Reading Diary B: Filipino Tales

The Iguana and the Turtle

• An Iguana and a turtle were best friends
• They went fishing together an old man's pond
• The old man caught the turtle and hung him by his neck under his house
• The old man was going to make the turtle marry his daughter
• The iguana wanted to marry his daughter so they traded spots
• The old man beat the iguana over the head but the iguana cut the string running away
• The iguana climbed up to the top of two bamboos. His mouth was pinched together and he fell down
• One who believes foolishly will  be injured

Why Mosquitoes Hum

• Mangla, the king of crabs lived in Bohol
• He called his sheriff Cangang to gather all the small land crabs and watch his house while he slept but didn't want to be woken up
• Mangla snored loudly but the hard rain caused the Bataktak to laugh and wake up the king
•  The Batakata said they laughed at their friend Hu-man carrying his house on his shoulders so he pardoned them for their laughing.
• Trouble was brewing in the kingdom
• Lamoc bit the king in the face in rage of the king trying to kill him
• The Lamoc thinks the holes of our ears are the house of Cagang and that's why mosquitos buzz in our ears

The Greedy Crow

• A crow sat in a tree eating a small piece of meat when another small bird carrying a dead rat flew by
• The crow threated to take the rat from the small bird if she didn't give him some.
• The crow took off after the small bird but was not able to catch her.
• A hawk saw the crows meat in the tree and took it.
• The crow wan disappointed to see his meat was gone and was ready to die of hunger
• The hawk told the crow he was the one who took the meat but the crow was too tired and weak
• Do not be greedy. Be happy with what you have.

The Humming-bird and the Carabao

• Carabao is a water buffalo
• He was sitting by a tree near the mouth of a river when a hummingbird flew by
• The hummingbird challenged the carabao to a water drinking competition.
• The water in the river was rising while the carabao was drinking and it seemed as if he put water back into the river
• On the hummingbird's turn he knew the water would be going down so he pretended to drink
• The carabao was so surprised at what was happening that he was shocked to see a little bird drink so much

The Ant

• God created the earth and the creatures on it.
• He created the ant and the snake
• The snake went to God asking him for superpowers so he could kill the ones that caused trouble
• God gave the snake a venomous bite but told him to use it consciously
• Then the ant was granted the same powers as the snake
• The ant ran away so excited that he ignored Gods call
• God took away some of his venom making him less painful than the snake

Why the Sun Shines more Brightly then the Moon

• A mother fairy of two daughters.
• Araw who was king and Buwan who was hateful and cruel
• God created two large diamonds for the daughters. Araw was given hers for being so kind
• Buwan was angry with this so she went and stole the other diamond for God's kingdom
• God sent 2 angels to get the diamond back but instead they threw both girls into the ocean and flung the diamonds back into the sky.
• Awar's bigger jewel stuck and was called the sun
• Buwant's the smaller jewel became known as the moon

The Hawk and the Coling

• A hawk challenged a small coling to a flying competition
• The coling agreed to do the challenge the next day but each were to carry something to make the test more difficult
• The coling chose to take salt and the hawk chose to take some cotton
• The hawk began his flight and was high but it started to rain and the cotton became weighed down
• The coling flew past the hawk, but died because he touched the sun buring the top of his head
• This is why colings are bald

Why the Cow's Skin is Loose on the Neck

• A poor farmer only had a cow and carabao that he worked hard and wouldn't listen to their complaints
• The two animals deceided to run away
• The stopped at a river to bathe after arguing on to go on or to stop
• They took off their clothes before getting in
• Their master chased after them but in haste to get away they put on each others clothes
• The carabao stretched out the neck of the cow. The two were not able to switch clothes back.
• The cow now has a loose neck while the carabao has a tight neck

The Lost Necklace

• A cow bought a beautiful necklace from a merchant
• His friend the hen asked to borrow it
• The hen's chicks took the necklace and lost it.
• He demanded to be paid for the necklace. or he was going to eat one of the hen's chicks everyday until it was found.
• This is why today hens and chicks look like they are looking for a necklace when they scratch at the ground.

A beautiful necklace. Source