Notes: This book features 61 folktales from the Philippines.
Written by 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 […]
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. Now the Sultan of the Island had a beautiful daughter whom Bantugan wished to marry, but the home of the Sultan was far […]
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 […]
Aponitolau and Aponibolinayen had a son whose name was Dumalawi. 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 […]
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 […]
When the rice 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 […]
In the depths of a dark forest where people seldom went, lived a wizened old Alan. 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 […]
In the very beginning there lived a being so large that he can not be compared with any known thing. His name was Melu, 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 […]
“Tikgi, tikgi, tikgi, we will come to work for you. Let us cut your rice.” Ligi 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Once there were two young men, very good friends, who were unhappy because neither of them had been tattooed. 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. […]
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. […]
A turtle and a big lizard once went to the field of Gotgotapa to steal ginger, 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 […]
One day a man took his blow-gun 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]