The tale of Loku is applied to a large, ugly lizard which climbs to the rafters of houses and gives the peculiar cry that suggests its name. This lizard, although hideous, is harmless; it lives on centipedes. Its strange cry may be heard everywhere in the Philippine Islands.
Hundreds of years ago a very wicked king named Loku ruled the
Philippines. He was cruel and unjust, and condemned to death all who
refused to do his bidding. He had vast armies and made war on all until Continue reading
On a summer’s day, was a donkey walking in the mountains. Donkey was carrying a few sacks of salt on his back. The bag is very heavy, while the sun shines in the heat.
“Oh hot. Like I had no strength to walk again,” said the donkey.
Then he saw a river.
“Ah, there was a river! I better stop for a while,” said the donkey with joy.
Without thinking, he went into the river and byuur! Donkey slipped and fell. He tried to stand again, but Continue reading
Attendants put Kinantan and one of the king’s strongest cocks in the middle of the circle. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd the fight began. It was a very short fight. Kinantan killed the king’s cock with a single bow. His strength amazed the king and the smile disappeared from the false queen’s lips.
“Bring my golden cock,” ordered the king.
A silence fell over the people. The golden cock was the strongest cock in the Continue reading
When the king heard about the strange cock, he was pleased. Apart from hunting, his greatest pleasure was watching cockfights. He owned many valuable cocks, the best that could be found in his country. Whenever he heard of somebody owning a powerful cock, the king always wanted that cock to fight against one of his own. And when the king’s cock lost, the king would always buy the winning cock at a high price.
So when the king heard about Panjilaras and his wondercock, he Continue reading
Early next morning, with Kinantan on his shoulder, Panjilaras went to town. He had promised his mother that he would not put himself in danger by telling the king and the false queen who he really was.
On the way they met their friend Tiger, who gave them a ride to the edge of the forest.
It was already noon when Panjilaras finally reached the town. How strange everything was to his eyes! The rows and rows of houses, the hundreds of people in the streets, the carts pulled by Continue reading
When Panjilaras came back two weeks later, he found a tiny chicken near the snake. The egg had hatched at last.
“There’s your chicken, my boy,” said the snake, “and I’d be greatly surprised if it doesn’t turn out to be a cock.”
“Thank you, Auntie Snake, you’re the most beautiful snake in the world,” laughed Panjilaras. Gathering the small creature in his hands, he left the snake and ran home to show his mother his new Continue reading
How The Queen of The Sea Punished Greed
(Central Java)
It was a very dark night. On the beach everything was quiet. Only the song of the waves broke the deep silence. There was nobody to be seen on the sand. There was not a single man or a single animal.
At one place near the sea there rose a high rock. The waves had been throwing themselves for centuries against the walls of this rock and had made holes in them. Some of the holes were small, but some were big and formed Continue reading
The Tiger People
(A tale from Sumatra)
In the dark green forests of Sumatra there used to be many tigers. The villagers were frightened of these big cats which, from time to time, stole away their cattle. When they spoke about a tiger, the villagers would never call the animal by its real name. They respectfully called the tiger “Master” or “Grandfather”. They thought the tiger could understand the human language and that they would feel insulted if weak Continue reading
Once upon a time there were two brothers. One of them was very poor and lived in a small house with his wife and son. The other, who was unmarried, was very rich and lived in a large house.
The rich brother never did anything to help his less fortunate brother. He was much too busy showing off to his rich friends to have any time for his poor brother and his family. In fact, he was rather ashamed of him.
Naturally, the poor brother was very surprised when one day he received an Continue reading
