The following are some of the tales heard first around the camp fire of the distant mountain village.

Aponibolinayen and the Sun

Tinguian

One day Aponibolinayen and her sister-in-law went out to gather greens.  They walked to the woods to the place where the siksiklat grew, for the tender leaves of this vine are very good to eat.  Suddenly while searching about in the underbrush, Aponibolinayen cried out with joy, for she had found the vine, and she started to pick the leaves.  Pull as hard as she would, however, the leaves did not come loose, and all at once the vine wound itself around her body and began carrying her upward. [1]

Far up through the air she went until she reached the sky, and there the vine set her down under a tree.  Aponibolinayen was so surprised to find herself in the sky that for some time she just sat and looked around, and then, hearing a rooster crow, she arose to see if she could find it.  Not far from where she had sat was a beautiful spring surrounded by tall betel-nut trees whose tops were pure gold.  Rare beads were the sands of the spring, and the place where the women set their jars when they came to dip water was a large golden plate.  As Aponibolinayen stood admiring the beauties of this spring, she beheld a small house nearby, and she was filled with fear lest the owner should find her there.  She looked about for some means of escape and finally climbed to the top of a betel-nut tree and hid.

Now the owner of this house was Ini-init, [2] the Sun, but he was never at home in the daylight, for it was his duty to shine in the sky and give light to all the world.  At the close of the day when the Big Star took his place in the sky to shine through the night, Ini-init returned to his house, but early the next morning he was always off again.

From her place in the top of the betel-nut tree, Aponibolinayen saw the Sun when he came home at evening time, and again the next morning she saw him leave.  When she was sure that he was out of sight she climbed down and entered his dwelling, for she was very hungry.  She cooked rice, and into a pot of boiling water she dropped a stick which immediately became fish, [3] so that she had all she wished to eat.  When she was no longer hungry, she lay down on the bed to sleep.

Now late in the afternoon Ini-init returned from his work and went to fish in the river near his house, and he caught a big fish.  While he sat on the bank cleaning his catch, he happened to look up toward his house and was startled to see that it appeared to be on fire. [4] He hurried home, but when he reached the house he saw that it was not burning at all, and he entered.  On his bed he beheld what looked like a flame of fire, but upon going closer he found that it was a beautiful woman fast asleep.