.

He stepped on tip-toe, but nevertheless the Alan was awakened and

called out:

"Epogow, [83] what do you want?"

"I should like to get some fire," said the man, "for we have killed

a wild pig."

The Alan gave him the fire, and then taking her basket she went with

him to the place where the pig was.

After they had singed the animal, the Alan cut it up with her long

nails and handed the liver to the man, telling him to take it to her

house to feed the baby.

The man started, and on the way he ate the liver. When he reached

the Alan's house he did not know what to do. For some time he looked

around, and then seeing a large caldron of hot water on the fire,

he threw the baby into it and went back.

"Did the baby eat well?" asked the Alan.

"Very well," said the man.

Then she put most of the meat into her basket and started home. As

soon as she had gone, the man told his companion what he had done,

and they were so frightened that they ran to hide.

When the Alan reached home and found the baby dead in the hot water,

she was very angry and started back immediately to find the men, who,

in the meantime, had climbed a high tree that stood near the water.

The Alan looked down into the water, and seeing the reflection of

the men, she reached in her long hand with the fingers that pointed

backward, but when she could not touch them, she looked up and saw

them in the tall tree.

"How did you get up there?" she cried angrily.

"We climbed up feet first," called down the men.

The Alan, determined to get them, caught hold of a vine and started

up the tree feet first, but before she quite reached them, they cut

the vine and she fell to the ground and was killed. [84]

Then the men came down and went to the Alan's house, where they found

a jar full of beads and another of gold, and these they brought with

them when they returned home.

The Striped Blanket

2009-02-25T16:48:00.003-08:00

_Tinguian_

Three Tinguian once went to the mountains to hunt deer. They took

their blankets with them, for they expected to be gone several days,

and the nights in the mountains are cold.

The blankets of two of the men were of the blue-and-white designs

such as are commonly worn by the Tinguian, but that of the third was

covered with red and yellow stripes like the back of a little wild pig.

At night the men rolled up in their blankets and lay down under a

tree to sleep; but while the one in the striped blanket was still

awake two spirits came near and saw him.

"Oh," he heard one spirit say to the other, "here we have something

to eat, for here is a little wild pig."

Then the man quickly took the blanket off one of his sleeping

companions and put his own in its place. Very soon the spirits came

and ate the man under the striped blanket.

Since that time the Tinguian never sleep under that kind of a blanket

if they are where the spirits can get them.

The Tree with the Agate Beads

2009-02-25T16:48:00.001-08:00

_Tinguian_

More than a hundred seasons ago, a Tinguian went one day to the

mountains to hunt. Accompanied by his faithful dog, he made his way

steadily up the mountain side, only halting where it was necessary

to cut a path through the jungle. And the dog ran here and there

searching in the thick underbrush.

On and on he went without seeing any game, and then, when he was

almost at the top of the highest peak, the dog gave a sharp yelp,

and out of the brush leaped a fine deer. Zip! went the man's spear,

and it pierced the animal's side. For an instant he waited, but the

deer did not fall. On it ran with unslackened speed, and a moment

later it plunged into a hole in the ground with the man and dog in

close pursuit.

A short distance from the entrance the cave opened out into large,

spacious rooms, and before he realized it the man was hopelessly

lost In the distance he could hear the baying of the dog, and with

no other guide he hurried on through the darkness.

Following the sound, he went for a long time from one unfamiliar room

to another, stumbling in the darkness and striking against the stone

walls, and then suddenly his outstretched hands grasped a small tree

on which berries grew.

Astonished at finding anything growing in this dark place, he broke

off a branch, and as he did so the shrub began to talk in a strange

language. Terrified, the man ran in the direction he had last heard

the dog, and a moment later he found himself in the open air on the

banks of the Abra River, with the dead deer at his feet.

When he examined the twig which he still held in his hand, he saw

to his great surprise that the berries were agate beads of great

value. [81] And packing the deer on his back, he hastened home where

he told his wonderful story.

The sight of the beautiful beads convinced the people that he told

the truth, and a number of men at once returned with him to secure

the tree.

Their quest, however, was unsuccessful, for ere they reached the spot

the evil spirit had taken the tree away and on the walls of the cave

it had made strange carvings which even to this day can be seen.

Magsawi

2009-02-25T16:47:00.002-08:00

_Tinguian_

A great many years ago some Tinguian left their little village in the

valley early one morning and made their way toward the mountains. They

were off on a deer hunt, [77] and each carried his spear and head-ax,

while one held in leash a string of lean dogs eager for the chase.

Part way up the mountainside the dogs were freed, and the men

separated, going different ways in search of game. But ere long the

sharp barking of a dog called all in his direction, for they believed

that he had a deer at bay. As they approached the spot, however,

the object did not look like a deer, and as they drew nearer they

were surprised to find that it was a large jar. [78]

Filled with curiosity they pressed on, but the jar evaded them. Faster

and faster they ran, but the object, disappearing at times and then

coming into view again, always escaped them. On and on they went

until at last, tired out, they sat down on a wooded hill to rest and

to refresh themselves with betel-nut which they took from brass boxes

attached to their belts.

As they slowly cut the nuts and wrapped them in the lime and leaf

ready for chewing, they talked of nothing but the wonderful jar and

the mysterious power it possessed. Then just as they were about to

put the tempting morsels into their mouths they stopped, startled by

a strange soft voice which seemed to be near them. They turned and

listened, but could see no person.

"Find a pig which has no young," said the voice, "and take its blood,

for then you will be able to catch the jar which your dog pursued."

The men knew then that the mysterious jar belonged to a spirit, so

they hastened to do as the voice commanded, and when they had secured

the blood the dog again brought the jar to bay. The hunters tried to

seize it, but it entered a hole in the ground and disappeared. They

followed, and found themselves in a dark cave [79] where it was easy

to catch the jar, for there was no outlet save by the hole through

which they had entered.

Though that was many years ago, the jar still lives, and its name

is Magsawi. Even now it talks; but some years ago a crack appeared

in its side, and since then its language has not been understood by

the Tinguian. [80]

Sometimes Magsawi goes on long journeys alone when he visits his wife,

a jar in Ilocos Norte, or his child, a small jar in San Quintin;

but he always returns to Domayco on the hillside near the cave.

The Sun and the Moon

2009-02-25T16:47:00.001-08:00

_Tinguian_

Once the Sun and the Moon quarreled with each other, and the Sun said:

"You are only the Moon and are not much good. If I did not give you

light, you would be no good at all."

But the Moon answered:

"You are only the Sun, and you are very hot. The women like me better,

for when I shine at night, they go out doors and spin."

These words of the Moon made the Sun so angry that he threw sand in

her face, and you can still see the dark spots on the face of the Moon.

How the Tinguian Learned to Plant

_Tinguian_

In the very old times the Tinguian did not know how to plant and

harvest as they now do. For food they had only the things that grew

in the forests and fish from the streams. Neither did they know how

to cure people who became ill or were injured by evil spirits, and

many died who might otherwise have lived. [75]

Then Kadaklan, the Great Spirit who lives in the sky, saw that the

people often were hungry and sick, and he sent one of his servants,

Kaboniyan, to the earth to teach them many things. And it happened

this way:

Dayapan, a woman who lived in Caalang, had been sick for seven

years. One day when she went to the spring to bathe, there entered her

body a spirit who had rice and sugar-cane with him, and he said to her:

"Dayapan, take these to your home and plant them in the ground, and

after a while they will grow large enough to reap. Then when they are

ripe, build a granary to put the rice in until you shall need it,

and a sugar-press to crush the cane. And when these are finished,

make the ceremony Sayung, and you will be well."

Dayapan was filled with wonder at these strange things, but she took

the rice and the sugar-cane and went home as she was commanded. While

she was trying to plant them in the ground the Spirit again entered

her body and showed her just what to do. Since then the Tinguian

have planted crops every year, and because they do as Kaboniyan [76]

taught the woman they have plenty to eat.

When Dayapan had reaped the first rice and cane, she began to make

the ceremony Sayung, and the Spirit came again and directed her. And

when it was finished and she was cured, he told her to take a dog

and a cock and go to bathe in the river as a sign that the ceremony

was finished. So she went to the river and tied the dog and the cock

near the water, but while she was bathing the dog ate the cock.

Dayapan wept bitterly at this and waited a long time for Kaboniyan,

and when at last he came, he said:

"If the dog had not killed the cock, no person would die when you

make this ceremony; but this is a sign, and now some will die and

some will get well."

Dayapan called all the people together, and told them the things that

the spirit had taught her; and they could see that she had been made

well. After that, when people became ill they called Dayapan to treat

them. And it was as the Spirit had said; some died and others were

made well.

The Story of Sayen

2009-02-25T16:46:00.002-08:00

_Tinguian_

In the depths of a dark forest where people seldom went, lived a

wizened old Alan. [70] The skin on her wrinkled face was as tough

as a carabao hide, and her long arms with fingers pointing back from

the wrist were horrible to look at. Now this frightful creature had

a son whose name was Sayen, and he was as handsome as his mother was

ugly. He was a brave man, also, and often went far away alone to fight.

On these journeys Sayen sometimes met beautiful girls, and though

he wanted to marry, he could not decide upon one. Hearing that one

Danepan was more beautiful than any other, he determined to go and

ask her to be his wife.

Now Danepan was very shy, and when she heard that Sayen was coming

to her house she hid behind the door and sent her servant, Laey,

out to meet him. And so it happened that Sayen, not seeing Danepan,

married Laey, thinking that she was her beautiful mistress. He took

her away to a house he had built at the edge of the forest, for though

he wished to be near his old home, he dared not allow his bride to

set eyes on his ugly mother.

For some time they lived happily together here, and then one day when

Sayen was making a plow under his house, he heard Laey singing softly

to their baby in the room above, and this is what she sang:

"Sayen thinks I am Danepan, but Laey I am. Sayen thinks I am Danepan,

but Laey I am."

When Sayen heard this he knew that he had been deceived, and he

pondered long what he should do.

The next morning he went to the field to plow, for it was near the

rice-planting time. Before he left the house he called to his wife:

"When the sun is straight above, you and the baby bring food to me,

for I shall be busy in the field."

Before he began to plow, however, he cut the bamboo supports of the

bridge which led to the field, so that when Laey and the baby came

with his food, they had no sooner stepped on the bridge than it went

down with them and they were drowned. Sayen was again free. He took

his spear and his shield and head-ax and went at once to the town of

Danepan, and there he began killing the people on all sides.

Terror spread through the town. No one could stop his terrible work

of destruction until Danepan came down out of her house, and begged

him to spare part of the people that she might have some from whom to

borrow fire. [71] Her great beauty amazed him and he ceased killing,

and asked her to prepare some betel-nut for him to chew, as he was

very tired. She did so, and when he had chewed the nut he spat on

the people he had killed and they came to life again. Then he married

Danepan and took her to his home.

Now it happened about this time that the people of Magosang were

in great trouble. At the end of a successful hunt, while they were

dividing the meat among themselves, the Komow, [72] a murderous spirit

that looks like a man, would come to them and ask how many they had

caught. If they answered, "Two," then he would say that he had caught

two also; and when they went home, they would find two people in the

town dead. As often as they went to hunt the Komow did this, and many

of the people of Magosang were dead and those living were in great

fear. Finally they heard of the brave man, Sayen, and they begged

him to help them. Sayen listened to all they told, and then said:

"I will go with you to hunt, and while you are dividing the meat,

I will hide behind the trees. When the Komow comes to ask how many

deer you have, he will smell me, but you must say that you do not

know where I am,"

So the people went to hunt, and when they had killed two deer, they

singed them over a fire and began to divide them. Just then the Komow

arrived and said:

"How many have you?"

"We have two," replied the people.

"I have two also," said the Komow, "but I smell Sayen."

"We do not know where Sayen is," answered the people; and just then he

sprang out and killed the Komow, and the people were greatly relieved.

Now when Kaboniyan, [73] a great spirit, heard what Sayen had done,

he went to him and said:

"Sayen you are a brave man because you have killed the Komow, Tomorrow

I will fight with you. You must remain on the low ground by the river,

and I will go to the hill above."

So the following day Sayen went to the low ground by the river. He

had not waited long before he heard a great sound like a storm, and

he knew that Kaboniyan was coming. He looked up, and there stood the

great warrior, poising his spear which was as large as a big tree.

"Are you brave, Sayen?" called he in a voice like thunder as he threw

the weapon.

"Yes," answered Sayen, and he caught the spear.

This surprised Kaboniyan, and he threw his head-ax which was as large

as the roof of a house, and Sayen caught that also. Then Kaboniyan

saw that this was indeed a brave man, and he went down to Sayen and

they fought face to face until both were tired, but neither could

overcome the other.

When Kaboniyan saw that in Sayen he had found one as strong and brave

even as himself, he proposed that they go together to fight the people

of different towns. And they started out at once. Many people were

killed by this strong pair, and why they themselves could never be

captured was a great mystery. For it was not known that one was the

spirit Kaboniyan, and the other the son of an Alan.

If he was surrounded in a river, Sayen would become a fish [74]

and hide so that people could not find him. And if he was entrapped

in a town, he would become a chicken and go under the house in a

chicken-coop. In this way he escaped many times.

Finally one night after he had killed many in one town, the

people decided to watch him, and they saw him go to roost with the

chickens. The next day they placed a fish trap under the house near

the chicken-coop, and that night when Sayen went under the house he

was caught in the trap and killed.

The Story of the Tikgi

2009-02-25T16:46:00.001-08:00

_Tinguian_

"Tikgi, tikgi, tikgi, we will come to work for you. Let us cut

your rice."

Ligi [65] had gone to the field to look at his growing rice, but when

he heard this sound he looked up and was surprised to see some birds

circling above and calling to him.

"Why, you cannot cut rice," said Ligi. "You are birds and know only

how to fly."

But the birds insisted that they knew how to cut rice; so finally he

told them to come again when the grain was ripe, and they flew away.

No sooner had the birds gone than Ligi was filled with a great desire

to see them again. As he went home he wished over and over that his

rice were ready to cut. As soon as Ligi left the field the tikgi birds

began using magic so that the rice grew rapidly, and five days later

when he returned he found the birds there ready to cut the ripened

grain. Ligi showed them where to begin cutting, and then he left them.

When he was out of sight, the tikgi said to the rice cutters:

"Rice cutters, you cut the rice alone." And to the bands which were

lying nearby they said: "Bands, you tie into bundles the rice which

the cutters cut"

And the rice cutters and the bands worked alone, doing as they

were told.

When Ligi went again to the field in the afternoon, the tikgi said:

"Come, Ligi, and see what we have done, for we want to go home now."

Ligi was amazed, for he saw five hundred bundles of rice cut. And

he said:

"Oh, Tikgi, take all the rice you wish in payment, for I am very

grateful to you."

Then the tikgi each took one head of rice, saying it was all they

could carry, and they flew away.

The next morning when Ligi reached the field, he found the birds

already there and he said:

"Now, Tikgi, cut the rice as fast as you can, for when it is finished

I will make a ceremony for the spirits, and you must come."

"Yes," replied the tikgi, "and now we shall begin the work, but you

do not need to stay here."

So Ligi went home and built a rice granary to hold his grain, and when

he returned to the field the rice was all cut. Then the tikgi said:

"We have cut all your rice, Ligi, so give us our pay, and when you

go home the rice will all be in your granary."

Ligi wondered at this, and when he reached home and saw that his

granary was full of rice, he doubted if the tikgi could be real birds.

Not long after this Ligi invited all his relatives from the different

towns to help him make the ceremony for the spirits. [66] As soon

as the people arrived, the tikgi came also; and they flew over the

people's heads and made them drink basi until they were drunk. Then

they said to Ligi:

"We are going home now; it is not good for us to stay here, for we

cannot sit among the people."

When they started home Ligi followed them until they came to the

bana-asi tree, and here he saw them take off their feathers and put

them in the rice granary. Then suddenly they became one beautiful

maiden.

"Are you not the tikgi who came to cut my rice?" asked Ligi. "You

look to me like a beautiful maiden."

"Yes," she replied; "I became tikgi and cut rice for you, for otherwise

you would not have found me." Ligi took her back to his house where

the people were making the ceremony, and as soon as they saw her they

began chewing the magic betel-nuts to find who she might be.

The quid [67] of Ebang and her husband and that of the tikgi went

together, so they knew that she was their daughter who had disappeared

from their house one day long ago while they were in the fields. In

answer to their many questions, she told them that she had been in the

bana-asi tree, where Kaboniyan [68] had carried her, until the day that

she changed herself into the tikgi birds and went to the field of Ligi.

Ligi was very fond of the beautiful girl and he asked her parents if

he might marry her. They were very willing and decided on a price he

should pay. After the wedding all the people remained at his house,

feasting and dancing for three months.

The Story of Kanag

2009-02-25T16:45:00.002-08:00

_Tinguian_

When the rice [60] had grown tall and it was near the time for it to

ripen, Aponitolau and Aponibolinayen grew fearful lest the wild pigs

should break in and destroy all their crop, so they sent their son,

Kanag, to the field to guard the grain. Kanag willingly went to the

place, but when he found that the fences were all strong so that the

pigs could not get in, and he was left with nothing to do, life in the

little watch-house [61] grew lonely, and the boy became very unhappy.

Each day Aponitolau carried cooked rice and meat to his son in the

field, but Kanag could not eat and always bade his father hang it in

the watch-house until he should want it Each time Aponitolau found

the food of the day before still untouched, and he began to suspect

that the boy was unhappy at having to guard the grain. But he said

nothing of his fears to Aponibolinayen.

One day after his father had returned home, Kanag was so lonely that

he used his magical power and became a little bird and flew up into

the top of a tree. The next day when Aponitolau came to the field

he looked everywhere for his son, and when he could not find him

he called, and from the top of a bamboo tree a little bird answered

him. Realizing what had happened, the father was very sad and begged

his son to come back and be a boy again, but Kanag only answered:

"I would rather be a bird [62] and carry the messages of the spirits

to the people."

At last the father went home alone, and he and the boy's mother were

filled with grief that they had lost their son.

Some time after this, Aponitolau prepared to go out to fight. He

took his spear and shield and head-ax and started early one morning,

but when he reached the gate of the town, Kanag flew over him, giving

him a bad sign, so he turned back. The next morning he started again,

and this time the little bird gave him a good sign, and knowing that

nothing would injure him, he went on.

After a long journey he reached a hostile town where the people said

they were glad to see him, and added that because he was the first

of his people who had dared to enter their town they intended to keep

him there.

"Oh," said Aponitolau, "if you say that I cannot return home, call

all your people together and we will fight."

"You are very brave," answered his enemies, "if you wish to fight

us all."

And when the people had gathered together they laughed at him and said,

"Why, one of our fingers would fight you."

Nevertheless, Aponitolau prepared to fight, and when the bravest of the

enemy threw his spear and head-ax at him he jumped and escaped. They

noticed that he jumped very high, so they all ran at him, throwing

their spears and trying to kill him.

But Aponitolau caught all their weapons, and then while they were

unarmed he threw his own spear, and it flew about among them until

it had killed them all. Then he sent his head-ax, and it cut off all

the heads of the enemy; and he used magical power so that these heads

went to his home in Kadalayapan.

After that Aponitolau sat down by the gate of the town to rest,

and the little bird, flying over his head, called down:

"The sign that I gave you was good, Father, and you have killed all

your enemies."

"Yes," said the man, and as he started on the home-ward journey the

little bird always flew near him. When he reached home, he stuck the

heads around the town, [63] and commanded the people to go out all

over the world and invite everyone and especially the pretty girls

to come to a party in celebration of his victory.

The people came from all parts of the world, and while they played

on the gongs and danced, Aponitolau called to Kanag and said:

"Come down, my son; do not stay always in the tops of the trees. Come

and see the pretty girls and see which one you want to marry. Get

the golden cup and give them basi to drink."

But Kanag answered, "I would rather stay in the tops of the trees

and give the signs when anyone goes to fight."

Then the father and mother pleaded with him to become a boy once

more, begging his forgiveness and promising never again to send him

to guard the rice. But he would not listen to them, and only flew away.

Finding that they could not win him that way, Aponitolau and

Aponibolinayen called the spirit servants, and commanded them to

follow Kanag wherever he went, and to find a girl whom he would want

to marry. So the spirit servants went after him, and wherever he went

they followed.

By and by they stopped near a well, and there the spirit servants

used magic so that all the pretty girls nearby felt very hot; and

in the early morning, they came to the well to bathe. One among them

was so beautiful that she looked like a flame of fire [64] among the

betel-nut blossoms, and when the servants saw her washing her hair

they ran to Kanag and begged him to come and see her. At first he

would not listen to them, but after a while he flew into the top of

a betel-nut tree near by, and when he caught sight of her, he flew

into the tree above her head.

"But," said he to the servants, "what can I do if I become a man now,

for I have no clothes and no head-band?"

"Do not worry about that," said the spirit servants, "for we have

everything here for you."

So Kanag became a man and put on the clothes and head-band, and he

went to speak to the girl. He gave her betel-nut, and they chewed

together, and he said:

"My name is Kanag and I am the son of Aponitolau and Aponibolinayen."

Then the girl said: "My name is Dapilisan and I am the daughter of

Bangan and Dalonagan."

When Dapilisan went home Kanag followed her, and he told her parents

his name and how he had changed into a little bird. And when he had

finished he asked if he might marry their daughter. Bangan and his wife

were greatly pleased that Kanag wanted Dapilisan for his wife, but they

were afraid that his parents might object, so they sent a messenger

to invite Aponitolau and Aponibolinayen to come to visit them.

As soon as Kanag's parents heard that their son had become a man they

were very happy and started at once to go to him, carrying many fine

presents. Before arrangements for the wedding could be made, it was

necessary to decide on the price to be paid for the girl. A long

discussion took place. Bangan and Dalonagan finally said that the

spirit house must be filled nine times with different kinds of jars.

When this was done Dalonagan raised her eyebrows, and half of the

jars disappeared. Aponibolinayen used her magical power and the spirit

house was filled again, and then Dalonagan said to her:

"Now the web of the spider shall be put around the town and you must

put gold beads on it. If it does not break, Kanag may marry Dapilisan."

When Aponibolinayen had put the gold beads on the thread, Dalonagan

hung on it to see if it would hold. As it did not break, she declared

that the sign was good; and Kanag and Dapilisan were married.

Then the people played on the copper gongs, danced, and made merry

for a long time, and when they returned to their homes Kanag and his

bride went with Aponitolau and Aponibolinayen.

The Story of Dumalawi

2009-02-25T16:45:00.001-08:00

_Tinguian_

Aponitolau and Aponibolinayen had a son whose name was Dumalawi. [47]

When the son had become a young man, his father one day was very

angry with him, and tried to think of some way in which to destroy

him. The next morning he said to Dumalawi:

"Son, sharpen your knife, and we will go to the forest to cut some

bamboo."

So Dumalawi sharpened his knife and went with his father to the place

where the bamboo grew, and they cut many sticks and sharpened them

like spears at the end.

Dumalawi wondered why they made them thus, but when they had finished,

Aponitolau said:

"Now, Son, you throw them at me, so that we can see which is the

braver."

"No, Father," answered Dumalawi. "You throw first, if you want to

kill me."

So Aponitolau threw the bamboo sticks one by one at his son, but he

could not hit him. Then it was the son's turn to throw, but he said:

"No, I cannot. You are my father, and I do not want to kill you."

So they went home. But Dumalawi was very sorrowful, for he knew now

that his father wanted to destroy him. When his mother called him to

dinner he could not eat.

Although he had been unsuccessful in his first attempt, Aponitolau

did not give up the idea of getting rid of his son, and the next day

he said:

"Come, Dumalawi, we will go to our little house in the field [48]

and repair it, so that it will be a protection when the rainy season

sets in."

The father and son went together to the field, and when they reached

the little house, Aponitolau, pointing to a certain spot in the

ground, said:

"Dig there, and you will find a jar of basi [49] which I buried when

I was a boy. It will be very good to drink now."

Dumalawi dug up the jar and they tasted the wine, and it was

so pleasing to them that they drank three cocoanut shells full,

and Dumalawi became drunk. While his son lay asleep on the ground,

Aponitolau decided that this was a good time to destroy him, so he

used his magical power and there arose a great storm which picked up

Dumalawi in his sleep and carried him far away. And the father went

home alone.

Now when Dumalawi awoke, he was in the middle of a field so wide that

whichever way he looked, he could not see the end. There were neither

trees nor houses in the field and no living thing except himself. And

he felt a great loneliness.

By and by he used his magical power, and many betel-nuts grew in the

field, and when they bore fruit it was covered with gold,

"This is good," said Dumalawi, "for I will scatter these betel-nuts

and they shall become people, [50] who will be my neighbors."

So in the middle of the night he cut the gold-covered betel-nuts into

many small pieces which he scattered in all directions. And in the

early morning, when he awoke, he heard many people talking around

the house, and many roosters crowed. Then Dumalawi knew that he

had companions, and upon going out he walked about where the people

were warming themselves [51] by fires in their yards, and he visited

them all.

In one yard was a beautiful maiden, Dapilisan, and after Dumalawi

had talked with her and her parents, he went on to the other yards,

but she was ever in his thoughts. As soon as he had visited all the

people, he returned to the house of Dapilisan and asked her parents if

he might marry her. They were unwilling at first, for they feared that

the parents of Dumalawi might not like it; but after he had explained

that his father and mother did not want him, they gave their consent,

and Dapilisan became his bride.

Soon after the marriage they decided to perform a ceremony [52] for

the spirits. So Dapilisan sent for the betel-nuts which were covered

with gold, [53] and when they were brought to her, she said:

"You betel-nuts that are covered with gold, come here and oil

yourselves and go and invite all the people in the world to come to

our ceremony."

So the betel-nuts oiled themselves and went to invite the people in

the different towns.

Soon after this Aponibolinayen, the mother of Dumalawi, sat alone in

her house, still mourning the loss of her son, when suddenly she was

seized with a desire to chew betel-nut.

"What ails me?" she said to herself; "why do I want to chew? I had

not intended to eat anything while Dumalawi was away."

So saying, she took down her basket that hung on the wall, and saw in

it a betel-nut covered with gold, and when she was about to cut it,

it said:

"Do not cut me, for I have come to invite you to the ceremony which

Dumalawi and his wife are to make."

Aponibolinayen was very happy, for she knew now that her son still

lived, and she told all the people to wash their hair and prepare

to go to the rite. So they washed their clothes and their hair and

started for the home of Dumalawi; and Aponitolau, the father of the

boy, followed, but he looked like a crazy man. When the people reached

the river near the town, Dumalawi sent alligators to take them across,

but when Aponitolau got on the alligator's back it dived, and he was

thrown back upon the bank of the river. All the others were carried

safely over, and Aponitolau, who was left on the bank alone, shouted

as if crazy until Dumalawi sent another alligator to carry him across.

Then Dumalawi had food brought [54] and Dapilisan passed basi in

a little jar that looked like a fist, [55] and though each guest

drank a cupful of the sweet wine the little jar was still a third

full. After they had eaten and drunk, Aponibolinayen spoke, and,

telling all the people that she was glad to have Dapilisan for a

daughter-in-law, added:

"Now we are going to pay the marriage price [56] according to our

custom. We shall fill the spirit house [57] nine times with different

kinds of jars."

Then she called, "You spirits [58] who live in different springs, get

the jars which Dumalawi must pay as a marriage price for Dapilisan,"

The spirits did as they were commanded, and when they brought the

jars and had filled the spirit house nine times, Aponibolinayen said

to the parents of Dapilisan:

"I think that now we have paid the price for your daughter."

But Dalonagan, the mother of Dapilisan, was not satisfied, and said:

"No, there is still more to pay."

"Very well," replied Aponibolinayen. "Tell us what it is and we will

pay it."

Then Dalonagan called a pet spider and said:

"You big spider, go all around the town, and as you go spin a thread

[59] on which Aponibolinayen must string golden beads." So the spider

spun the thread and Aponibolinayen again called to the spirits of

the springs, and they brought golden beads which they strung on the

thread. Then Dalonagan hung on the thread, and when it did not break

she declared that the debt was all paid.

After this the people feasted and made merry, and when at last they

departed for home Dumalawi refused to go with his parents, but remained

with his wife in the town he had created.

The Story of Gaygayoma who Lives up Above

2009-02-25T16:44:00.002-08:00

_Tinguian_

One day, while Aponitolau sat weaving a basket under his house, he

began to feel very hungry and longed for something sweet to chew. Then

he remembered that his field was still unplanted. He called to his

wife who was in the room above, and said: "Come, Aponibolinayen,

let us go to the field and plant some sugar-cane."

So Aponibolinayen came down out of the house with a bamboo tube, [42]

and while she went to the spring to fill it with water, Aponitolau

made some cuttings, and they went together to the field, which was

some distance from the house.

Aponitolau loosened the earth with his long stick [43] and set out the

cuttings he had brought, while his wife sprinkled them with water from

the bamboo tube. And when they had filled the field, they returned

home, happy to think of the splendid cane they should have.

After seven days Aponitolau went back to the field to see if the

plants had lived, and he found that the leaves were already long and

pointed. This delighted him, and while he stood looking at it he grew

impatient and determined to use his magical power so that the cane

would grow very fast. In five days he again visited the field and

found that the stalks were tall and ready to chew. He hurried home

to tell Aponibolinayen how fast their plants had grown, and she was

proud of her powerful husband.

Now about this time Gaygayoma, who was the daughter of Bagbagak, a

big star, and Sinag, the moon, looked down from her home in the sky,

and when she saw the tall sugar-cane growing below, she was seized

with a desire to chew it. She called to her father, Bagbagak, and said:

"Oh, Father, please send the stars down to the earth to get some of

the sugar-cane that I see, for I must have it to chew."

So Bagbagak sent the stars down, and when they reached the bamboo fence

that was around the field they sprang over it, and each broke a stalk

of the cane and pulled some beans which Aponibolinayen had planted,

and the stems of these beans were of gold. Gaygayoma was delighted

with the things that the stars brought her. She cooked the beans with

the golden stems and spent long hours chewing the sweet cane. When

all that the stars brought was gone, however, she grew restless and

called to her father, the big star:

"Come, Father, and go with me to the place where the sugar-cane grows,

for I want to see it now."

Bagbagak called many stars to accompany him, and they all followed

Gaygayoma down to the place where the sugar-cane grew. Some sat

on the bamboo fence, while others went to the middle of the field,

and all ate as much as they wished.

The day following this, Aponitolau said to his wife:

"Aponibolinayen, I am going to the field to see if the bamboo fence

is strong, for the carabao will try to get in to eat our sugar-cane."

So he set out, and when he reached the field and began looking along

the fence to see if it was strong, he kept finding the stalks that

the stars had chewed, and he knew that someone had been there. He went

into the middle of the field, and there on the ground was a piece of

gold, and he said to himself:

"How strange this is! I believe some beautiful girl must have chewed

my cane. I will watch tonight, and maybe she will return for more."

As darkness came on he had no thought of returning home, but he made

his meal of the sugar-cane, and then hid in the tall grass near the

field to wait. By and by dazzling lights blinded his eyes, and when

he could see again he was startled to find many stars falling from

the sky, and soon he heard someone breaking the cane. Suddenly a star

so large that it looked like a flame of fire fell into the field,

and then a beautiful object near the fence took off her dress which

looked like a star, and she appeared like the half of the rainbow.

Never had Aponitolau seen such sights; and for a while he lay shaking

with fear.

"What shall I do?" he said to himself. "If I do not frighten these

companions of the beautiful girl, they may eat me."

With a great effort he jumped up and frightened the stars till they

all flew up, and when the pretty girl came looking for her dress she

found Aponitolau sitting on it. [44] "You must forgive us," she said,

"for your sugar-cane is very sweet, and we wanted some to chew."

"You are welcome to the sugar-cane," answered Aponitolau. "But now

we must tell our names according to our custom, for it is bad for us

to talk until we know each other's names."

Then he gave her some betel-nut and they chewed together, [45] and

he said:

"Now it is our custom to tell our names."

"Yes," said she; "but you tell first"

"My name is Aponitolau and I am the husband of Aponibolinayen."

"I am Gaygayoma, the daughter of Bagbagak and Sinag up in the air,"

said the girl. "And now, Aponitolau, even though you have a wife,

I am going to take you up to the sky, for I wish to marry you. If

you are not willing to go, I shall call my companion stars to eat you."

Aponitolau shook with fear, for he knew now that the woman was a

spirit; and as he dared not refuse, he promised to go with her. Soon

after that the stars dropped a basket that Gaygayoma had ordered them

to make, and Aponitolau stepped in with the lovely star and was drawn

quickly through the air up to the sky. They were met on their arrival

by a giant star whom Gaygayoma introduced as her father, and he told

Aponitolau that he had acted wisely in coming, for had he objected,

the other stars would have eaten him.

After Aponitolau had lived with the stars for some time, Gaygayoma

asked him to prick between her last two fingers, and as he did so a

beautiful baby boy popped out. They named him Takyayen, and he grew

very fast and was strong.

All this time Aponitolau had never forgotten Aponibolinayen who, he

knew, was searching for him on the earth, but he had been afraid to

mention her to the stars. When the boy was three months old, however,

he ventured to tell Gaygayoma of his wish to return to the earth.

At first she would not listen to him, but he pleaded so hard that

at last she consented to let him go for one moon [46]. If he did not

return at the end of that time, she said, she would send the stars to

eat him. Then she called for the basket again, and they were lowered

to the earth. There Aponitolau got out, but Gaygayoma and the baby

returned to the sky.

Aponibolinayen was filled with joy at the sight of her husband once

more, for she had believed him dead, and she was very thin from not

eating while he was away. Never did she tire of listening to his

stories of his life among the stars, and so happy was she to have

him again that when the time came for him to leave she refused to

let him go.

That night many stars came to the house. Some stood in the windows,

while others stayed outside by the walls; and they were so bright

that the house appeared to be on fire.

Aponitolau was greatly frightened, and he cried out to his wife:

"You have done wrong to keep me when I should have gone. I feared

that the stars would eat me if I did not obey their command, and now

they have come. Hide me, or they will get me."

But before Aponibolinayen could answer, Bagbagak himself called out:

"Do not hide from us, Aponitolau, for we know that you are in the

corner of the house. Come out or we shall eat you."

Trembling with fear, Aponitolau appeared, and when the stars asked

him if he was willing to go with them he dared not refuse.

Now Gaygayoma had grown very fond of Aponitolau, and she had commanded

the stars not to harm him if he was willing to return to her. So

when he gave his consent, they put him in the basket and flew away

with him, leaving Aponibolinayen very sad and lonely. After that

Aponitolau made many trips to the earth, but at Gaygayoma's command

he always returned to the sky to spend part of the time with her.

One day when Takyayen was a little boy, Aponitolau took him down to the

earth to see his half-brother, Kanag. The world was full of wonders to

the boy from the sky, and he wanted to stay there always. But after

some time while he and Kanag were playing out in the yard, big drops

of water began to fall on them. Kanag ran to his mother and cried:

"Oh, Mother, it is raining, and the sun is shining brightly!"

But Aponitolau, looking out, said, "No, they are the tears of

Gaygayoma, for she sees her son down below, and she weeps for him."

Then he took Takyayen back to his mother in the sky, and she was

happy again.

After that Takyayen was always glad when he was allowed to visit

the earth, but each time when his mother's tears began to fall,

he returned to her. When he was old enough, Aponitolau selected a

wife for him, and after that Takyayen always lived on the earth,

but Gaygayoma stayed in the sky.

Gawigawen of Adasen

2009-02-25T16:44:00.001-08:00

_Tinguian_

Aponibolinayen was sick with a headache, and she lay on a mat alone

in her house. Suddenly she remembered some fruit that she had heard

of but had never seen, and she said to herself, "Oh, I wish I had

some of the oranges of Gawigawen of Adasen."

Now Aponibolinayen did not realize that she had spoken aloud, but

Aponitolau, her husband, lying in the spirit house [30] outside,

heard her talking and asked what it was she said. Fearing to tell him

the truth lest he should risk his life in trying to get the oranges

for her, she said: "I wish I had some biw" (a fruit).

Aponitolau at once got up, and, taking a sack, went out to find some of

the fruit for his wife. When he returned with the sack full, she said:

"Put it on the bamboo hanger above the fire, and when my head is

better I will eat it."

So Aponitolau put the fruit on the hanger and returned to the spirit

house, but when Aponibolinayen tried to eat, the fruit made her sick

and she threw it away.

"What is the matter?" called Aponitolau as he heard her drop the fruit.

"I merely dropped one," she replied, and returned to her mat.

After a while Aponibolinayen again said:

"Oh, I wish I had some of the oranges of Gawigawen of Adasen," and

Aponitolau, who heard her from the spirit house, inquired:

"What is that you say?"

"I wish I had some fish eggs," answered his wife; for she did not

want him to know the truth.

Then Aponitolau took his net and went to the river, determined to

please his wife if possible. When he had caught a nice fish he opened

it with his knife and took out the eggs. Then he spat on the place

he had cut, and it was healed and the fish swam away. [31]

Pleased that he was able to gratify his wife's wishes, he hastened home

with the eggs; and while his wife was roasting them over the fire, he

returned to the spirit house. She tried to eat, but the eggs did not

taste good to her, and she threw them down under the house to the dogs.

"What is the matter?" called Aponitolau. "Why are the dogs barking?"

"I dropped some of the eggs," replied his wife, and she went back to

her mat.

By and by she again said:

"I wish I had some of the oranges of Gawigawen of Adasen."

But when her husband asked what she wished, she replied:

"I want a deer's liver to eat"

So Aponitolau took his dogs to the mountains, where they hunted until

they caught a deer, and when he had cut out its liver he spat on the

wound, and it was healed so that the deer ran away.

But Aponibolinayen could not eat the liver any more than she could the

fruit or the fish eggs; and when Aponitolau heard the dogs barking, he

knew that she had thrown it away. Then he grew suspicious and, changing

himself into a centipede, [32] hid in a crack in the floor. And when

his wife again wished for some of the oranges, he overheard her.

"Why did you not tell me the truth, Aponibolinayen?" he asked.

"Because," she replied, "no one Who has gone to Adasen has ever come

back, and I did not want you to risk your life."

Nevertheless Aponitolau determined to go for the oranges, and he

commanded his wife to bring him rice straw. After he had burned it he

put the ashes in the water with which he washed his hair. [33] Then

she brought cocoanut oil and rubbed his hair, and fetched a dark clout,

a fancy belt, and a head-band, and she baked cakes for him to take on

the journey. Aponitolau cut a vine [34] which he planted by the stove,

[35] and told his wife that if the leaves wilted she would know that

he was dead. Then he took his spear and head-ax [36] and started on

the long journey.

When Aponitolau arrived at the well of a giantess, all the betel-nut

trees bowed. Then the giantess shouted and all the world trembled. "How

strange," thought Aponitolau, "that all the world shakes when that

woman shouts." But he continued on his way without stopping.

As he passed the place of the old woman, Alokotan, she sent out her

little dog and it bit his leg.

"Do not proceed," said the old woman, "for ill luck awaits you. If

you go on, you will never return to your home."

But Aponitolau paid no attention to the old woman, and by and by he

came to the home of the lightning.

"Where are you going?" asked the lightning.

"I am going to get some oranges of Gawigawen of Adasen," replied

Aponitolau.

"Go stand on that high rock that I may see what your sign is,"

commanded the lightning.

So he stood on the high rock, but when the lightning flashed Aponitolau

dodged.

"Do not go," said the lightning, "for you have a bad sign, and you

will never come back."

Still Aponitolau did not heed.

Soon he arrived at the place of Silit (loud thunder), [37] who also

asked him:

"Where are you going, Aponitolau?"

"I am going to get oranges of Gawigawen of Adasen," he replied.

Then the thunder commanded:

"Stand on that high stone so that I can see if you have a good sign."

He stood on the high stone, and when the thunder made a loud noise

he jumped. Whereupon Silit also advised him not to go on.

In spite of all the warnings, Aponitolau continued his journey,

and upon coming to the ocean he used magical power, so that when he

stepped on his head-ax it sailed away, carrying him far across the

sea to the other side. Then after a short walk he came to a spring

where women were dipping water, and he asked what spring it was.

"This is the spring of Gawigawen of Adasen," replied the women. "And

who are you that you dare come here?"

Without replying he went on toward the town, but he found that he

could not go inside, for it was surrounded by a bank which reached

almost to the sky.

While he stood with bowed head pondering what he should do, the chief

of the spiders came up and asked why he was so sorrowful.

"I am sad," answered Aponitolau, "because I cannot climb up this bank."

Then the spider went to the top and spun a thread, [38] and upon this

Aponitolau climbed up into town.

Now Gawigawen was asleep in his spirit house, and when he awoke and

saw Aponitolau sitting near, he was surprised and ran toward his house

to get his spear and head-ax, but Aponitolau called to him, saying:

"Good morning, Cousin Gawigawen. Do not be angry; I only came to buy

some of your oranges for my wife."

Then Gawigawen took him to the house and brought a whole carabao [39]

for him to eat, and he said:

"If you cannot eat all the carabao, you cannot have the oranges for

your wife."

Aponitolau grew very sorrowful, for he knew that he could not eat all

the meat, but just at that moment the chief of the ants and flies

came to him and inquired what was the trouble. As soon as he was

told, the chief called all the ants and flies and they ate the whole

carabao. Aponitolau, greatly relieved, went then to Gawigawen and said:

"I have finished eating the food which you gave me."

Gawigawen was greatly surprised at this, and, leading the way to the

place where the oranges grew, he told Aponitolau to climb the tree

and get all he wanted.

As he was about to ascend the tree Aponitolau noticed that the branches

were sharp knives, so he went as carefully as he could. Nevertheless,

when he had secured two oranges, he stepped on one of the knives and

was cut. He quickly fastened the fruit to his spear, and immediately

it flew away straight to his town and into his house.

Aponibolinayen was just going down the bamboo ladder out of the house,

and hearing something drop on the floor she went back to look and found

the oranges from Adasen. She eagerly ate the fruit, rejoicing that

her husband had been able to reach the place where they grew. Then

she thought to look at the vine, whose leaves were wilted, and she

knew that her husband was dead.

Soon after this a son was born to Aponibolinayen, and she called his

name Kanag. He grew rapidly, becoming a strong lad, and he was the

bravest of all his companions. One day while Kanag was playing out

in the yard, he spun his top and it struck the garbage pot of an old

woman, who became very angry and cried:

"If you were a brave boy, you would get your father whom Gawigawen

killed."

Kanag ran to the house crying, and asked his mother what the old woman

meant, for he had never heard the story of his father's death. As

soon as he learned what had happened, the boy determined to search for

his father, and, try as she would, his mother could not dissuade him.

As he was departing through the gate of the town with his spear

and head-ax, Kanag struck his shield and it sounded like a thousand

warriors.

"How brave that boy is!" said the surprised people. "He is braver

even than his father."

When he reached the spring of the giantess, he again struck his shield

and shouted so that the whole world trembled. Then the giantess said:

"I believe that someone is going to fight, and he will have success."

As soon as Kanag reached the place where the old woman, Alokotan,

lived, she sent her dog after him, but with one blow of his head-ax

he cut off the dog's head. Then Alokotan asked where he was going,

and when he had told her, she said:

"Your father is dead, but I believe that you will find him, for you

have a good sign."

He hurried on and arrived at the place where lightning was, and

it asked:

"Where are you going, little boy?"

"I am going to Adasen to get my father," answered Kanag.

"Go stand on that high rock that I may see what your sign is," said

the lightning.

So he stood on the high rock, and when the bright flash came he did

not move, and the lightning bade him hasten on, as he had a good sign.

The thunder, which saw him passing, also called to ask where he was

going, and it commanded him to stand on the high rock. And when the

thunder made a loud noise Kanag did not move, and it bade him go on,

as his sign was good.

The women of Adasen were at the spring of Gawigawen dipping water, when

suddenly they were startled by a great noise. They rose up, expecting

to see a thousand warriors coming near; but though they looked all

around they could see nothing but a young boy striking a shield.

"Good morning, women who are dipping water," said Kanag. "Tell

Gawigawen that he must prepare, for I am coming to fight him."

So all the women ran up to the town and told Gawigawen that a strange

boy was at the spring and he had come to fight.

"Go and tell him," said Gawigawen, "that if it is true that he is

brave, he will come into the town, if he can."

When Kanag reached the high bank outside the town, he jumped like

a flitting bird up the bank into the town and went straight to the

spirit house of Gawigawen. He noticed that the roofs of both the

dwelling and the spirit houses were of hair, and that around the town

were many heads, [40] and he pondered:

"This is why my father did not return. Gawigawen is a brave man,

but I will kill him."

As soon as Gawigawen saw him in the yard he said:

"How brave you are, little boy; why did you come here?"

"I came to get my father," answered Kanag; "for you kept him when

he came to get oranges for my mother. If you do not give him to me,

I will kill you."

Gawigawen laughed at this brave speech and said:

"Why, one of my fingers will fight you. You shall never go back to

your town, but you shall stay here and be like your father."

"We shall see," said Kanag. "Bring your arms and let us fight here

in the yard."

Gawigawen was beside himself with rage at this bold speech, and

he brought his spear and his head-ax which was as big as half the

sky. Kanag would not throw first, for he wanted to prove himself

brave, so Gawigawen took aim and threw his head-ax at the boy. Now

Kanag used magical power, so that he became an ant and was not hit

by the weapon. Gawigawen laughed loudly when he looked around and

could not see the boy, for he thought that he had been killed. Soon,

however, Kanag reappeared, standing on the head-ax, and Gawigawen,

more furious than ever, threw his spear. Again Kanag disappeared,

and Gawigawen was filled with surprise.

Then it was Kanag's turn and his spear went directly through the body

of the giant. He ran quickly and cut off five of the heads, [41] but

the sixth he spared until Gawigawen should have shown him his father.

As they went about the town together, Kanag found that the skin of his

father had been used for a drum-head. His hair decorated the house,

and his head was at the gate of the town, while his body was put

beneath the house. After he had gathered all the parts of the body

together, Kanag used magical power, and his father came to life.

"Who are you?" asked Aponitolau; "how long have I slept?"

"I am your son," said Kanag. "You were not asleep but dead, and here

is Gawigawen who kept you. Take my head-ax and cut off his remaining

head."

So Aponitolau took the head-ax, but when he struck Gawigawen it did

not injure him.

"What is the matter, Father?" asked Kanag; and taking the weapon he

cut off the sixth head of Gawigawen.

Then Kanag and his father used magic so that the spears and head-axes

flew about, killing all the people in the town, and the heads and

valuable things went to their home.

When Aponibolinayen saw all these come into her house, she ran to

look at the vine by the stove, and it was green and looked like a

jungle. Then she knew that her son was alive, and she was happy. And

when the father and son returned, all the relatives came to their house

for a great feast, and all were so happy that the whole world smiled.

Aponibolinayen

2009-02-25T16:43:00.002-08:00

_Tinguian_

The most beautiful girl in all the world was Aponibolinayen of

Nalpangan. Many young men had come to her brother, Aponibalagen,

to ask for her hand in marriage, but he had refused them all, for he

awaited one who possessed great power. Then it happened that the fame

of her beauty spread over all the world till it reached even to Adasen;

and in that place there lived a man of great power named Gawigawen.

Now Gawigawen, who was a handsome man, had sought among all the pretty

girls but never, until he heard of the great beauty of Aponibolinayen,

had he found one whom he wished to wed. Then he determined that she

should be his wife; and he begged his mother to help him win her. So

Dinawagen, the mother of Gawigawen, took her hat which looked like

a sunbeam and set out at once for Nalpangan; and when she arrived

there she was greeted by Ebang, the mother of the lovely maiden,

who presently began to prepare food for them. [16]

She put the pot over the fire, and when the water boiled she broke

up a stick and threw the pieces into the pot, and immediately they

became fish. Then she brought basi [17] in a large jar, and Dinawagen,

counting the notches in the rim, [18] perceived that the jar had been

handed down through nine generations. They ate and drank together,

and after they had finished the meal, Dinawagen told Aponibalagen of

her son's wishes, and asked if he was willing that his sister should

marry Gawigawen. Aponibalagen, who had heard of the power of the

suitor, at once gave his consent. And Dinawagen departed for home,

leaving a gold cup as an engagement present. [19]

Gawigawen was watching at the door of his house for his mother's

return, and when she told him of her success, he was so happy that

he asked all the people in the town to go with him the next day to

Nalpangan to arrange the amount he must pay for his bride. [20]

Now the people of Nalpangan wanted a great price for this girl

who was so beautiful, and the men of the two towns debated for a

long time before they could come to an agreement. Finally, however,

it was decided that Gawigawen should fill the spirit house eighteen

times with valuable things; and when he had done this, they were all

satisfied and went to the yard where they danced and beat on the copper

gongs. [21] All the pretty girls danced their best, and one who wore

big jars about her neck made more noise than the others as she danced,

and the jars sang "Kitol, kitol, kanitol; inka, inka, inkatol."

But when Aponibolinayen, the bride of Gawigawen, came down out of

the house to dance, the sunshine vanished, so beautiful was she;

and as she moved about, the river came up into the town, and striped

fish bit at her heels.

For three months the people remained here feasting and dancing, and

then early one morning they took Aponibolinayen to her new home in

Adasen. The trail that led from one town to the other had become very

beautiful in the meantime: the grass and trees glistened with bright

lights, and the waters of the tiny streams dazzled the eyes with their

brightness as Aponibolinayen waded across. When they reached the spring

of Gawigawen, they found that it, too, was more beautiful than ever

before. Each grain of sand had become a bead, and the place where the

women set their jars when they came to dip water had become a big dish.

Then said Aponibalagen to his people, "Go tell Gawigawen to bring an

old man, for I want to make a spring for Aponibolinayen."

So an old man was brought and Aponibalagen cut off his head and put

it in the ground, and sparkling water bubbled up. [22] The body he

made into a tree to shade his sister when she came to dip water,

and the drops of blood as they touched the ground were changed into

valuable beads. Even the path from the spring to the house was covered

with big plates, and everything was made beautiful for Aponibolinayen.

Now during all this time Aponibolinayen had kept her face covered so

that she had never seen her husband, for although he was a handsome

man, one of the pretty girls who was jealous of the bride had told

her that he had three noses, and she was afraid to look at him.

After her people had all returned to their homes, she grew very

unhappy, and when her mother-in-law commanded her to cook she had

to feel her way around, for she would not uncover her face. Finally

she became so sad that she determined to run away. One night when all

were asleep, she used magical power and changed herself into oil. [23]

Then she slid through the bamboo floor and made her escape without

anyone seeing her.

On and on she went until she came to the middle of the jungle, and

then she met a wild rooster who asked her where she was going.

"I am running away from my husband," replied Aponibolinayen, "for he

has three noses and I do not want to live with him."

"Oh," said the rooster, "some crazy person must have told you that. Do

not believe it. Gawigawen is a handsome man, for I have often seen

him when he comes here to snare chickens." [24]

But Aponibolinayen paid no heed to the rooster, and she went on

until she reached a big tree where perched a monkey, and he also

asked where she was going.

"I am running away from my husband," answered the girl, "for he has

three noses and I do not want to live with him."

"Oh, do not believe that," said the monkey. "Someone who told you

that must have wanted to marry him herself, for he is a handsome man."

Still Aponibolinayen went on until she came to the ocean, and then,

as she could go no farther, she sat down to rest. As she sat there

pondering what she should do, a carabao [25] came along, and thinking

that she would ride a while she climbed up on its back. No sooner had

she done so than the animal plunged into the water and swam with her

until they reached the other side of the great ocean.

There they came to a large orange tree, and the carabao told her to

eat some of the luscious fruit while he fed on the grass nearby. As

soon as he had left her, however, he ran straight to his master,

Kadayadawan, and told him of the beautiful girl.

Kadayadawan was very much interested and quickly combed his hair and

oiled it, put on his striped coat [26] and belt, and went with the

carabao to the orange tree. Aponibolinayen, looking down from her

place in the tree, was surprised to see a man coming with her friend,

the carabao, but as they drew near, she began talking with him, and

soon they became acquainted. Before long, Kadayadawan had persuaded

the girl to become his wife, and he took her to his home. From that

time every night his house looked as if it was on fire, because of

the beauty of his bride.

After they had been married for some time, Kadayadawan and

Aponibolinayen decided to make a ceremony [27] for the spirits, so

they called the magic betel-nuts [28] and oiled them and said to them,

"Go to all the towns and invite our relatives to come to the ceremony

which we shall make. If they do not want to come, then grow on their

knees until they are willing to attend."

So the betel-nuts started in different directions and one went to

Aponibalagen in Nalpangan and said,

"Kadayadawan is making a ceremony for the spirits, and I have come

to summon you to attend."

"We cannot go," said Aponibalagen, "for we are searching for my sister

who is lost"

"You must come," replied the betel-nut, "or I shall grow on your knee,"

"Grow on my pig," answered Aponibalagen; so the betel-nut went on to

the pig's back and grew into a tall tree, and it became so heavy that

the pig could not carry it, but squealed all the time.

Then Aponibalagen, seeing that he must obey, said to the betel-nut,

"Get off my pig, and we will go."

The betel-nut got off the pig's back, and the people started for the

ceremony. When they reached the river, Gawigawen was there waiting to

cross, for the magic nuts had forced him to go also. Then Kadayadawan,

seeing them, sent more betel-nuts to the river, and the people were

carried across by the nuts.

As soon as they reached the town the dancing began, and while Gawigawen

was dancing with Aponibolinayen he seized her and put her in his

belt. [29] Kadayadawan, who saw this, was so angry that he threw his

spear and killed Gawigawen. Then Aponibolinayen escaped and ran into

the house, and her husband brought his victim back to life, and asked

him why he had seized the wife of his host. Gawigawen explained that

she was his wife who had been lost, and the people were very much

surprised, for they had not recognized her at first.

Then all the people discussed what should be done to bring peace

between the two men, and it was finally decided that Kadayadawan must

pay both Aponibalagen and Gawigawen the price that was first demanded

for the beautiful girl.

After this was done all were happy; and the guardian spirit of

Kadayadawan gave them a golden house in which to live.

Aponibolinayen and the Sun

2009-02-25T16:43:00.001-08:00

_Tinguian_

One day Aponibolinayen and her sister-in-law went out to gather

greens. They walked to the woods to the place where the siksiklat grew,

for the tender leaves of this vine are very good to eat. Suddenly while

searching about in the underbrush, Aponibolinayen cried out with joy,

for she had found the vine, and she started to pick the leaves. Pull

as hard as she would, however, the leaves did not come loose, and all

at once the vine wound itself around her body and began carrying her

upward. [1]

Far up through the air she went until she reached the sky, and there

the vine set her down under a tree. Aponibolinayen was so surprised

to find herself in the sky that for some time she just sat and looked

around, and then, hearing a rooster crow, she arose to see if she

could find it. Not far from where she had sat was a beautiful spring

surrounded by tall betel-nut trees whose tops were pure gold. Rare

beads were the sands of the spring, and the place where the women set

their jars when they came to dip water was a large golden plate. As

Aponibolinayen stood admiring the beauties of this spring, she beheld

a small house nearby, and she was filled with fear lest the owner

should find her there. She looked about for some means of escape and

finally climbed to the top of a betel-nut tree and hid.

Now the owner of this house was Ini-init, [2] the Sun, but he was

never at home in the daylight, for it was his duty to shine in the

sky and give light to all the world. At the close of the day when

the Big Star took his place in the sky to shine through the night,

Ini-init returned to his house, but early the next morning he was

always off again.

From her place in the top of the betel-nut tree, Aponibolinayen saw

the Sun when he came home at evening time, and again the next morning

she saw him leave. When she was sure that he was out of sight she

climbed down and entered his dwelling, for she was very hungry. She

cooked rice, and into a pot of boiling water she dropped a stick

which immediately became fish, [3] so that she had all she wished to

eat. When she was no longer hungry, she lay down on the bed to sleep.

Now late in the afternoon Ini-init returned from his work and went

to fish in the river near his house, and he caught a big fish. While

he sat on the bank cleaning his catch, he happened to look up toward

his house and was startled to see that it appeared to be on fire. [4]

He hurried home, but when he reached the house he saw that it was

not burning at all, and he entered. On his bed he beheld what looked

like a flame of fire, but upon going closer he found that it was a

beautiful woman fast asleep.

Ini-init stood for some time wondering what he should do, and then

he decided to cook some food and invite this lovely creature to eat

with him. He put rice over the fire to boil and cut into pieces the

fish he had caught. The noise of this awakened Aponibolinayen, and

she slipped out of the house and back to the top of the betel-nut

tree. The Sun did not see her leave, and when the food was prepared

he called her, but the bed was empty and he had to eat alone. That

night Ini-init could not sleep well, for all the time he wondered who

the beautiful woman could be. The next morning, however, he rose as

usual and set forth to shine in the sky, for that was his work.

That day Aponibolinayen stole again to the house of the Sun and cooked

food, and when she returned to the betel-nut tree she left rice and

fish ready for the Sun when he came home. Late in the afternoon

Ini-init went into his home, and when he found pots of hot rice

and fish over the fire he was greatly troubled. After he had eaten

he walked a long time in the fresh air. "Perhaps it is done by the

lovely woman who looks like a flame of fire," he said. "If she comes

again I will try to catch her."

The next day the Sun shone in the sky as before, and when the afternoon

grew late he called to the Big Star to hurry to take his place, for he

was impatient to reach home. As he drew near the house he saw that it

again looked as if it was on fire. He crept quietly up the ladder, and

when he had reached the top he sprang in and shut the door behind him.

Aponibolinayen, who was cooking rice over the fire, was surprised and

angry that she had been caught; but the Sun gave her betel-nut [5]

which was covered with gold, and they chewed together and told each

other their names. Then Aponibolinayen took up the rice and fish,

and as they ate they talked together and became acquainted.

After some time Aponibolinayen and the Sun were married, and every

morning the Sun went to shine in the sky, and upon his return at night

he found his supper ready for him. He began to be troubled, however,

to know where the food came from, for though he brought home a fine

fish every night, Aponibolinayen always refused to cook it.

One night he watched her prepare their meal, and he saw that, instead

of using the nice fish he had brought, she only dropped a stick into

the pot of boiling water.

"Why do you try to cook a stick?" asked Ini-init in surprise.

"So that we can have fish to eat," answered his wife.

"If you cook that stick for a month, it will not be soft," said

Ini-init. "Take this fish that I caught in the net, for it will

be good."

But Aponibolinayen only laughed at him, and when they were ready to

eat she took the cover off the pot and there was plenty of nice soft

fish. The next night and the next, Aponibolinayen cooked the stick,

and Ini-init became greatly troubled for he saw that though the stick

always supplied them with fish, it never grew smaller.

Finally he asked Aponibolinayen again why it was that she cooked the

stick instead of the fish he brought, and she said:

"Do you not know of the woman on earth who has magical power and can

change things?"

"Yes," answered the Sun, "and now I know that you have great power."

"Well, then," said his wife, "do not ask again why I cook the stick."

And they ate their supper of rice and the fish which the stick made.

One night not long after this Aponibolinayen told her husband that

she wanted to go with him the next day when he made light in the sky.

"Oh, no, you cannot," said the Sun, "for it is very hot up there,

[6] and you cannot stand the heat."

"We will take many blankets and pillows," said the woman, "and when

the heat becomes very great, I will hide under them."

Again and again Ini-init begged her not to go, but as often she

insisted on accompanying him, and early in the morning they set out,

carrying with them many blankets and pillows.

First, they went to the East, and as soon as they arrived the Sun began

to shine, and Aponibolinayen was with him. They traveled toward the

West, but when morning had passed into noontime and they had reached

the middle of the sky Aponibolinayen was so hot that she melted and

became oil. Then Ini-init put her into a bottle and wrapped her in

the blankets and pillows and dropped her down to earth.

Now one of the women of Aponibolinayen's town was at the spring dipping

water when she heard something fall near her. Turning to look, she

beheld a bundle of beautiful blankets and pillows which she began to

unroll, and inside she found the most beautiful woman she had ever

seen. Frightened at her discovery, the woman ran as fast as she could

to the town, where she called the people together and told them to

come at once to the spring. They all hastened to the spot and there

they found Aponibolinayen for whom they had been searching everywhere.

"Where have you been?" asked her father; "we have searched all over

the world and we could not find you.'

"I have come from Pindayan," answered Aponibolinayen. "Enemies of

our people kept me there till I made my escape while they were asleep

at night"

All were filled with joy that the lost one had returned, and they

decided that at the next moon [7] they would perform a ceremony for

the spirits [8] and invite all the relatives who were mourning for

Aponibolinayen.

So they began to prepare for the ceremony, and while they were

pounding rice, Aponibolinayen asked her mother to prick her little

finger where it itched, and as she did so a beautiful baby boy popped

out. The people were very much surprised at this, and they noticed

that every time he was bathed the baby grew very fast so that, in

a short time, he was able to walk. Then they were anxious to know

who was the husband of Aponibolinayen, but she would not tell them,

and they decided to invite everyone in the world to the ceremony that

they might not overlook him.

They sent for the betel-nuts that were covered with gold, [9] and

when they had oiled them they commanded them to go to all the towns

and compel the people to come to the ceremony.

"If anyone refuses to come, grow on his knee," said the people,

and the betel-nuts departed to do as they were bidden.

As the guests began to arrive, the people watched carefully for one

who might be the husband of Aponibolinayen, but none appeared and they

were greatly troubled. Finally they went to the old woman, Alokotan,

who was able to talk with the spirits, and begged her to find what town

had not been visited by the betel-nuts which had been sent to invite

the people. After she had consulted the spirits the old woman said:

"You have invited all the people except Ini-init who lives up

above. Now you must send a betel-nut to summon him. It may be that

he is the husband of Aponibolinayen, for the siksiklat vine carried

her up when she went to gather greens."

So a betel-nut was called and bidden to summon Ini-init.

The betel-nut went up to the Sun, who was in his house, and said:

"Good morning, Sun. I have come to summon you to a ceremony which the

father and mother of Aponibolinayen are making for the spirits. If

you do not want to go, I will grow on your head." [10]

"Grow on my head," said the Sun. "I do not wish to go."

So the betel-nut jumped upon his head and grew until it became so

tall that the Sun was not able to carry it, and he was in great pain.

"Oh, grow on my pig," begged the Sun. So the betel-nut jumped upon

the pig's head and grew, but it was so heavy that the pig could not

carry it and squealed all the time. At last the Sun saw that he would

have to obey the summons, and he said to the betel-nut:

"Get off my pig and I will go."

So Ini-init came to the ceremony, and as soon as Aponibolinayen and the

baby saw him, they were very happy and ran to meet him. Then the people

knew that this was the husband of Aponibolinayen, and they waited

eagerly for him to come up to them. As he drew near, however, they saw

that he did not walk, for he was round; and then they perceived that

he was not a man but a large stone. All her relatives were very angry

to find that Aponibolinayen had married a stone; and they compelled

her to take off her beads [11] and her good clothes, for, they said,

she must now dress in old clothes and go again to live with the stone.

So Aponibolinayen put on the rags that they brought her and at once

set out with the stone for his home. No sooner had they arrived there,

however, than he became a handsome man, and they were very happy.

"In one moon," said the Sun, "we will make a ceremony for the spirits,

and I will pay your father and mother the marriage price [12] for you."

This pleased Aponibolinayen very much, and they used magic so that

they had many neighbors who came to pound rice [13] for them and to

build a large spirit house. [14]

Then they sent oiled betel-nuts to summon their relatives to the

ceremony. The father of Aponibolinayen did not want to go, but

the betel-nut threatened to grow on his knee if he did not. So he

commanded all the people in the town to wash their hair and their

clothes, and when all was ready they set out.

When they reached the town they were greatly surprised to find that

the stone had become a man, and they chewed the magic betel-nuts to

see who he might be. It was discovered that he was the son of a couple

in Aponibolinayen's own town, and the people all rejoiced that this

couple had found the son whom they had thought lost. They named him

Aponitolau, and his parents paid the marriage price for his wife--the

spirit house nine times full of valuable jars. [15]

After that all danced and made merry for one moon, and when the people

departed for their homes Ini-init and his wife went with them to live

on the earth.

The Adventures of Juan

2009-02-22T22:41:00.000-08:00

Juan was lazy, Juan was a fool, and his mother never tired of scolding

him and emphasizing her words by a beating. When Juan went to school

he made more noise at his study than anybody else, but his reading

was only gibberish.

His mother sent him to town to buy meat to eat with the boiled rice,

and he bought a live crab which he set down in the road and told to

go to his mother and be cooked for dinner. The crab promised, but as

soon as Juan's back was turned ran in the other direction.

Juan went home after a while and asked for the crab, but there was

none, and they ate their rice without ulam. [12] His mother then

went herself and left Juan to care for the baby. The baby cried and

Juan examined it to find the cause, and found the soft spot on its

head. "Aha! It has a boil. No wonder it cries!" And he stuck a knife

into the soft spot, and the baby stopped crying. When his mother came

back, Juan told her about the boil and that the baby was now asleep,

but the mother said it was dead, and she beat Juan again.

Then she told Juan that if he could do nothing else he could at least

cut firewood, so she gave him a bolo and sent him to the woods.

He found what looked to him like a good tree and prepared to cut it,

but the tree was a magic tree and said to Juan, "Do not cut me and I

will give you a goat that shakes silver money from its whiskers." Juan

agreed, and the bark of the tree opened and the goat came out, and

when Juan told him to shake his whiskers, money dropped out. Juan was

very glad, for at last he had something he would not be beaten for. On

his way home he met a friend, and told him of his good fortune. The

man made him dead drunk and substituted another goat which had not

the ability to shake money from its whiskers, and when the new goat

was tried at home poor Juan was beaten and scolded.

Back he went to the tree, which he threatened to cut down for lying

to him, but the tree said, "No, do not kill me and I will give you

a magic net which you may cast even on dry ground or into a tree-top

and it will return full of fish," and the tree did even so.

Again he met the friend, again he drank tuba [13] until he was dead

drunk, and again a worthless thing was substituted, and on reaching

home he was beaten and scolded.

Once more Juan went to the magic tree, and this time he received a

magic pot, always full of rice; and spoons always full of whatever

ulam might be wished, and these went the way of the other gifts,

to the false friend.

The fourth time he asked of the tree he was given a magic stick

that would without hands beat and kill anything that the owner

wished. "Only say to it 'Boombye, boomba,' and it will obey your word,"

said the tree.

When Juan met the false friend again, the false friend asked him what

gift he had this time. "It is only a stick that if I say, 'Boombye,

boomba,' will beat you to death," said Juan, and with that the stick

leaped from his hand and began to belabor the wicked man. "Lintic na

cahoy ito ay! [14] Stop it and I will give you everything I stole from

you." Juan ordered the stick to stop, but made the man, bruised and

sore, carry the net, the pot, and the spoons, and lead the goat to

Juan's home. There the goat shook silver from his beard till Juan's

three brothers and his mother had all they could carry, and they dined

from the pot and the magic spoons until they were full to their mouths.

"Now," said Juan, "you have beaten me and called me a fool all my life,

but you are not ashamed to take good things when I get them. I will

show you something else. Boombye, boomba!" and the stick began to

beat them all. Quickly they agreed that Juan was head of the house,

and he ordered the beating to stop.

Juan now became rich and respected, but he never trusted himself

far from his stick day or night. One night a hundred robbers came

to break into the house, to take all his goods, and kill him, but

he said to the stick, "Boombye, boomba!" and with the swiftness of

lightning the stick flew around, and all those struck fell dead till

there was not one left. Juan was never troubled again by robbers,

and in the end married a princess and lived happily ever after.

A Filipino (Tagalog) Version of Aladdin.

2009-02-22T22:33:00.002-08:00

Once on a time a poor boy and his mother went far from their home

city to seek their fortune. They were very poor, for the husband

and father had died, leaving them little, and that little was soon

spent. The boy went into the market-place to seek for work, and a

travelling merchant, seeing his distress, spoke to him and asked

many questions. When he had inquired the name of the boy's father,

he embraced him with many kind words, and told him that he was the

father's long-lost brother, and that as he had no children of his

own the boy should be his heir and for the present live with him

as his son. He sent the boy to call his mother, and when she came

he kissed her with many words of endearment, and would have it that

she was his sister-in-law, though she told him that her husband had

no brother. He treated her well and made her many presents, so that

she was forced to believe he really was her brother-in-law.

The merchant then invited the boy to go for a visit with him, promising

that the mother should soon follow. Mother and son consented, and

the merchant set off with his nephew in the afternoon. They went

far and came to a mountain which they crossed, and then to a second,

which seemed very high to the poor boy so that he begged to rest. The

man would not allow this, and when the boy cried, beat him till he

agreed to do whatever he was told. They crossed this mountain also,

and came to a third, and on the very top they stopped. The merchant

drew a ring from his own finger and put it on that of the boy. Then

he drew a circle around the boy and told him not to be frightened at

what would happen, but to stretch out his arms three times, and that

the third time the ground would open, and that then he must descend

and get a tabo [24] that he would find, and that with that in their

hands they could quickly return. The boy, from fear of the man, did

as he was told, and when the ground opened, went down into the cave

and got the tabo. As he reached up his hand to be pulled from the

cave, the man took the ring from his finger, and told him to hand

up the vessel, but the boy, now much frightened, refused unless he

were first helped out himself. That the man would not do, and after

much talk drew another circle around the cave-mouth, bade it close,

and left the boy a prisoner in most evil plight.

Alone and helpless for three days in the underground darkness,

the boy was a prey to awful fear, but at the end of the third day,

having by accident rubbed slightly the tabo with his hand, at once

a great sinio [25] or multo [26] stood before him, saying that he

was the slave of the tabo, and that all things earthly were within

his power. At once mindful of his mother, he told the multo to take

him home, and in the winking of an eye, still carrying the tabo in

his hand, he stood before his mother. He found her very hungry and

sorrowful, and recounted all that had happened and again rubbed the

tabo lightly. The multo reappeared and the good woman hid her face

for terror at the sight, but the lad bade the multo bring him a dinner

for them both on a service of silver with everything to match.

After they had dined well for several days on the remnants of the

food, the boy went to the market and sold the spoons that the multo

had brought for two gold pieces, and on that they lived a long time:

and as from time to time their money became exhausted, he sold more,

till at last there was nothing left. Then, as he had become a young

man, he required the multo to bring him a great chest of money,

and soon became known as a very rich and generous person.

Now there was in that city a woman who had a very handsome daughter

whom she wished to marry to the young man, and by way of opening the

matter, she and her daughter went one day to try to buy some of the

rich table ware which he had, or at least so they pretended. The young

man was not of a mind for that kind of alliance, and so told the old

woman to rub the magic vessel. She did so and the multo at once whisked

her inside. The daughter also went in to inquire for her mother, and

as she admiringly touched the tabo the multo made her prisoner, and the

two became the slaves of the young man and were never heard of again.

A variant of this tale has been printed in Tagalog. It has probably

reached the Phillppines through the medium of Spanish.

Fletcher Gardner.

Bloomington, Ind.

The Battle of the Enchanters

2009-02-22T22:33:00.001-08:00

There was once a poor boy who was very ambitious to learn, and with

the consent of his parents he bound himself to an enchanter who was

a very wise man. The boy remained with him for a very long time,

until at last his master sent him home, saying that he could teach

him nothing more. The boy went home, but there he found nothing in

the way of adventure, so he proposed to his father that he should

become a horse, which his father could sell for twenty pesos to his

late teacher. He cautioned his father that, as soon as he received

the money for the horse, he should drop the halter as if by accident.

The young man then became a horse, and his father took him to the

enchanter, who gave him twenty pesos. As soon as the money was in the

father's hand, he dropped the halter, and the horse at once became

a bird which flew away. The enchanter metamorphosed himself into a

hawk and followed. The bird was so hard pressed by the hawk that it

dived into the sea and became a fish. The hawk followed and became a

shark. The fish, being in danger from the shark, leaped out on to the

dry ground and took the shape of a crab, which hid in a spring where

a princess was bathing. The shark followed in the shape of a cat,

which began to search under the stones for the crab, but the crab

escaped by changing itself into a ring on the finger of the princess.

Now it chanced that the father of the princess was very sick, and

the enchanter went to the palace and offered to cure him for the

ring on the finger of the princess. To this the king agreed, but the

ring begged the princess not to give him directly to the enchanter,

but to let him fall on the floor. The princess did this, and as the

ring touched the floor it broke into a shower of rice. The enchanter

immediately took the form of a cock and industriously pecked at the

grains on the floor. But as he pecked, one of the grains changed to

a cat which jumped on him and killed him.

The young man then resumed his own form, having proven himself a

greater man than his master.

Fletcher Gardner.

Bloomington, Ind.

Hidden Treasure

2009-02-22T22:32:00.000-08:00

There were once a husband and his wife who were very poor. They had

a little plot of ground that helped to sustain them, but as the man

was sick the woman went to work alone.

As she was weeding in the fields she found a malapad, [20] and after

a little she found another, and so on until she had a sec-apat. [21]

With this she returned home and bought rice, but she was afraid to

tell her husband lest he be jealous.

The next day she went to work and on this day she found a silver

peso. As she reached the edge of the field a voice spoke to her saying,

"Tell no one of your good fortune, not even your husband, and you shall

have more treasure." Afterwards she went to the field, and daily she

found a peso until she had five pesos, which she hid in a safe place.

On the seventh day she went to the field, but found nothing. She went

to the edge of the field to boil her rice, and was blowing her fire

when she heard the same voice again saying, "Never mind boiling your

rice, but dig there under your pallok, [22] and you will find more

than enough. Tell no one, not even your husband, of what you find." She

dug down and there she found a great jar filled to the brim with gold

pieces. She took one or two, and hastily covered up the rest and went

home. Like a good wife she disliked to keep a secret from her husband,

and finally she took him off to a quiet place and told him of their

good fortune.

He, overjoyed, could not restrain himself and went into the village

and told every one of the treasure trove. Then they went to dig it up,

but it was no longer there. Even the gold and the five pesos already

saved and hid in another secret place were gone, and they were as

poor as they had been before.

How foolish they were to disobey the command of the voice!

The King, the Princess, and the Poor Boy

2009-02-22T22:31:00.002-08:00

There was once a king who loved his daughter very much, so much in

fact that he did not wish her to marry; so he built for her a secret

house or vault under the ground, and there he kept her away from all

but her parents and her maid servants.

There was also an old man in the same city who had a son. The old man

said to his son, "Come, lad, let us go into the country and plant crops

that we may live," for they were very poor. After they had worked a

short time in the country, the old man died and the boy returned to

the king's city and then went up and down the street crying, "Oh! who

will buy me for a slave, that I may bury my father?" A kind-hearted

rich man saw him and inquired his troubles, and the boy told him that

he was greatly grieved because his father was dead and he had no money

for the funeral. The rich man told him not to grieve, that his father

would be buried with all the ceremonies given to any one. After the

funeral the boy went to live with the rich man as his servant, and

served him faithfully; so faithfully, indeed, that the rich man, who

was childless, adopted him and gave him every advantage of education.

One day the boy wrote a sentence and placed it in the window, "You may

hide your treasure with every care, and watch it well, but it will be

spent at last." Now the boy had no idea of any hidden meaning in this

sentence, but the king chanced to pass that way and read it. Angrily

he called the rich man to his carriage, and demanded of him what

it meant. "I do not know, most exalted king," said the rich man,

"I have only now seen it. It must have been written by a poor boy to

whom I have given shelter since his father died." "Drive him away,"

said the king; "if he comes back he shall be put to death."

So the rich man with a heavy heart, for he loved the boy, sent him

out into the world. The boy wandered far and long, till at last he

came to a house. He called out to those within, "Honorable people,"

and heard them answer, "Come in." Inside there was no one but only

two statues, and one of these spoke, bidding him return to his own

town and beg of his master princely clothing, a princely carriage,

all gilt, and a music box that could play many tunes.

So the poor boy returned to his master, who sent for the tradesmen

and tailors and had them make all manner of princely clothing.

Then he got into his carriage and drove around for a while, till

he met a boy. To the boy he gave the music box and a piece of money

and told him to play it everywhere but to sell it to nobody, and to

report to him if any one wanted it. So the boy got into the carriage

and took the music box with him, while the poor boy went back to the

rich man's house.

Soon the king saw the beautiful carriage and heard the sweet music of

the music box. The king asked the boy who the owner was, and wished

to buy them. The boy told the king that he must tell his employer,

and soon the carriage and the music box were sent to the king for

a present.

The king was much pleased, for he knew the princess would be delighted,

so he had the carriage and the music box taken into her vault, and

played on the music box a long time. After he had gone, out stepped

the poor boy from a secret compartment of the carriage, and knelt

before her telling his love in gentle tones. She listened to him,

much frightened at first, but later more composedly, till at last

she gave him her heart and promised him her hand.

When the king came in again he found them sitting holding each other's

hands. He demanded in a loud voice, "Who are you? Why are you here? How

did you come?" To this the boy modestly replied, saying that he had

come concealed in the carriage, and told the king that "You may hide

your treasure with every care, and watch it well, but it will be spent

at last." But the princess entreated for him, and finally the king

gave his consent to their marriage, and they lived happily ever after.

Tagalog Babes in the Woods.

2009-02-22T22:31:00.001-08:00

Once upon a time there was a cruel father who hated his twin children,

Juan and Maria, and drove them from the house on every occasion.

The children used to live on the grains of rice that fell through

the bamboo floor, and such food as their mother could smuggle to them.

At last, when they were about six years old, their father took them

off into the forest and left them without food or drink. They wandered

for three days, being preserved by such fruits and leaves as they

could gather.

Finally poor Maria said she could go no farther, but that she would

die. Juan cut a mountain bamboo and from its hollow joints gave Maria

a refreshing drink. Then he climbed a tree and in the distance saw

a house. After much exertion they reached it and called out, "Tauo

po." [19] A voice from within said, "Come in, children." They went in

and found a table set, but no one was there, though the same voice

said, "Eat and drink all you want." They did so, and after saying,

"Thank you, good-by," they started to go away, but again they were

bidden to stay. So they stayed on for a long time until Juan was a

young man and Maria a young woman. From a great chest that stood in

the corner they took out new clothing as their old wore out, and the

chest was never empty, and there was always food in the magic dishes

on the table.

The Child Saint

2009-02-22T22:30:00.001-08:00

Once there was a child who was different from other children. She

was very quiet and patient, and never spoke unless she was spoken

to. Her mother used to urge her to play in the streets with the other

children, but she always preferred to sit in the corner quietly and

without trouble to any one. When the time came for the child to enter

school, she begged her mother to get her a book of doctrines and let

her learn at home. So her mother got a book of doctrines for her,

and she was able to read at once without being taught. Day after day

she sat in the corner reading her books and meditating.

When she became a little larger she asked to have a little room built

away from the house, where she might remain free from the intrusion

of any earthly thought.

Her mother had this done, and there in the tight little room with no

one to see her she sat. She never tasted the food or drink placed at

her door, and finally her mother, becoming alarmed, made a tiny hole

and peeped through the wall. There sat the child reading her book,

with a huge man standing beside her, and all manner of beasts and

serpents filling the little room.

More frightened than ever, the mother ran to the priest, who told

her that those were devils tempting the child, but not to fear, for

she would certainly become a saint. And it was so, for afterwards the

evil shapes were gone. Then the priest and the people built a costly

shrine and placed her in it, and there the people used to go and ask

her to intercede for them. But at last the shrine was found empty,

and surely she was taken alive into heaven and is now a saint.

The Queen and the Aeta Woman

2009-02-22T22:29:00.000-08:00

There was once a king who was sick unto death. Though he was already

married to a beautiful and charming woman, he promised to marry any

woman who could save his life or recall him after death. Then he died

and after his death the queen was superintending the preparations

for burial and getting ready the collation for the mourners. While

she was busy, an Aeta (Negrito) woman, black, ill-favored, dirty,

and smelling like a goat went into the room. Kneeling by the body,

she began pulling out pins from the flesh, and soon the king awoke,

but his mind was lost. He clasped the Aeta woman to him and showered

on her terms of endearment, thinking that she was the queen, while

all the time the real queen was without.

Seeing how matters stood, the Aeta woman called the queen, "Maria,

Maria, bring food for the king," and she forced the queen to obey

her and work as a slave in the kitchen, while she wore the queen's

robes and lay on the queen's couch. Of course this made a scandal,

but no one could interfere until at last a soldier passed through the

kitchen and seeing the queen's face red with the fire and noting her

beauty, he called the king's attention to her. Then the king remembered

Maria and that she was the real queen, and that the other was only a

hideous Aeta usurper, and he had the Aeta woman tied in a sack with

stones and thrown into the sea.

The Artificial Earthquake.

2009-02-22T22:28:00.002-08:00

There was once in another town a man who had three daughters, all very

beautiful. But one of them had an admirer, who by some means excited

the old man's wrath, and the daughter was sent to a distant place.

This in turn made the young man angry, and he determined to have

revenge. He took a strong rope and attached it to one of the corner

upright posts of the house, and waiting till it was dark and still

inside, he hid behind a tree and began to pull the rope, alternately

hauling and slacking.

"Oh!" said one of the girls, "there is an earthquake." [18]

The old man jumped up and, seizing his crucifix, began to recite

the prayers against earthquakes. But the trembling kept up. For more

than an hour the old man prayed to all the saints in the calendar,

but the earthquake still shook the house.

Then the earthquake stopped a moment, and a voice called him to

come outside. His daughters begged him not to go, for said they,

"You never can stand such a terrible earthquake." Taking his saw,

his axe, and his long bolo, the old man went down, only to find

everything quiet outside. He began to explore the surroundings of

the house to see if he could find the cause of the disturbance, and

fell over the rope. With that he began to curse and swear, saying,

"May lightning blast the one of ill-omened ancestry who has shaken

my house, frightened my family, and broken my bones," and many other

harsh things, but he got no answer but a laugh, and the young man

had his revenge.

The Story of Juan del Mundo de Austria and the Princess Maria.

2009-02-22T22:28:00.001-08:00

There was once a king who had three very beautiful daughters, Princess

Clara, Princess Catalina, and Princess Maria.

This king was sick for a long time with a dreadful disease, and

although he spent much money on medicines and doctors he was only

worse instead of better.

At last he sent word to all his people proclaiming that whoever would

cure him might have one of the princesses to marry.

After several days one of the heralds returned, saying he had met

a snake who inquired if the king would give his daughter to a snake

to wife if he were cured. The king called his daughters and asked if

they would be willing to marry a snake.

Said Princess Clara, "I will be stung by a snake till I am dead before

I give my virginity to a snake." Said Princess Catalina, "I may be

beaten to death with sticks, but I will not give my virginity to a

snake." Said Princess Maria, "Father, so you be but well, I care

not what becomes of me. If a snake can cure you, I am willing to

marry him."

So the king's message was carried to the snake, and the king was made

well. The snake and the princess were married, and set off through

the forest together. After a long journey they came to a house in the

forest, and there the snake and the beautiful Maria lived together

many days. But the snake, being very wise, saw that the princess ate

little and cried very much, and asked her why it was so. She told

him that it was hard for her to live with a snake. "Very well," said

the snake, and went into a house near by; after a little there came

out a handsome man with silken clothes, and rings on his fingers,

who told her that he was her husband, that he was known among men as

Don Juan del Mundo de Austria, and that he was king of all the beasts,

being able to take the form of any of them at will.

They passed many happy days together till the time came for the great

feast at the court of Princess Maria's father. Don Juan told her that

she might go, but that she must on no account tell his name or rank,

otherwise when she came to their trysting-place by the seashore she

would not find him. He gave her a magic ring by means of which she

might obtain anything she wanted, and left her close to her own city.

When she arrived at home her sisters were greatly surprised to see

her looking well, happy, and much more finely dressed than when she

went away, but her father was very glad to see her. The elder sisters

often asked her the secret of her husband's identity, but her answer

was always the same, "Did you not both see that I married a snake? Who

else could it be." The wicked women then determined to make her tell,

whether she wished or not, and so they asked her to walk with them

in a secluded garden.

Then they took sticks and set upon her, beating her and telling her

that she must tell who her husband was. The poor little princess

defended herself a long time, saying that if she told she would never

see him again, but finally, when she was nearly dead from beating,

she told them that her husband was Don Juan de Austria. Then she was

beaten for not telling the truth, but her tormentors finally desisted

and she went to her father and told him all.

He did not wish her to return to the forest and begged her to remain

with him, but she insisted.

When she arrived at the trysting-place, Don Juan was not there, but

she set out bravely, asking of her ring whatever she needed for food,

drink, and clothing. Wherever she went she inquired of the beasts

and birds the whereabouts of her husband, Don Juan de Austria, and,

when they knew who she was, they worshipped her and did all that

was required.

After many days of wandering she came to a place where there was a

giant, who was about to eat her, but when he knew her for Don Juan's

wife he worshipped her and sent her on her way. Soon she was found by

a young giantess who, too, was about to eat her, but when she learned

that Maria was the wife of Don Juan she carried her to her own house

and hid her, saying that she must be cared for a while until her

parents should return, for they might eat her without asking who she

was. When the old giant and his wife came back, they told her that

she must stay with them for a while, until they could find out about

the whereabouts of Don Juan, when they would help her further.

They were very good to her, for, said they, "Don Juan is not only

king of the animals but of the giants and monsters of every kind."

Then the giants took her to Don Juan's city and found her a place in

the house of an old childless couple, and there she made her home. But

Don Juan had taken another wife, the Lady Loriana, and the new wife saw

the old and desired her for a servant. So the Princess Maria became

a servant of her rival, and often sat in old rags under the stairs

at her work, while her faithless husband passed her without seeing her.

The poor girl was torn with jealousy and spent much time thinking

about how she might win her husband again. So she asked the ring for

a toy in the form of a beautiful little chick, just from the egg.

The Lady Loriana saw the pretty toy and begged for it. "No," said

Maria, "unless you grant me a little favor, that I may sleep on the

floor to-night in your room." So Loriana, suspecting no deceit, agreed.

That night Maria wished on her ring that Loriana might be overcome with

sleep, and again that her own rags might be transformed into royal

raiment and that her tiara should glitter on her forehead. Then she

went to the head of the bed and called Don Juan. At first he would

not answer, then, without turning to look at the speaker, he bade

her go away, as his wife would be angry. "But that is not your wife,

Don Juan," said Maria; "I am your true wife, Maria. Look at my dress

and the jewels on my forehead--my face, the ring on my finger." And

Don Juan saw that she was indeed the deserted wife, and after he had

heard the sad story of her wanderings he loved her afresh. The next day

at noon-time Maria was not to be found, although Dona Loriana looked

everywhere. At last she looked into Don Juan's room, and there, locked

in each other's arms fast asleep, were Don Juan and Princess Maria.

Loriana aroused them, angrily saying to Maria, "Why do you wish

to steal my husband? You must leave this house at once." But Maria

resisted saying, "No, he is not your husband but mine, and I will

not give him up." And so they quarrelled long and bitterly, but at

last agreed to be judged by the council.

There each told her story, and Maria showed Don Juan's enchanted ring,

which worked its wonders for her but would not obey the Lady Loriana.

When the matter was decided, it was the judgment of all, including

the Archbishop, that Maria was the lawful wife, but that she and Don

Juan must go away and never return.

So Don Juan and the Princess Maria went away and lived long and

happily.

The Priest, the Servant Boy, and the Child Jesus

2009-02-22T22:27:00.004-08:00

There was once a priest who had for his servant a very good boy. One

day the padre wanted the boy, and, after looking everywhere for him,

went to church. Opening the door quietly, he looked in and there he

saw that the statue of the child Jesus had left its shrine and was

down on the floor talking and playing with the boy. The priest slipped

softly away and ordered a very fine dinner cooked for the lad. When

the boy returned to the convent, the padre asked him where he had

been. "I have been down to the church playing with a friend." "Very

well, there is your dinner. If you play with your friend again, ask

him if I shall go to glory in heaven when I am dead." The boy took

his dinner to the church and ate, sharing it With the child Jesus.

"Tell me, friend," said he to his heavenly companion, "will my master,

the priest, go to glory in heaven?"

"No," said the child Jesus, "because he has neglected his father and

mother." When the boy carried these words to the priest he became

very sad, and asked the lad to inquire whether he might atone for his

wrong by doing good to other old people. "No," came the answer. "It

must be his father and mother who shall receive their dues, and it

may be that he shall enter heaven alive."

So the priest sent for his poor old father and mother, and lavished

on them every care, suffering no one else to do the least thing for

them. At last the old people died, and the priest was very sad. Then

one night, as he slept, came soft and very beautiful music around about

and within the convent, and the boy awoke the priest to listen. "Oh,"

said the padre, "it is perhaps the angels come to carry us alive to

heaven." And it was so. The angels carried the boy and the priest,

his master, to be in glory in heaven.

The Silent Lover

2009-02-22T22:27:00.003-08:00

A long time ago, when the world was young, there lived a very bashful

young man. Not far from his house there lived the most beautiful young

woman in the world. The young woman had many suitors but rejected all,

wishing only for the love of the bashful young man. He in his turn

was accustomed to follow her about, longing for courage to declare his

love, but bashfulness always sealed his lips. At last, despairing of

ever making his unruly tongue tell of his passion, he took a dagger

and, following her to the bathing place on the river bank, he cut

out his own heart, cast it at her feet, and fell down lifeless. The

girl fled, terrified, and a crow pounced upon the heart, and carried

it to a hollow dao-tree, when it fell from his beak into the hollow

and there remained. But the love for the girl was so strong in the

heart that it became reanimated and clothed again with humanity in the

form of a little child. A hunter, pursuing the wild boar with dogs,

found the child crying from hunger at the foot of the dao-tree and,

being childless, took it home, and he and his old wife cared for it

as their own. The young woman, knowing now the love of the young man,

lived for his memory's sake, a widow, rejecting all suitors.

But from the child was never absent the image of his loved one, and at

last his love so wrought on his weak frame that he sickened. Knowing

that his end was near, he begged of his foster mother that, after his

death, she should leave him, and not be surprised if she could not

find him on her return. He also asked that on the third day she should

take whatever she should find in a certain compartment of the great

chest and give it to the girl without price. All this she promised,

realizing fully that this was not a natural child.

At last he died, and when his foster mother left the body, his great

love reanimated the body and it crept into the chest, becoming there

transformed into a beautifully carved casket of fragrant wood.

Obedient to his wishes, on the third day the old woman carried the

casket to the girl, giving it to her without price.

When the girl took the casket into her hands, its charm fascinated

her, and she clasped it tight and covered it with kisses. At last the

spell was broken by the magic of her kisses, and the casket whispered

softly to her, "I am thy true love. I was the heart of him who killed

himself for love of thee, and I was the youth who died for love of

thee, but at last I am contented. In life and death we shall never

more be separated." And it was so, for the woman lived to a great

age, carrying the casket always with her, inhaling its fragrance [17]

with her kisses, and when she died it was buried with her.

The Covetous King and the Three Children

2009-02-22T22:27:00.001-08:00

There were once three orphan children, the oldest of whom was perhaps

ten years old, and the others but little things, almost babies. They

had a tiny little tumble-down house to live in, but very little to

eat. Said the eldest to his little brother and sister, "I will go

yonder on the sands laid bare by the falling tide, and it may be that

I shall find something that we can eat." The little children begged

to go, too, and they all set out over the sands. Soon they found

a large living shell. "Thanks be to God," said the boy, for he was

well instructed, "we shall have something to eat." "Take me home,

but do not cook me," said the shell, "and I will work for you." Now

this was probably the Holy Virgin herself, in the form of a shell,

who had taken pity on the poor children. They took the shell home,

and there it spoke again. "Put me into the rice pot, cover me up,

and you shall turn out plenty of boiled rice for all of you." And

they did so, and the boiled rice came from the pot. "Now put me

into the other pot, and take out ulam." And they took out ulam in

abundance. "Have you a clothes chest?" asked the shell; but there

was none, so they put it into a box, and the box became filled with

clothing. Then the shell filled the spare room with rice, and last

of all filled another large box with money.

Now the king of this city was a cruel man, and he sent for the children

and told them that they must give up their money, their rice and all

to him and be poor again. "O dear king," said the oldest child, "will

you not leave us a little for our living?" "No," replied the king,

"I will give you as much boiled rice as you need, and you ought to

be glad that you get it."

So the king sent ten soldiers to move the rice and the money, but,

as soon as they got it to the king's house, it returned to the

children. The soldiers worked a whole week without getting a grain

of rice or a piece of money to stay in the king's house. Then because

they were about to die from fatigue, the king sent ten more, and these

too failed. Then the king went himself, but when he tried to move

the money he fell down dead. The children, relieved from persecution,

lived long and happy lives and were always rich and influential people.

The Fifty-one Thieves

2009-02-22T22:26:00.001-08:00

There were once two brothers, Juan and Pedro. Pedro was rich and was

the elder, but Juan was very poor and gained his living by cutting

wood. Juan became so poor at last that he was forced to ask alms

from his brother, or what was only the same thing, a loan. After

much pleading, Pedro gave his brother enough rice for a single meal,

but repenting of such generosity, went and took it off the fire,

as his brother's wife was cooking it, and carried it home again.

Juan then set out for the woods, thinking he might be able to find

a few sticks that he could exchange for something to eat, and went

much farther than he was accustomed to go. He came to a road he did

not know and followed it for some distance to where it led to a great

rocky bluff and there came to an end.

Juan did not know exactly what to think of such an abrupt ending

to the roadway, and sat down behind a large rock to meditate. As he

sat there a voice within the cliff said, "Open the door," and a door

in the cliff opened itself. A man richly dressed came out, followed

by several others, whom he told that they were going to a town at a

considerable distance. He then said, "Shut the door," and the door

closed itself again.

Juan was not sure whether any one else was inside, but he was no

coward and besides he thought he might as well be murdered as starved

to death, so when the robbers had ridden away to a safe distance

without seeing him, he went boldly up to the cliff and said, "Open

the door." The door opened as obediently to him as to the robber,

and he went in. He found himself inside a great cavern filled with

money, jewels, and rich stuffs of every kind.

Hastily gathering more than enough gold and jewels to make him rich,

he went outside, not forgetting to say, "Close the door," and went

back to his house.

Having hidden all but a little of his new wealth, he wished to change

one or two of his gold pieces for silver so that he could buy something

to eat. He went to his brother's house to ask him for the favor,

but Pedro was not at home, and his wife, who was at least as mean as

Pedro, would not change the money. After a while Pedro came home, and

his wife told him that Juan had some money; and Pedro, hoping in turn

to gain some advantage, went to Juan's house and asked many questions

about the money. Juan told him that he had sold some wood in town and

had been paid in gold, but Pedro did not believe him and hid himself

under the house to listen. At night he heard Juan talking to his wife,

and found out the place and the password. Immediately taking three

horses to carry his spoils, he set out for the robbers' cave.

Once arrived, he went straight to the cliff and said, "Open the door,"

and the door opened immediately. He went inside and said, "Close the

door," and the door closed tight. He gathered together fifteen great

bags of money, each all he could lift, and carried them to the door

ready to put on the horses. He found all the rich food and wine of

the robbers in the cave, and could not resist the temptation to make

merry at their expense; so he ate their food and drank their fine

wines till he was foolishly drunk. When he had reached this state,

he began to think of returning home. Beating on the door with both

hands, he cried out, "Open, beast. Open, fool. May lightning blast

you if you do not open!" and a hundred other foolish things, but

never once saying, "Open the door."

While he was thus engaged, the robbers returned, and hearing them

coming he hid under a great pile of money with only his nose sticking

out. The robbers saw that some one had visited the cave in their

absence and hunted for the intruder till one of them discovered him

trembling under a heap of coin. With a shout they hauled him forth

and beat him until his flesh hung in ribbons. Then they split him into

halves and threw the body into the river, and cut his horses into bits,

[15] which they threw after him.

When Pedro did not return, his wife became anxious and told Juan

where he had gone. Juan stole quietly to the place by night, and

recovered the body, carried it home, and had the pieces sewn together

by the tailor.

Now the robbers knew that they had been robbed by some one else, and

so, when Pedro's body was taken away, the captain went to town to see

who had buried the body, and by inquiring, found that Juan had become

suddenly rich, and also that it was his brother who had been buried.

So the captain of the robbers went to Juan's house, where he found

a ball going on. Juan knew the captain again and that he was asking

many questions, so he made the captain welcome and gave him a great

deal to eat and drink. One of the servants came in and pretended

to admire the captain's sword till he got it into his own hands;

and then he began to give an exhibition of fencing, making the sword

whirl hither and thither and ending with a wonderful stroke that made

the captain's head roll on the floor.

A day or two later, the lieutenant also came to town, and began to make

inquiries concerning the captain. He soon found out that the captain

had been killed in Juan's house, but Juan now had soldiers on guard

at his door, so that it was necessary to use strategy. He went to

Juan and asked if he could start a "tienda," or wine-shop, and Juan,

who recognized the lieutenant, said, "Yes." Then the lieutenant went

away, soon returning with seven great casks, in each of which he had

seven men.

These he stored under Juan's house until such time as Juan, being

asleep, could be killed with certainty and little danger. When

this was done, he went into the house, intending to make Juan drunk

and then kill him as Juan had the captain. Juan, however, got the

lieutenant drunk first, and soon his head, like the captain's, rolled

on the floor.

The soldiers below, like all soldiers, wished to have a drink from

the great casks, and so one of them took a borer and bored into one of

the casks. As he did so, a voice whispered, "Is Juan asleep yet?" The

soldier replied, "Not yet," and went and told Juan. The casks by

his order were all put into a boat, loaded with stones and chains,

and thrown into the sea. So perished the last of the robbers.

Juan, being no longer in fear of the robbers, often went to their

cave, and helped himself to everything that he wanted. He finally

became a very great and wealthy man. [16]

The Sad Story of Juan and Maria

2009-02-22T22:25:00.002-08:00

Juan and Maria were orphans. When Juan was about eight years old and

Maria was about four their father died. The mother went into the hemp

fields to earn a living for her family by stripping the fibre from

the hemp, which is very hard work, so hard that she died worn out in

a month or two afterward.

Juan and Maria were then taken into the family of an uncle, their

mother's brother, and little Juan began to work for his little

sister's and his own living, by transplanting the tender shoots of

the banana. Maria often accompanied him, as the children were much

attached to each other. One day when they were out in the field Maria

saw a beautiful bird which seemed very tame and tried to catch it,

but the bird ran into the woods, and although she could come very

close to it she could not catch it. On and on she went until she

was almost ready to drop, her tiny feet leaving no trace, but still

she followed the bird. Just at night she saw an old man with a very

kind face, who came toward her, and putting the bird under one arm

and taking Maria on his shoulder, he set off toward his house, which

did not seem to be very far off. Arriving there he said to his wife,

"See, wife, what good fortune I have had today." Seeing the child,

his wife threw up her hands in thanksgiving and cried, "Thanks be to

God, we have a child at last in our old age."

Poor Juan, torn with fear, hunted the woods for days, but could not

find his little sister. Convinced at last that his search was hopeless,

he went home and worked hard and in a few years became a rich man. Then

he began to consider where he could find a suitable wife. It was told

him that there was an old couple beyond three ranges of mountains

who had a beautiful daughter, and to her he determined to go.

Maria had likewise grown up, and now she was the most beautiful

damsel in many days' journey. When Juan set out on his search, it

was to the house of Maria's foster parents that he was bound.

Arriving there, he called to those within, "Honorable people," and the

old man said, "Come in;" but Juan remained without until the third

invitation. Passing within, he likewise would not sit down till he

had been asked three times.

Seating himself on a bench, he told the old man that he had come to

marry his daughter, and the old man told him he might if he could show

that he had enough money. As Juan was rich, this did not take long

to do, and after a few days Juan and Maria were married, not knowing

their relationship. They lived happily together, and a daughter was

born to them. This child, like her mother, was very beautiful.

One day, as the little girl was playing by the river, a crab came to

the edge of the water and said,--

"Beautiful art thou,

More beautiful than any other,

But thou art the child

Of sister and brother."

Horrified, the child ran to her mother, and then the parents began

to talk over the events of their childhood and found that they were

indeed sister and brother.

They went to Maria's foster father to ask what they must do, and he

told them they must live apart; and then they went to the archbishop,

who told them that they might live lawfully together, as the sacrament

of marriage was above all, but, after much thought, they decided that

they must live apart, and Maria went back to her foster father.

Thus by a sinless crime were their lives saddened forever.

The Juan who Visited Heaven

2009-02-22T22:25:00.001-08:00

There was once an old couple who always prayed for a child, for they

had always been childless. No matter how it looked, whether deformed

or ugly, they must have a child. So after a short time they saw that

their prayers would be answered, and in the course of nature a child

was born, but the mother died at the birth.

The new-born child ran to the church, climbed into the tower, and

began to hammer on the bells. The priest, hearing the noise, sent the

sacristan to see what was the matter. The sacristan went, and seeing

there a little child, asked what he was doing and told him to stop, for

the priest would be angry; but the ringing of the bells went on. Then

the priest went up. "Little boy," he said, "what is your name?" "Juan,"

said the child. "Why are you ringing the church bells?" "Because my

mother is dead." "When did she die?" "Only now." "If you stop ringing

the bells she shall have a fine funeral and you shall live with me

and be as my son," said the priest. "Very well, sir, if you will let

me stay in the church all I wish." To this the priest assented. The

dead woman was buried with all the pomp of music, candles, and bells,

and the boy went to live in the convent. Always after his school was

done he would be in the church. The father did everything that was

possible for him, for he knew that he was not a natural child.

After a time the padre sent for him to get his dinner, but he would

not leave the church, so the priest had a good dinner cooked and

sent it down to the church, but he told the sacristan to watch the

church and see what happened. The sacristan watched and soon saw the

statue of Jesus eating with the boy. This he told the padre, and the

child's dinner was always sent to the church after that. One day not

long after he went to the priest and said, "Master, my friend down at

the church wants me to go away with him." "Where are you going?" "My

friend wants me to go to heaven with him."

The priest consented and the little boy and the Lord Jesus went

away together. As they walked the little boy saw that two roads ran

along together, one thorny and the other smooth. Asked the boy of

his companion, "Friend, why is this road where we walk so thorny,

and that other yonder so smooth?" Said the Lord, "Hush, child, it

is not fitting to disturb the peace of this place, but I will tell

you. This is the path of the sinless and is thorny, but that smooth

way yonder is the way of the sinners and never reaches heaven."

Again they came to a great house filled with young men and women who

were all working hammering iron. Said the little boy, "Who are those

who labor with the hammer?" "Hush, child, they are the souls of those

who died unmarried."

They journeyed on, and on one side were bush pastures filled with poor

cattle while on the opposite side of the road were pastures dry and

bare where the cattle were very fat. The child inquired the meaning

of the mystery. The Lord answered him, "Hush, child! These lean cattle

in the rich pastures are the souls of sinners, while those fat cattle

on dry and sunburnt ground are the souls of sinless ones."

After a while they crossed a river, one part of which was ruby red and

the other spotless white. "Friend, what is this?" asked the boy. "Hush,

child, the red is the blood of your mother whose life was given for

yours, and the white is the milk which she desired to give to you,

her child," said the Lord.

At last they came to a great house having seven stories, and there on

a table they saw many candles, some long, some short, some burned

out. Said Juan, "Friend, what are all these candles?" "Hush,

child, those are the lives of your friends." "What are those

empty candlesticks?" "Those are your mother and your uncle, who are

dead." "Who is this long one?" "That is your father, who has long to

live." "Who is this very short one?" "That is your master, who will

die soon." "May I put in another?" "Yes, child, if you wish." So he

changed it for a long one, and with his heavenly companion he returned

to earth.

There he told his master, the padre, all that he had seen and heard and

how he had changed the candles; and he and his master lived together

a very long time. And in the fulness of time the padre died, but Juan

went to heaven one day with his Lord and never returned.

Juan the Drunkard who Visited Heaven

2009-02-22T22:24:00.002-08:00

There was once a man named Juan, who was a drunkard. One day when

he was drunker than usual he decided to visit his dead friends in

heaven. He took no baggage except two long bamboo buckets full of tuba,

which he carried one over each shoulder. He walked and walked for at

least a week, until he came to a place where they sold tuba. There he

filled his buckets, promising to pay on his return, and set out again.

After walking a long time he came to a city with a wall around it,

and at the gate sat an old man with a long beard and with keys at his

girdle whom he knew at once as St. Peter. "Good-morning, St. Peter,"

said Juan. "I would like to see some of my friends that I think are

here." "Who are you?" asked St. Peter, getting up angrily. "I am Juan

and I have come a long way to see some of my friends. Won't you let me

look?" "No," said St. Peter, "I won't. You are drunk." "Well, then,

only be so good as to let me take just a little peep." So St. Peter

opened the gate just the least bit, but Juan was not satisfied, so he

said, "Good St. Peter, open the gate just a little wider for me to

see with both eyes." Then he persuaded St. Peter to let him put his

head in, and then by a little firmness he slipped in, still carrying

his buckets of tuba.

St. Peter ordered him to come out, but he started down a street he

saw, or rather a road, for there were no houses there. "Stop!" said

St. Peter, "that road won't take you to your friends. Go the other

way." And Juan did so.

After he had gone on for some time, he found that he was surrounded by

devils who began to torment him, but he defended himself succesfully

against them, and by giving them part of his tuba bribed them to tell

him where to find his friends. To his friends he gave the remainder

of his tuba and then set out to find God himself.

Being ushered into the Divine Presence, he knelt humbly and said,

"Lord, I beg thee to tell me how long I shall live." The Lord looked

at him and said, "I have not sent for you; why are you here?" Juan

bowed more humbly than before, and replied, "O Most High, I have come

to see some of my dead friends, and I would like also to know how

long I shall live on earth." So God told him that he had still a long

earthly life before him and never to come again until he was sent for.

So Juan left the heavenly city and passed back through St. Peter's

gate, and at last, after a weary journey, came to earth again. And

Juan lived a long and happy life and drank more tuba than ever.

The Story of Juan and the Monkey

2009-02-22T22:24:00.001-08:00

Juan was a farmer, a farmer so poor that he had only one shirt and

one pair of trousers. Juan was much annoyed by monkeys, who stole his

corn. So he set a trap and caught several of them. These he killed

with a club until he came to the last, which said to him, "Juan,

don't kill me and I will be your servant all your life." "But I will,"

said Juan. "You are a thief and do not deserve to live." "Juan, let me

live, and I will bring you good fortune, and if you kill me you will

be poor all your life." The monkey talked so eloquently that Juan let

himself be persuaded, and took the monkey home with him. The monkey

was true to his word, and served Juan faithfully, cooking, washing,

and hunting food for him, and at night going to distant fields and

stealing maize and palay which he added to Juan's little store.

One day the monkey said to Juan, "Juan, why do you not marry?" Said

Juan, "How can I marry? I have nothing to keep a wife." "Take my

advice," said the monkey, "and you can marry the king's daughter." Juan

took the monkey's advice and they set out for the king's palace. Juan

remained behind while the monkey went up to the palace alone. Outside

he called, as the custom is, "Honorable people!" and the king said,

"Come in." The king said, "Monkey, where do you walk?" and the monkey

said, "Mr. King, I wish to borrow your salop. My master wishes to

measure his money." The king lent him the salop (a measure of about

two quarts), and the monkey returned to Juan. After a few hours he

returned it with a large copper piece cunningly stuck to the bottom

with paste. The king saw it and called the monkey's attention to it,

but the monkey haughtily waved his hand, and told the king that a

single coin was of no consequence to his master.

The next day he borrowed the salop again and the coin stuck in the

bottom was half a peso, and the third day the coin was a peso, but

these he assured the king were of no more consequence to his master

than the copper. Then the king told the monkey to bring his master

to call, and the monkey promised that after a few days he would.

They went home, and as Juan's clothes must be washed, Juan went to

bed while the monkey washed and starched them, pulling, pressing,

and smoothing them with his hands because he had no iron.

Then they went to call on the king, and the king told Juan that he

should marry the princess as soon as he could show the king a large

house, with a hundred head of cattle, carabao, horses, sheep, and

goats. Juan was very despondent at this, though he was too brave to

let the king know his thoughts, he told his troubles to the monkey,

who assured him that the matter was very easy.

The next day they took a drum and a shovel and went into the mountains,

where there was a great enchanter who was a very wealthy man and also

an asuang. They dug a great hole and then Juan hid in the woods and

began to beat his drum, and the monkey rushed up to the enchanter's

house and told him the soldiers were coming, and that he would hide

him. So the enchanter went with the monkey to the hole and the monkey

pushed him in and began with hands and feet to cover him up. Juan

helped, and soon the enchanter was dead and buried. Then they went

to the house and at the first door they opened they liberated fifty

people who were being fattened for the enchanter's table. These

people were glad to help Juan convey all the money, cattle, and all

the enchanter's wealth to the town. Juan built a house on the plaza,

married the princess, and lived happily ever after, but his friend the

monkey, having so well earned his liberty, he sent back to the woods,

and their friendship still continued.

The Aderna Bird (Ang Ibong Adarna)

2009-02-22T22:23:00.001-08:00

There was once a king who greatly desired to obtain an aderna bird,

which is possessed of magical powers, has a wonderful song, and talks

like men. This king had a beautiful daughter, and he promised her to

any one who would bring him an aderna bird. Now the quest for the

aderna bird is very dangerous, because, if the heart is not pure,

the man who touches the bird becomes stone, and the bird escapes.

There were in that country three brothers, Juan, Diego, and Pedro,

and they all agreed to set out together to catch the aderna bird. Afar

in the mountains they saw him, and Diego, being the eldest, had first

chance, and he caught the aderna bird, but being of impure life he

became a stone, and the bird flew away over the mountains.

Juan and Pedro pursued it over the rocky way till at last they saw

it again, and Pedro, being the next eldest, essayed to catch it. He,

too, being a bad man, was turned into stone and the aderna bird flew

over another mountain, and Juan, undaunted, followed alone.

When at last he saw the aderna bird he made a trap with a mirror with

a snare in front and soon caught the bird. He made a cage for it and

started on his homeward journey. When he reached the stone which was

his brother Pedro, he begged the bird to undo its work and make him

a man again, and the bird did so. Then the two went on to where Diego

was, and again Juan entreated the bird to set the other brother free,

and the bird did so.

But Pedro and Diego, far from being grateful for what Juan had done

for them, bound him, choked him, beat him, and left him for dead far

from any road or any habitation, and went on their way to the king

with the aderna bird, expecting for one the hand of the princess and

for the other a rich reward.

But the aderna bird would not sing. Said the king, "O Aderna Bird,

why do you not sing?" The bird replied, "O Mighty King, I sing only

for him who caught me." "Did these men catch you?" "No, O King, Juan

caught me, and these men have beaten him and stolen me from him." So

the king had them punished, and waited for the coming of Juan.

Juan meanwhile had freed himself from his bonds, and wandered sore

and hungry and lame through the forest. At last he met an old man

who said to him, "Juan, why do you not go to the king's house, for

there they want you very much?" "Alas," said Juan, "I am not able

to walk so far from weakness, and I fear I shall die here in the

forest." "Do not fear," said the old man, "I have here a wonderful

hat that, should you but whisper to it where you wish to go, in a

moment you are transported there through the air."

So the old man gave him the hat, and Juan put it on and said, "Hat,

if this be thy nature, carry me across the mountains to the king's

palace." And the hat carried him immediately into the presence of

the king. Then the aderna bird began to sing, and after a time Juan

married the princess, and all went well for the rest of their lives.

The Stories of Juan

2009-02-22T22:18:00.000-08:00

Juan Gathers Guavas.

The guavas were ripe, and Juan's father sent him to gather enough

for the family and for the neighbors who came to visit them. Juan

went to the guava bushes and ate all that he could hold. Then he

began to look around for mischief. He soon found a wasp nest and

managed to get it into a tight basket. He gave it to his father

as soon as he reached home, and then closed the door and fastened

it. All the neighbors were inside waiting for the feast of guavas,

and as soon as the basket was opened they began to fight to get out

of the windows. After a while Juan opened the door and when he saw

his parents' swollen faces, he cried out, "What rich fine guavas

those must have been! They have made you both so very fat."

Juan Makes Gulay of his own Child.

After Juan was married about a year a baby was born, and he and

his wife loved it very much. But Juan was always obedient to his

wife, being a fool, and when she told him to make gulay or stew he

inquired of her of what he should make it. She replied of anac,

meaning anac hang gabi. Then she went away for a while, and when

she returned Juan had the gulay ready. She asked for the baby and

was horrified to learn that Juan had made a stew of his own child,

having taken her words literally.

Juan Wins a Wager for the Governor.

Juan was well known for a brave man, though a fool, and the priest and

the governor wished to try him on a wager. The governor told him that

the priest was dead, and ordered him to watch the body in the church

that night. The priest lay down on the bier before the altar, and

after Juan came the priest arose. Juan pushed him down again and ran

out of the church and secured a club. Returning, he said to the priest,

"You are dead; try to get up again and I will break you to pieces." So

Juan proved himself to be a brave man, and the governor won his wager.

Juan Hides the Salt.

Juan's father came into possession of a sack of salt, which used to

be very precious and an expensive commodity. He wished it hidden in a

secure place and so told Juan to hide it till they should need it. Juan

went out and after hunting for a long time hid it in a carabao wallow,

and of course when they went to fetch it again nothing was left but

the sack.

The Man in the Shroud.

Juan, being a joker, once thought to have a little fun at others'

expense, so he robed himself in a shroud, placed a bier by the

roadside, set candles around it, and lay down so that all who went by

should see him and be frightened. A band of robbers went by that way,

and seeing the corpse, besought it to give them luck. As it happened,

they were more than usually fortunate, and when they returned they

began to make offerings to him to secure continuance of their good

fortune. As the entire proceeds of their adventures were held in

common, they soon began to quarrel over the offerings to be made. The

captain became angry, and drew his sword with a threat to run the

corpse through for causing so much dissension among his men.

This frightened the sham dead man to such a degree that he jumped up

and ran away, and the robbers, who were even more frightened than he,

ran the other way, leaving all their plunder.

Juan then returned and gathered all the money and valuables left

behind by the robbers, and carried them home. Now he had a friend

who was very curious to know how he came into possession of so much

wealth, and so Juan told him, only he said nothing about robbers,

but told his friend, whose name was Pedro, that the things were the

direct reward of God for his piety.

Pedro, being afraid of the woods, decided to lie just inside the church

door; besides, that being a more sacred place, he felt sure that God

would favor him even more than Juan. He arranged his bier with the

candles around him, and lay down to await the shower of money that

should reward his devotions. When the sacristan went to the church

to ring the bell for vespers, he saw the body lying there, and not

knowing of any corpse having been carried in, he was frightened

and ran to tell the padre. The padre, when he had seen the body,

said it was a miracle, and that it must be buried within the church,

for the sanctification of the edifice.

But Pedro, now thoroughly frightened, jumped off the bier and ran away,

and the priest and the sacristan ran the other way, so the poor man

never received the reward for his piety, and the church was deprived

of a new patron saint.