Tagalog Texts with Grammatical Analysis

Translation

1. The foolish monkey and the clever turtle.

Once upon a time, when the turtle was swimming in the river, he saw a banana-tree adrift and being carried along by the current. He dragged it to the beach, but was not able to carry it up to the solid ground. Therefore he called his friend, the monkey, and offered him a half of the banana-tree, if he would plant his part for him. The monkey agreed, and they divided the banana-tree at the middle, half-way from either end. The monkey took the half which had leaves, because he thought it would grow better than the half which had none.

When a few days had passed, the monkey’s tree died, while that of the turtle grew until it bore fruit. The bananas grew ripe, but the turtle could not climb for them. Therefore he called his friend, the monkey, and offered him some of the fruits of the banana, if he would climb the tree. The monkey climbed up and ate for all he was worth.

Said the turtle: “Throw me some.”

But the monkey answered: “Though sweet the skins, I’d throw you none.”

The turtle got angry and scattered spines round the foot of the tree. When the monkey jumped down, he landed on the spines. He suspected the turtle and looked for him, in order to punish him. He found the turtle behind a stump.

Said he to the turtle: “I am going to punish you. Choose between the two: shall I bray you in a mortar or drown you in the river?”

The clever turtle began to shout and begged the monkey, if it were possible, to bray him in a mortar.

But the monkey answered: “I shall give you the punishment you don’t want.”

And he threw the turtle into the river.

When the turtle arrived in the water, he set up a shout and said to the monkey: “Thank you, friend! This is my home.”

Note. p. 16, l. 2 aŋ pagòŋ hábaŋ nalìlígoʾ is unusual and no doubt traditional for hábaŋ aŋ pagòŋ ay nalìlígoʾ. Similarly, p. 16, l. 18 Balat màn at malinamnàm ... is traditional (proverbial) for modern Káhit na malinamnàm aŋ maŋa balàt.

2. The race of the deer and the snail.

A deer, grazing in the jungle, came upon a snail that was creeping over the leaf of a bamboo-plant. The deer ceased from his grazing and watched the slow creeping of the snail.

When a few moments had passed, he said to the snail: “How slowly you walk! Why don’t you learn to walk faster? Look at me,—I am often pursued by dogs, but my swift running is what saves my life. But look at you,—if you should be pursued by any foe, what will ever save your life? Surely you will get killed.”

When the snail had heard these words, he looked at the deer and scanned his fine physique, his long legs, and his strong muscles. He wished that he too might be like the deer, so that he could run fast. However, he thought that if he forced himself to run, he should not remain far behind the deer.

Accordingly he answered the deer: “You are overweening. You do not suspect what can be done by one who has a strong will. I challenge you to race with me from here to the river that lies west of here.”

The deer laughed loudly and answered the snail: “How can you think you will defeat me? I suppose you are going to cheat.”

The snail answered that he was not going to cheat, and, so that there might be someone to watch them and be judge over their race, he suggested that they call one of their friends to be judge.

The deer agreed, and they called an owl to be judge.

When they began to run, the snail was soon left far behind. On his course the deer came upon a flourishing grass-field. He stopped to graze, since his start over the snail was so great. He planned that when he saw the snail coming, he would start running again. However, when he had done feeding, he was attacked by laziness. He went to sleep, with the thought that he would wake up before the snail arrived.

However, while he was asleep, the snail passed by. When he awoke, it was already late in the afternoon. He ran with all his might to the river, and there he was met by the snail and their judge, the owl.

“You are defeated,” said their judge at once.

3. A Good Friday.

Juan and his friend Pedro were canoeing on the river toward the town Baliwag. In their canoe they had an image of Christ which they were conveying to a priest to be used in the celebration of a Good Friday Mass. Juan was filled with terror.

Said he to Pedro: “This man of ours in the canoe is all chopped up with wounds and no longer breathing. I think this man is a corpse. I am afraid we shall be suspected by the priest to whom we are delivering him.”

Pedro answered: “We shall tell him that when this man was loaded into our canoe, he was already in this condition. We have many witnesses, so don’t be afraid.”

When they reached the priest they gave him the image. The priest told them to come to church the next day in the afternoon to hear the sermon.

Juan was again filled with terror, for he could not make out why the priest wanted them to go to the church. He had often heard of men being summoned to the church and there seized by the gendarmes. However, he did not say anything to Pedro, for he saw that the latter had no fear.

On the next day in the afternoon they went to church, and there they saw a Christ nailed to the cross.

Said Juan: “That man, if you remember, is the one we delivered to the priest. We had better go to some place out of sight of the priest.”

So the two of them went under the pulpit, to hear the sermon from there. The Good Friday Mass began, and the priest was already getting to the last part of his sermon.

In his sermon the priest said: “Repent ye of your sins, cruel people! Behold the wounds which you struck in the body of our Savior!”

When Juan heard this, he was again filled with terror, for he thought that he had fallen under suspicion.

Therefore, what he did was to come out from under the pulpit, face the priest, and say: “Father, we are not the ones who wounded this man! When he was loaded into our canoe he was already wounded.”

When he had said this, he went back under the pulpit. The priest paid no attention to the speech he had heard, and went on with his sermon.

“The day has come now, when ye sinners must repent. The portals of Heaven are open now through the death of our Savior, and every sinner can enter Heaven, if he repent. But if ye do not repent, ye shall come to be punished with sufferings without end in the flames of Hell for the sufferings which ye caused our Savior to undergo. Behold His body sweating blood, His hands and feet nailed to the cross, and His wounds from head to feet. No one other caused Him to suffer and wounded His dear body, than you, ye sinners, and if ye do not repent, ye shall fall into Hell.”

Juan could not remain in his place, for he thought that the priest was overflowing with anger against him.

So he again faced the priest and said, as loudly as he could: “Father, only a moment ago I told you that I had no part in wounding this man, so do not send me, sir, to Hell.”

The priest was filled with great anger and said to the congregation: “What sort of people are you, foolish folk? Is there not one among you who can take hold of this fellow and choke him?”

When Juan heard this, he ran with all his might, trampling without regard the people who were kneeling and weeping in repentance of their sins. He was followed by Pedro, and the two ran together, without stopping, until they reached their home town. And there they told the story of their narrow escape.

4. The hunchback and the blindman.

A hunchback and a blindman were close friends. When they walked, the hunchback led the blindman; the blindman, on the other hand, carried the hunchback on his shoulders, when they had a hard road to travel, for the hunchback was weak of body.

Once they came upon a cocoanut-tree. They wanted to pick some of the fruits, but they did not know which of the two of them should be the one to climb the tree. The blindman said that he should not be able to climb, because he should not be able to see which fruits to pick, since there were many unripe fruits. The hunchback also did not want to climb, on account of his weakness. However, he was very eager to eat of the cocoanuts, so, finally, he said to the blindman that he would do the climbing.

“To prevent your being robbed of the fruits which I shall throw down, do you count out loud the thud on the ground of the fruits as I drop them, so that I may keep track of the number.”

The hunchback began to climb, but when he was half-way up, he fell down.

“One!” said the blindman.

The hunchback told him that it was he who had made the thud and not a cocoanut.

He climbed again. After a few moments he took another fall.

“Two!” shouted the blindman.

The hunchback got angry and told the blindman that he was stubborn.

He said: “That first thing that made a thud was I, and the second one was I again; I haven’t yet picked any cocoanuts.”

But the blindman planned to make fun of the hunchback’s falls. So he decided that, when he again heard a thud, he would cry “Three!”

The hunchback climbed again, but again fell. The blindman cried “Three!” and laughed.

The hunchback grew hot with anger. He went up to the blindman and slapped him in the face. The slap hit the blindman’s eyes, and through it his eyes came open. To take revenge he kicked the hunchback. He struck him on the back, and through this his hump was straightened out.

They both rejoiced at what had happened, and their friendship grew all the closer, instead of their becoming enemies.

5. The king who had horns and Juan.

On a group of islands there ruled a man who had two short horns hidden in his thick hair. This was not known to his subjects, but the secret began to spread among the people by way of the barbers who had cut his hair.

On account of this he conceived a great anger against barbers and planned to exterminate the barbers in his kingdom. He ordered four deep wells dug in front of his residence, and in the center between the four pits he had a seat placed. One day he sat down on the chair between the four pits, and asked everyone who passed whether he knew how to cut hair. Whenever anyone said “Yes,” he stopped him, gave him a pair of shears, and had him cut his hair. After a little while he asked each hair-cutter what he saw on his, the king’s, head. The hair-cutters all told the truth, and each one of them answered that he saw horns. Every one who answered thus was pushed by the king into one of the pits that were round him.

A few days passed and two of the pits were already filled with barbers and were ordered by the king to be filled up with earth. The passers-by who knew how to cut hair grew scarce, and the king thought he had already killed all the barbers in his kingdom.

One day he waited on his seat until mid-day, before a man came by who said he knew how to cut hair.

The king asked him: “What is your name?”

The man answered: “My name, sir, is Juan.”

“Cut my hair, Juan,” commanded the king.

Juan approached the king and began to cut his hair.

After a short time the king asked: “What do you see on my head, Juan?”

His reply was thus: “Your Majesty, I see on your head the crown.”

This made the king glad. Therefore he got up from his seat and led Juan into his palace and made Juan barber royal. He gave Juan large wages and had the remaining pits filled up.

6. Three students.

Juan, Pedro, and Andrés were three students from the same town who were friends. When the opening of the schools came, they knew that they would part: each one of them was to go to a different town. Before they parted, they appointed a place where they would meet at the beginning of the vacation.

A year passed, the closing of the schools arrived, the students returned to their home towns, and the three friends, Pedro, Juan, and Andrés met in the town where Pedro had been brought up, to spend the vacation there.

When they came together, after discussing various matters, they inquired how much each of them had learned in his study of the Spanish language. Pedro said that he knew a great many Spanish words, but that which he remembered best was the word “Vamos.”

Juan in turn answered: “I too know a great deal, but what I recall just now is the word ‘Matar.’”

Andrés said that he had learned nothing except the word “Si.”

After their conversation Pedro suggested that they go boating on the river and take a bath.

When they were boating on the river, they saw on the bank a Spaniard who wanted to bathe. Pedro said it would be a good idea to speak to the Spaniard, so that each one of them might show his knowledge.

Pedro began and said “Vamos!”

Juan answered “Matar!”

And last came Andrés with his “Si!”

When the Spaniard heard this, he was filled with terror, for he thought that the three canoers were going to kill him. Therefore, even though he did not know how to swim, he jumped into the river and was drowned.

7. A soldier who knew Latin.

Three friends, a priest, a physician, and a soldier, went together to shoot wild game in a deep jungle. As the jungle was far from the town, they carried plenty of provisions, so as not to be in want of food. A few days passed without their bagging anything. Their provisions grew less and less, until there was nothing left except one raw egg. There came to them the day of great hunger, but the three had no food except the egg that was left.

The priest said that, if they divided the one egg, it would do them no good, for it would not slacken their hunger. Therefore the priest suggested that only one of them should eat the remaining egg, and in his selfishness he suggested that whichever of them was best at speaking Latin should eat the egg all by himself. He thought that the soldier did not know Latin, and the doctor alone would be his opponent, and his knowledge he held in contempt.

The doctor agreed to the advice of the priest, but the soldier did not want to consent, for he had not studied like the priest and the doctor, but there was nothing for him to do.

The priest took the egg and tapped it against a stone. When the egg was broken, he said: “Coronatum est,” and looked at his two companions.

The doctor took the broken egg, removed the broken part of the shell, put on some salt, and said: “Saltum est.”

The physician handed the egg to the soldier, and the priest and he waited for what the soldier would say.

The latter did not know what to say, for he really did not know a single iota of Latin. In his cogitation he remembered that once, when he went to church to hear the Good Friday Mass, he heard from the priest that the meaning of the words “Consummatum est” was “It is all over now.” So he poured the egg into his mouth and, when he had swallowed it, he said: “Consummatum est.”

His two companions were greatly astonished at the learning of the soldier, which they had by no means suspected.