FILIPINO FOLKTALE

Short Legend Stories

ANGEL ANN B. RECAMARA

 The Story of a Determined Caterpillar
Long years back, a caterpillar crawled inside a hare's (an animal-like rabbit)
house while the hare was away, he sat comfortably. When the hare came
back home, he noticed a few marks on the floor heading to the cave. He
called, "Who's in my house?
A Mighty Caterpillar Teaches us to Never
Lose Hope
The caterpillar boomed out in a noisy voice,
"It is I! Yes, I who crushes rhinos to the earth
and tramples elephants into dust!" The hare hopped about, crying, "What
can a small animal like me do with a creature who crushes rhinos and
tramples elephants?"
He eventually found a jackal and asked him to speak with the terrifying beast
who'd already seized over his residence and encouraged him to leave. The
jackal agreed, and once they reached the place, he barked loudly and stated,
"Who is in the house of my friend the hare?"
In a roar that shook the land, the caterpillar replied, "It is I! Yes, I who crushes
rhinos to the earth, and tramples elephants into dust!" On listening to this the
jackal thought, "Certainly I can do nothing against any such creature," and
he quickly left.
"Who is in the house of my buddy the hare?"
The hare subsequently went to find a leopard and persuaded him to help
him. The leopard was convinced that the hare would have no trouble.
On reaching the spot, the leopard bared his claws and growled, "Who is in
the house of my buddy the hare?" The caterpillar responded in the same way
as he had finished before.
The leopard was alarmed and thought, "If he crushes rhinos and elephants,
I do not even need to think about what he could do to me!"
Next, the hare sought out the rhinoceros. "No doubt, I am the most frightful
of beasts," grunted the rhino. The rhino marched to the hare's cave, wherein
he snorted and pawed the floor with his large feet. But while the rhino asked
who was inside and heard the caterpillar's booming response, "What, he
says he can smash me to the ground?" he wondered. And the rhino bolted
away, crashing into the trees.
As the hare became increasingly agitated, he approached the elephant and
demanded that he come to his aid. But just like the others, on listening to
what the caterpillar needed to say, the elephant knew that he had no desire
to be trampled underfoot like dust, and stomped off.
In despair by this point, the hare requested a frog to pass by if he may want
to likely make the creature who had frightened all the other animals depart
his house. The frog went to the cave door and requested who was inside. He
acquired the same reply as had been given to the others. Then the frog went
closer and shouted,"I, who am the strongest of all, have come at last. I am
the only one who crushes those who crush the rhinos! I am the only one who
tramples underfoot those who trample the elephants!"
"I, who am the strongest of all, have come at last!"
The bug within the hare's tunnel was frightened as he overheard something.
"Admittedly, I am a caterpillar!" he thought as he sensed the frog's silhouette
approaching. And the caterpillar crept out of the hare's burrow all along the
rim, hoping not to be seen.
The animals who had amassed around the hare's house seized the
caterpillar and dragged him out. "What, you?" they all cried in disbelief.
"I might by no means dream of staying in that cave!" stated the caterpillar
with his nostril in the air. "An echo like this is way too crude for a cultured
creature like myself!" As he sniffed away, all of the other animals laughed at
the problem he had given them.

The Legend of The Dream

Many years ago, when the world was young, an old spiritual leader of the
Lakota sitting high in the mountain had a vision. In his vision, Ikomi, the great
trickster and the teacher of wisdom appeared in the world as a spider.

Ikomi had a word with this old man in a sacred (pure) language that only the
spiritual leaders of the Lakota could understand.

As he spoke with Ikomi, the spider took the elder’s willow hoop that had
feathers, beads, and offerings on it and commenced to spin a web.

He showed the leader about the cycle of life and how we begin our life as an
infant and move to childhood, then to adulthood. Eventually, we reach the
old age where we are taken care of as a baby by our kids (as we did for
them, we get in return), and hence we complete the cycle of life in this
manner.

Leader said - But Ikomi (while spinning the web), in each time of life, there
are many universal forces - some are good and some bad, if we listen to the
good, we will street in the right direction and when we hear the bad forces,
we steer in the wrong path.

Yes, there are many forces that lead us to varying directions, some of them
help us and some interfere with the harmony of nature and with a great spirit,
we get to acquire wonderful lessons.

All the while, the spider interrupted and he continued to spin his web from
outside towards the center.

When Ikomi was done with his speaking, he gave the Lakota elder the web
and said - The web is a perfect circle but there is a hole in its center, do you
know why?

He said - Use this web to help yourself and your people to reach your
respective goals and make good use of people’s ideas, visions, and dreams.

If you believe in the greatness of spiritual powers, the web will reach you to
the path of goodness and the bad ones will throw you out via this hole.

The old leader passed on his vision (he had for the world) to his people and
now people use the dream catcher as the web of their lives.

It hangs over their bed to bring their hopes and ambitions to fruition.
Everything positive in their visions is trapped in the web of life, while the bad
flee through the hole in the middle and disappear.
 The Legend of the Trojan Horse

Another legend example is this very famous legend from Greek mythology:
the Trojan horse. This legend tells about the war between the Trojans of Troy
and the Greeks. Troy was defended by a large wall, which was difficult for
the Greeks to overcome.

However, Odysseus, a Greek general and descendant of the Gods, who was
known for his intelligence, came up with a plan. Odysseus knew that it was
customary for a gift to be given to the opposition to indicate surrender or
truce. So the Greeks built a huge wooden horse, which they placed outside
the gates of Troy, hoping that it would be received as a gift and the Trojans
would think the Greeks had surrendered.

The Trojans brought the giant wooden structure into their city, but they had
been tricked. At nightfall, the Greeks jumped out from the horse and took the
Trojans by surprise. By getting inside Troy through the Trojan horse, they
defeated the Trojans and destroyed the city.

The legend of Atlantis

One last lengend example is the lost city of Atlantis. This story has captivated
the imaginations of people for centuries. The legend of Atlantis tells the story
of a prosperous and advanced civilisation that was lost beneath the waves.

There are many different versions of the legend of Atlantis, but the basic
story is that Atlantis was a wealthy and powerful city that was located on an
island in the middle of the ocean. The people of Atlantis were said to be
master inventors and had created amazing technology. One day, a huge
earthquake struck and the island of Atlantis sank beneath the waves, taking
the city and its people down with it.

The legend of Atlantis has been used as a metaphor for many things over
the years, from the power of nature to the folly of humanity. It has also been
used as a warning about what can happen if we do not care for our planet
and look after our environment. Today, many people continue to search for
the lost city of Atlantis, believing that it may one day be discovered.

The Fisherman and His Wife

In this folktale about greed, a fisherman catches a magical fish that grants
every wish demanded by the fisherman’s wife. At first, the fisherman and
his wife are enchanted, but then their wishes go too far, and the fish’s
powers backfire.
Teachers can start a discussion using Discussion Question 1, “Is it easier
to control greed when a person has access to anything they could want?
Why or why not?” Ask students to extend their answers by citing evidence
from their own experiences, other literature, art, or history, to support their
understanding from the text.
 The Legend of the Guava Tree

A long time ago, a king ruled a rich, prosperous island. He had all the things
a king could ever ask for: the power, the wealth, and all the delicious foods
one could only imagine. The king's name was King Barabas.
King Barabas is a rude king and overweight, indulging himself in all the foods
available, hesitant to share with anyone. And his castle is starting to become
filthy. He would spend most of his time sitting and eating with his bare hands.
As he eats, he drips food on the floor and smiles mockingly at the people
around him, especially his servants.
People in the kingdom would approach him with requests for his help, but he
would always refuse. As he neglected his kingdom, people started to
complain and starve.
After some time, an old, hunched-back woman appeared at the castle
begging for food while the king was eating. The old lady asked for food as
she was starving.
"Go away! I don't have anything to give. Can't you see I'm eating?" said the
irritated king.
"Please, my king," begged the old woman. "I'm asking for anything, anything
you could give me as I am so hungry. Even a little piece of bread or fruit
would do."
"Get out at once! You disgust me," the king belittled the old beggar.
The old woman stood up straight, casting aside her stooped posture. "I've
heard much about you and how your kingdom is suffering." The tone of her
voice had changed. It was no longer the voice of a weak, old woman. "I asked
for help, and you shoved me away. You have a lot for yourself, but when I
only asked for a little food, you belittled me. You are selfish. No one loves
you, and no one will remember you when you are gone!"
And the beggar disappeared. After a few more days, the king slowly
weakened and became sick. No one knows what's wrong with him. He got
weaker and weaker and lost so much weight. He looked older than his age.
Soon after that, the king died. As unfortunate and unexpected as it was, no
one cried, and nobody showed up at the king's burial. He died alone.
And where the king was buried, his people noticed a strange plant growing,
a plant they had never seen before. The plant soon grew into a tree, which
bore rounded fruits that turned yellowish when ripe.
People also noticed that the fruit seemed to have a crown as it developed,
which reminded them of their selfish, arrogant king. The fruit's flesh tasted a
bit sour, just like the sour personality of the king towards them.
The people learned to eat fruit, which helped them with starvation. And
because the tree was from the grave of their King Barabas and it had a crown
just like their king, they named the tree after him: barabas, which in time they
called bayabas.
The fruit is still called, to this day, bayabas.
Although the guava may have come from the rude, selfish King Barabas,
guava fruit is one of the fruits that offers many health benefits when
consumed; the fruit is a good source of vitamin C. The leaves are made into
a tea that treats many diseases, from a simple toothache to treating diarrhea,
lowering blood sugar, and many more. It is used among young boys after
their circumcision in the Philippines.
Or maybe it's the way of the late king to make up for the wrongdoings he
did? The fruit of the tree that sprouted at the grave of the arrogant king which
is now known as bayabas (guava).
 Why Fish Have Scales

Long ago, a farmer and his wife had a beautiful baby girl who grew into a
beautiful maiden. She was very spoiled. She got everything she wanted
and never helped with any work on the farm.

Her parents always told her how beautiful she was. She spent a lot of time
looking at herself in a mirror and would sometimes go to a clear stream to
admire her own reflection.

One day, a crab saw her looking in the stream. The crab crawled over to
her and started to talk.

The girl was shocked and said, "Don't come near me. You are ugly! I can't
talk to such a horrible-looking creature."

The crab was insulted and embarrassed. The crab jumped on the girl and
made scratches all over her.

"Oh no, my beautiful face!" screamed the girl as she splashed water on the
scratches. The water only made the scratches look more like fish scales.

The crab then pushed the girl into the water and cast a spell that turned her
forever into a fish covered in scales.

The legend says that whenever you look into a stream and see a scaly fish
quickly dart away, it's because your face reminds them of the beauty they
lost long ago.
 The Legend of the Pineapple

Once upon a time, there was a woman who lived with her daughter Pina in
a tiny hut in the village. They were poor, and the mother worked day and
night to make both ends meet. No matter how hard she worked, though, she
never got any help from her daughter.
Pina was a lazy, spoiled kid who liked to play in the backyard all day.
Whenever her mother asked for help around the house or tried to send her
on an errand, she would always find an excuse by saying she can’t find the
object that was needed to complete that task. If her mother asked her to
sweep the house, for example, she would say she cannot find the broom,
even if it was right there in front of her. Needless to say, her mother always
ended up doing the work herself.
One day, her mother became very ill. She called out to Pina, who as usual
was playing in the backyard.
“Pina! Pina! Come over here, anak. I am very sick. Can you cook some
porridge for me please? I am too weak to get up.”
Pina ignored her mother and continued to play.
“Pina, come over here this very instant, or else!” Pina’s mother mustered all
her strength just to say this, but it worked. Pina grudgingly stopped playing
and went inside the house. She poked her head inside her mother’s room.
“What do you want, Nanay (mother)? You really expect me to cook for you?
That’s too hard,” protested Pina, pouting and stomping her feet.
“Pina, it is very simple. Just put some rice in a pot and add water. Once the
water boils, let it simmer for a while. Stir it occasionally with a ladle.
Everything you need should be right there in the kitchen.”
Pina reluctantly left and went to the kitchen. Her mother could hear her
banging the drawers and cabinets. Then her mother heard her open the back
door and sneak out into the backyard. Her mother waited and waited. Finally,
she called out to Pina again.
“Pina, did you cook like I told you to?”
“No,” was the defiant response.
“And why not?” was her mom’s exasperated response.
“Because I could not find the ladle,” was her flippant reply.
“Oh, you lazy child! You probably did not even bother to look for it! What am
I going to do with you? Here I am, sick, and I cannot even count on you!”
Her mother wept bitterly. In her anger, she shouted, “I wish you would grow
a thousand eyes all over your head! Then you can find what you’re looking
for. Maybe then you won’t have any more excuses.”
As soon as she said this, there was complete silence. Her mother thought,
“She is trying to be quiet so I will forget about asking her again.” She sighed.
She waited a little bit to see if Pina would come back. Realizing the wait was
futile, she wearily got up to do the cooking herself. When she looked out into
the backyard, Pina was nowhere to be found. She sighed again and said to
herself, “That lazy kid probably went to a friend’s house so she did not have
to do any more errands for me.”
Exhausted from the exertion, she soon went back to her room for a much-
needed rest. Weak as she was, she just tried to do everything by herself,
having given up on any help from Pina.
Hours passed by, and then days. Still no sign of her wayward daughter. With
a heavy heart, she thought that Pina had ran away for sure.
When she finally recovered from her illness, the first thing she did was look
for Pina. No one had seen or heard from her. It was like she disappeared
into thin air.
Months passed and still no sign of her. The mother felt bad for her angry
outburst, and she feared that she might probably never see her daughter
again.
One day, she was sweeping the backyard where Pina used to play. For
months now, she had noticed this strange plant growing on the very spot
where she last saw Pina. By this time, the leaves of the plant had fully
opened. Inside, she saw this strange yellow fruit that resembled a child’s
head with a thousand eyes. A thousand eyes…
She suddenly remembered the spiteful words she used that fateful day. With
horror, she realized that in the same way her mother’s love had spoiled her
daughter, so did her anger unwittingly curse her. Somehow, her daughter
had been turned into this plant.
To honor the memory of her beloved daughter, she named the fruit Pina. She
took such loving care of it like it was her own daughter. The fruit flourished
so well that it bore more and more fruits, and became popular among the
village and the entire country. Its name later evolved to pinya, or pineapple
in English.
And that’s how the pineapple came to be, according to folklore, named after
a spoiled child who was cursed with a thousand eyes…
 The Hawk and the Hen
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.
 The Boy who Became a Stone
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 Carabao and the Shell

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.