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.”

Biag ni Lam-ang (Summary)

BIAG NI LAM-ANG (Life of Lam-ang) is pre-Hispanic epic poem of the Ilocano people of the Philippines.
The story was handed down orally for generations before it was written down around 1640 assumedly
by a blind Ilokano bard named Pedro Bucaneg. BUOD (SUMMARY) OF BIAG NI LAM-ANG Don Juan and
his wife Namongan lived in Nalbuan, now part of La Union in the northern part of the Philippines. They
had a son named Lam-ang. Before Lam-ang was born, Don Juan went to the mountains in order to
punish a group of their Igorot enemies. While he was away, his son Lam-ang was born. It took four
people to help Namongan give birth. As soon as the baby boy popped out, he spoke and asked that he
be given the name Lam-ang. He also chose his godparents and asked where his father was.

After nine months of waiting for his father to return, Lam-ang decided he would go look for him.
Namongan thought Lam-ang was up to the challenge but she was sad to let him go. During his
exhausting journey, he decided to rest for awhile. He fell asleep and had a dream about his father's head
being stuck on a pole by the Igorot. Lam-ang was furious when he learned what had happened to his
father. He rushed to their village and killed them all, except for one whom he let go so that he could tell
other people about Lam-ang's greatness. Upon returning to Nalbuan in triumph, he was bathed by
women in the Amburayan river. All the fish died because of the dirt and odor from Lam-ang's body.
There was a young woman named Ines Kannoyan whom Lam-ang wanted to woo. She lived in
Calanutian and he brought along his white rooster and gray dog to visit her.

On the way, Lam-ang met his enemy Sumarang, another suitor of Ines whom he fought and readily
defeated. Lam-ang found the house of Ines surrounded by many suitors all of whom were trying to catch
her attention. He had his rooster crow, which caused a nearby house to fall. This made Ines look out. He
had his dog bark and in an instant the fallen house rose up again. The girl's parents witnessed this and
called for him. The rooster expressed the love of Lam-ang. The parents agreed to a marriage with their
daughter if Lam-ang
would give them a dowry valued at double their wealth. Lam-ang had no problem fulfilling this condition
and he and Ines were married. It was a tradition to have a newly married man swim in the river for the
rarang fish. Unfortunately, Lam-ang dove straight into the mouth of the water monster Berkakan. Ines
had Marcos get his bones, which she covered with a piece of cloth. His rooster crowed and his dog
barked and slowly the bones started to move. Back alive, Lam-ang and his wife lived happily ever after
with his white rooster and gray dog.

The Monkey and The Crocodile

One stormy day, a monkey was standing by the shore of a river, wondering how he could get to the
other side. He could not get over by himself; for the water was deep, and he did not know how to
swim. He looked around for some logs; but all he saw was a large crocodile with its mouth wide open,
ready to seize him. He was very much frightened; but he said, Oh, Mr. Crocodile, please do not kill me!
Spare my life, and I will lead you to a place where you can get as many monkeys as can feed you all your
life.

The crocodile agreed, and the monkey said that the place was on the other side of the river. So the
crocodile told him to get on his back, and he would carry him across. Just before they reached the
bank, the monkey jumped to land, ran fast as he could, and climbed up a tree where his mate was. The
crocodile could not follow, of course; so he returned to the water, saying, Time will come and you shall
pay.

Not long afterwards the monkey found the crocodile lying motionless, as if dead, in a place where some
Chile pepper bushes loaded with numerous bright-red fruits like ornaments on a Christmas tree. The
monkey approached the crocodile, and began playing with its tail; but the crocodile made a sudden
spring, and seized the monkey so tightly that he could not escape. Think first, think first! said the
monkey. Mark you, Mr. Crocodile! I am now the cook of his Majesty, the king. Those bright-red breads
had been entrusted to my care, the monkey pointed to the pepper shrubs. The moment you kill me, the
king will arrive with thousands of well-armed troops and punish you.

The crocodile was frightened by what the monkey said. Mr. Monkey, I did not mean to harm you, he
said. I will set you free if you will let me eat only as many pieces of the bread as will relieve my hunger.

Eat all you can, responded the monkey kindly. Take as many as you please. They are free to you.

Without another word, the crocodile let the monkey go, and rushed at the heavily-ladden bushes. The
monkey slipped away secretly, and climbed up a tree, where he could enjoy the discomfiture of his
voracious friend. The crocodile began to cough, sneeze, and scratch his tongue. When he rushed to
the river to cool his mouth, the monkey laughed at him.
The Flood Story

Bukidnon (Mindanao)

A long time ago there was a very big crab 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. 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.

The Creation

Igorot

In the beginning there were no people on the earth.

Lumawig, the Great Spirit, came down from the sky and cut many reeds. 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. 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 molding, 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. 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.

MAYON

Kristian Sendon Cordero

Camarines Sur

Ayon sa alamat, lason ng pana ni Pagtuga,

Ang lumikha sa bulkan – libingan ito

Ng dalagang namatay sa isang digmaan.

Ngayon, ano ang tutubo sa paanan ng Mayon

Gayong nagiging malawak na itong sementeryoNg abo, ng tao.

Manganganak na kaya ito !initigan ko ang nakangangang bulkan – binalot

Ng ulap at ng sariling usok ang tuktok, gatas sa labi."aka sakali, magpakita, nang may silbi ang kamera.

Sa ilang retrato na ibinebenta ng mga bata sa Cagsawa#usaw na tae ang nagliliyab na la$a, dumadaloy
pababa.

Matandang nag%nganganga ayon naman sa isang makata.Sa isang lumang post&ard na nakita ko sa
Antigo Merkado'

Kapag sa malayo, isa siyang magandang sikyung nakatanod,(anda sa pagkapkap, naghihintay sa iyong
pagpasok.
PADRE FAURA WITNESSES THE EXECUTION OF RIZAL

AUTHOR: DANTON REMOTO

(POETRY)

I stand on the roof

Of the Ateneo municipal,

Shivering

On this December morning.

Months ago,

Pepe came to me

In the observatory.

I thought we would talk

About the stars

That do not collide

In the sky:

Instead, he asked me about purgatory

(His cheeks still ruddy

From the sudden sun

After the bitter winter

In Europe)

And on this day

With the years beginning to turn,

Salt things my eyes.

I see Pepe,

A blur

Between the soldiers

With their Mausers raised

And the early morning’s

Star:
 Still shimmering

Even if millons of miles away,

The star itself

Is already dead.