There was once a turtle and a monkey who went to make a clearing. The
monkey did not work, but the turtle was the one which cleared the
land. When one day passed, "Let us go to plant," said the turtle. They
went, and banana was what they went to plant. The turtle planted his
in the clearing, but the monkey hung his in a tree when he went to
climb. Five days passed. "Let us go to see our planting," said the
turtle. When they arrived where they had planted, the monkey saw that
his banana was dry, but that which the turtle had planted bore ripe
fruit. When the monkey reached the place where the turtle sat, "I am
waiting for you, monkey, for I cannot climb my banana tree." "Give me
fruit, and I will go to climb. My banana which I hung in the tree did
not bear fruit," said the monkey. The turtle laughed and agreed, but
when the monkey climbed in the tree he only ate and did not throw down
any fruit. "Give me, monkey," said the turtle. "The thumb still eats,"
replied the monkey. Then he pushed a banana up his anus and after that
threw it down. The turtle ate it and again asked for fruit. "The little
finger still eats," said the monkey. Then he finished eating the fruit
and he slept on the banana tree. The turtle went to search for long
sharp shells, and when he had secured them he planted them upright
around the tree, and cried, "Bad in the east. Bad in the west." Then
the monkey jumped, and the shells pierced his side so that he died.
The turtle dried his meat and sold it to the other monkeys, and when
he had finished selling he went under the house and hid beneath
a coconut shell. When all the monkeys had eaten the turtle cried,
"They eat their relative." Then the monkeys heard, but could not
see. The turtle called many times until at last they found him
beneath the coconut shell. They agreed to kill him with the axe,
but the turtle laughed and pointed to the marks on his back. [378]
The monkeys believed him when he said he had often been cut by his
father and grandfather; so they did not cut, but went to get fire. "You
cannot kill me with that. Do you not see that my back is almost black
from burning." "Ay-ay," said the monkeys, "let us tie a stone to his
waist and drown him in the lake." The turtle cried and begged them to
spare him, but the monkeys did not know that the water was the cause
of his living, for it was his home. They threw him in the lake and
when they had watched a long time, they saw him float on the water
and he was holding a large fish. Then all the monkeys tied stones
to their waists and dived in the lake to catch fish. They did not
float in the lake, but they died. Only a pregnant monkey was left,
but the turtle came and drowned her also. [379]
78
A turtle and a big lizard went to the field of Gotgotapa to steal
ginger. When they got there the turtle told the lizard he must be
very still; but when the lizard tasted the ginger, he exclaimed,
"The ginger of Gotgotapa is very good." "Be still," said the turtle;
but again the lizard shouted louder than before. Then the man heard
and came out of his 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 very far,
the turtle went into the house. Now, the man had a coconut shell
which he used to sit on, and the turtle hid under it.
The man could not catch the lizard, so in a while he came back
to his house and sat on the shell. Bye and bye, the turtle called
"Kook." Then the man jumped up and looked all around to find where
the noise came from, but he could not find. The turtle called "Kook"
again and the man tried very hard to find what made the noise. The
turtle called a third time more loudly and then the man thought it was
his testicles which made the noise, so he took a stone and hit them;
then he died and the turtle ran away.
When the turtle got a long way, he met the lizard again and they
saw some honey on the branch of a tree. "I run first to get,"
said the turtle; but the big lizard ran fast and seized the honey;
then the bees stung him and he ran back to the turtle. On their
road they saw a bird snare. The turtle said, "That is the _paliget_
[380] of my grandfather." Then the lizard ran very fast to get it,
but it caught his neck and held him until the man who owned it came
and killed him. Then the turtle went away.
79
The _polo_ [381] said to a boy named Ilonen, "Tik-tik-loden, come and
catch me," many times. Then the boy answered, "I am making a snare for
you." The bird called again, "Tik-tik-loden." "I am almost finished,"
said Ilonen. Then the bird called again and the boy came and put the
snare over the bird and caught it. He took it home and put it in a
jar and then went with the other boys to swim. While he was gone, his
grandmother ate the bird. Ilonen came back and went to the jar to see
the bird, but no bird. "Where is my bird?" he said. "I do not know,"
said his grandmother. "Let me see your anus," said the boy. Then he
saw his grandmother's anus and he saw feathers there and was very
angry. "It is better I get lost," he said and went away. He came to a
big stone called _balintogan_ and said, "Stone, open your mouth and
eat me." Then the stone opened his mouth and swallowed the boy. His
grandmother went to find him and looked very much. When she came to
the stone, it said, "Here is." She called the horses to come to the
stone. They kicked it, but could not break. She called the carabao
and they hooked it, but only broke their horns; then she called the
chickens and they pecked it, but could not open. Then she called
thunder, but it could not help. Then her friends came to open the
stone, but could not, so she went home without the boy.
80
A frog was fastened to a fish hook in the water. A fish came and
said, "What are you doing?" "I am swinging," said the frog, "come
and try if you wish." But the fish was angry with the frog. "You can
not catch me," said the frog. Then the fish jumped up to catch him,
but the frog pushed his anus upon the stick and left the hook so the
fish was caught.
81
The five fingers were brothers. The other four sent the little thumb to
get _posel_. [382] He went to get, but when he got there, the _posel_
said, "Kiss me, for I have a good odor to you." So the thumb kissed
him, and his nose stuck to the bamboo. The others could not wait so
long, so they sent the first finger to get. When he got there, he
saw the thumb, and said, "What are you doing?" "I am smelling this
_posel_, for it has a good smell." Then the first finger smelled and
his nose was caught. The others could not wait, so they sent the second
finger and it happened the same. Also the third, and he also became
fast. Then little finger went and when he saw the others, he said,
"You are very crazy," and he cut them loose.
82 [383]
Carabao met _loson_ [384] in the river. "You are very slow," said the
carabao. "No, I can beat you in a race," said _loson_. "Let us try,"
said the carabao. So they started to run. When the carabao reached a
long distance, he called, "Shell," and another shell lying by the river
answered, "Yes." He ran again and again, and every time he stopped to
call, another shell answered. At least the carabao ran until he died.
83
A crab and _kool_ [385] went to the forest to get wood for fuel. The
crab cut his wood and the shell went to cut his. "Tie very good your
wood which you get," said _kool_ to the crab. The crab pulled the ropes
so tightly that he broke his big legs and died. When the shell went to
see where the crab was, he found him dead, and he begun to cry until
he belched; then his meat came out of his shell and he was dead also.
84 [386]
A mosquito came to bite a man. The man said, "You are very little and
can do nothing to me." The mosquito answered, "If you had no ears,
I would eat you."
85
A boy's parents sent a man to carry gifts to the girl's house, and
see if they would agree to a marriage. When he got to the door of the
house, the people were all eating _kool_, and when they sucked the
meat out of the shell, they nodded their heads. The man saw them nod,
so did not state his errand, but returned and said that the people in
the house all desired the union. Then the boy's people got ready the
things for _pakálon_ [387] and went to the girl's house. The girl's
parents were very much surprised.
86
A man went to the other town. When he got there, the people were eating
_labon_. [388] He asked them what they ate, and they said _pangaldanen_
(the bamboo ladder is called "_aldan_".) He went home and had nothing
to eat but rice, so he cut his ladder into small pieces and cooked all
day, but the bamboo was still very hard. He could not wait longer,
so called his friends and asked why he could not make it like the
people had in the other town. Then his friends laughed and told him
his mistake.
87
A man went to get coconuts and loaded his horse heavily. He met a boy
and asked how long to his house. "If you go slowly, very soon; if you
go fast, all day," said the boy. The man did not believe, so hurried
his horse and the coconuts fell off, so he had to stop and pick them
up. He did this many times and it was night before he got home.
88
Two women went to get _atimon_ [389] which belonged to the
crocodile. "You must not throw the rind with your teeth marks where
the crocodile can see it," said the first woman. Then they ate; but
the other woman threw a rind with her teeth marks in the river, and
the crocodile saw it and knew who the woman was. He was very angry
and went to her house and called the people to send out the woman so
he could eat her, for she had eaten his _atimon_. "Yes," they said,
"but sit down and wait a while." Then they put the iron soil turner
in the fire until it was red hot. "Eat this first," they said to the
crocodile, and when he opened his mouth, they threw it very far into
his body and he died.
89 [390]
There was a man named Dogidog who was very lazy and very poor. His
house was small and had no floor, only the boards to put the floor
on. He went to the forest to cut bamboo with which to make a floor,
and he carried cooked rice with him. When he got there he hung the
rice in a tree and went to cut the bamboo. While he was gone, a cat
came and ate the rice, so when the man got hungry and came to eat,
he had no rice, so he went home. The next day he went to cut again,
and when he had hung the rice in the tree, the cat came to eat it. The
third day he went again and hung the rice in the tree, but fixed it
in a trap; then he hid in some brush and did not cut bamboo. The cat
came to eat the rice and was caught. Then the man said, "I will kill
you." "No," said the cat, "do not kill me." "Alright, then I take you
home to watch my house," said the man. Then he took the cat home,
and tied it near the door of his house and went away. When he came
back, the cat had become a cock.
"Now I go to the cock fight at Magsingal," [391] said Dogidog, and
he put his rooster under his arm and started for the place. He was
crossing a river when he met a crocodile. "Where are you going,
Dogidog?" said the crocodile. "To the cock fight at Magsingal,"
said the man. "Wait, I go with you," said the crocodile. Then they
went. Soon they met a deer. "Where are you going, Dogidog?" said the
deer. "To the cock fight at Magsingal," said the man. "Wait, I go
with you," said the deer. Then they went again. In the way they met
Bunton. [392] "Where are you going?" said it. "To Magsingal to the
cock fight," said the man. "Wait, I go with you," said the mound. Then
they went again and soon they met a monkey. "Where are you going,
Dogidog?" said the monkey. "To the cock fight at Magsingal," said
the man. "Wait, I go with you," said the monkey. Then they went until
they reached the place where was the fight in Magsingal.
The crocodile said to Dogidog, "If any man wants to sink in the water,
I can beat him." The deer said, "If any man wants to run, I am very
fast." Then the earth said, "If any man wants to wrestle, I know very
well how to do." The monkey said, "If any man wants to climb, I can
go higher." Then they took the rooster to the place of the fighting,
and Dogidog had him fight the other rooster. But the rooster had
been a cat before, and he seized the other rooster in his claws, as
a cat does, and killed it. Then the people brought many roosters and
bet much money and the rooster of Dogidog, which was a cat before,
killed them all, so there were no more roosters in Magsingal, and
Dogidog won much money.
The people wanted some other sport, so they brought a man who
could stay very long under water, and Dogidog had him try with
the crocodile. After more than two hours, the man had to come up
first. Then the people brought a man who runs very fast, and the deer
raced with him, and the man could not beat the deer for he was very
fast. Then they brought a very big man, but he could not throw the
earth. Last, the people brought a man who climbs very well and the
monkey climbed with him, and went much higher than the man.
Dogidog had very much money and he bought two horses to carry the
sacks of silver to his house. When he got near to the town, he tied
his horses and went to tell his mother to go and ask to buy the
good house from the rich man. "How can you buy?" said the rich man,
"when you have no money?" Then his mother went home and the man went
to get two sacks of money to send to the rich man. When the rich man
saw so much money, he said, "Yes," for the money was in sacks and was
not counted. Then Dogidog went to live in the good house and the rich
man still had no house, so he had no where to go when the rain came.
90
A wood-chopper went to the woods. When he passed where the brook ran,
"Go away, go away," he said to Banbantay, the spirit of the brook. He
heard a voice in the thicket. The voice said, "I should think he
would see me." The man answered, "Yes, I see you." The spirit said,
"Where am I now?" The man answered, "You are in the thicket." The
spirit came down and said, "Put my _poncho_ on you." When he has
it on, no one can see him. [393] "See if I really can see you in my
_poncho_." The man took the _poncho_ and put it on, then the spirit
could not see him any more, because the cloth made him invisible. Then
the man went home. When he reached there, he said to his wife, "Wife,
where am I now?" She cried because she thought him dead. He said,
"Do not cry, for I am not dead, but I have received a _poncho_ which
makes me invisible." The man took off his _poncho_ and embraced his
wife, which made his wife laugh at him, for she knew then that her
husband was powerful.
91
A fisherman went to catch fish with his throw net. While he was
fishing, a big bird, Banog, saw him. It seized the man, put him on its
back and flew away. It lighted on a very big tree in the forest. In
the thicket there was a nest with two small Banog in it.
After the bird had put the man near the nest, it flew away again, and
the nestlings wished to eat the man, but he defended himself so they
could not eat him. He took one in each hand and jumped from the tree,
and the young birds broke his fall so that he was not hurt. The man
was much frightened by the things which had happened to him, and
he ran to his home. When he arrived home, he told with tears what
had happened to him. His family were very happy over his return,
and made him promise not to go alone again to fish.