Tinguian

Two women went to gather some wild fruit from a vine which belonged to the alligator.

“You must be careful not to throw the rind with your teeth marks on it where the alligator can see it,” said one of the women to the other as they sat eating the fruit.

But the other woman paid no attention and threw the rind showing teeth marks into the river, where the alligator saw it.

Thus he knew at once who had taken his fruit, and he was very angry.  He went to the house of the woman and called to the people: 

“Bring out the woman that I may eat her, for she has eaten my fruit”

“Very well,” answered the people.  “But sit down and wait a little while.”

Then they put the iron soil-turner into the fire, and when it was red hot, they took it to the door and said to the alligator: 

“Here, eat this first.”

He opened his mouth, and they pushed the red hot iron down his throat, and he died.

Dogedog

Tinguian

Dogedog had always been very lazy, and now that his father and mother were dead and he had no one to care for him, he lived very poorly.  He had little to eat.  His house was old and small and so poor that it had not even a floor.  Still he would rather sit all day and idle away his time than to work and have more things.

One day, however, when the rainy season was near at hand, Dogedog began thinking how cold he would be when the storms came, and he felt so sorry for himself that he decided to make a floor in his house.

Wrapping some rice in a banana leaf for his dinner, he took his long knife and went to the forest to cut some bamboo.  He hung the bundle of rice in a tree until he should need it; but while he was working a cat came and ate it.  When the hungry man came for his dinner, there was none left.  Dogedog went back to his miserable little house which looked forlorn to him even, now that he had decided to have a floor.

The next day he went again to the forest and hung his rice in the tree as he did before, but again the cat came and ate it.  So the man had to go home without any dinner.

The third day he took the rice, but this time he fixed a trap in the tree, and when the cat came it was caught.

“Now I have you!” cried the man when he found the cat; “and I shall kill you for stealing my rice.”

“Oh, do not kill me,” pleaded the cat, “and I will be of some use to you.”

So Dogedog decided to spare the cat’s life, and he took it home and tied it near the door to guard the house.

Some time later when he went to look at it, he was very much surprised to find that it had become a cock.

“Now I can go to the cock-fight at Magsingal,” cried the man.  And he was very happy, for he had much rather do that than work.

Thinking no more of getting wood for his floor, he started out at once for Magsingal with the cock under his arm.  As he was crossing a river he met an alligator which called out to him: