Saturday, October 19, 2013

The Foolish Bear and The Clever Monkey

Honestly, I just revised this story. I read some fables and thought of other characters to get the following roles. Hope you enjoy! :)



There was once a clever and happy monkey that lived in a tree of juicy, red apples. One fine day, a bear passed by to that tree and told the monkey that he had traveled a long distance and was in search of food as he was very hungry. The kind monkey offered him few apples. The bear enjoyed them very much and asked the monkey whether he could come again for some more fruit. The generous monkey happily agreed.
The bear returned the next day, and the next, and the next one after that. Soon the two became very good friends. They discussed their lives, their friends and family, like all friends do. The bear told the monkey that he had a wife and that they lived on the other side of the mountain. So the kind monkey offered him some extra apples to take home to his wife. The bear’s wife loved the apples and made her husband promise to get her some every day.
Meanwhile, the friendship between the monkey and the bear deepened as they spent more and more time together. The bear’s wife started getting jealous. She wanted to put an end to this friendship. So she pretended that she could not believe that her husband could be friends with a monkey. Her husband tried to convince her that he and the monkey shared a true friendship. The bear’s wife thought to herself that his flesh would be very sweet. So she asked the bear to invite the monkey to their house.
The bear was not happy about this. But his wife was determined to eat the monkey’s flesh. So she thought of a plan. One day, she pretended to be very ill and told the bear that the doctor said that she would only recover if she ate a monkey’s heart. If her husband wanted to save her life, he must bring her his friend’s heart.
The bear was in a dilemma. He loved his friend but on the other hand, he could not possibly let his wife die. The bear’s wife threatened him saying that if he did not get her the monkey’s heart, she would surely die.
So the bear went to the apple tree and invited the monkey to come home to meet his wife. In the middle of the dark forest, the bear jumped over the monkey laying him flat on the grassy land. The frightened monkey asked him why he was doing that. The bear cried and explained that he would have to kill the monkey to save his wife’s life. The clever monkey told him that he would gladly give up his heart to save the life of the bear’s wife, but he had left his heart behind in the apple tree. He asked the bear to turn back so that the monkey could go get his heart from the apple tree.

The silly bear quickly stood up and they went back to the apple tree. The monkey scampered up the tree to safety. He told the bear to tell his wicked wife that she had married the biggest fool in the world.



Moral Lesson:
- Do not underestimate the intellectual capabilities of others.
- Do not be fooled with the wicked plans of a family.
- Do not let others use you.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Mama, don't you love me?



Mama, don’t you love me?
You took me away because of the fear of responsibility.
You took me away because of the fear to society.
You took me away because of the fear of property.


Mama, don’t you love me?
You took me away when my life had started.
You took me away when you were scared.
You took me away when you couldn’t fight.


Mama, don’t you love me?
My life was short.
My life was denied.
My life was nothing.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

The Nanking Store by Macario Tiu


The Nanking Store was written by Macario Tiu in 1999. The setting was places in Davao City, like Bajada and Sta. Ana.

It is a story about two Chinese lovers who weren’t destined for each other. After years of marriage, they still haven’t produced a child which is considered bad in their culture. In the Chinese culture, it is very important to produce a child, specifically a son because it is their way of spreading their bloodline. In the story, Peter was the only hope of the Zhin family to carry on its name to the next generations. Linda’s mother-in-law was very unhappy with her that she scolded and slapped Linda in public. Unfortunately, Peter died in a car accident and had two sons with a Visayan bar girl which was called by the community as a “bad woman.” Linda became pregnant with no other suspect but the driver.

FAMILY


The story talks about the importance of family. Some say, “Family first before anyone else.” We came from a family and can’t live without them; therefore, we should obey all the rules and regulations stated by them. In my own point-of-view, we should also consider ourselves: oneself first before others. For a person to become happy or satisfied, he must make decisions that will make his life better. The family should respect and should adjust to the specific need that was not met by a family member even though it would take years to accept it. In the end, without the presence of one, they will not be considered as a family.

CULTURE


It also talks about how a culture greatly affects a person. Culture is traditional beliefs that were introduced by our ancestors. If the person disobeys some aspects of the culture, then he is considered as a “nobody” in the society. He is often talked about and becomes shameful of what he did. In my own perspective, it is not important on how others look unto you. What is important is that you are proud of what you are and who you are. It may affect you personally, but who cares? They are also people like you that make mistakes.

BETRAYAL


The story shows examples of betrayal. Where? In the part where everybody knew about Peter dating and had children by another woman and Linda being pregnant by another man. If they were Catholics, they had committed adultery. Married people entered a sacred sacrament and should live fully with it without breaking it. They should be faithful to each other besides any circumstances that they encounter. They should fight together and show other people how they are strongly bond by love.


With this story, I had created a simple quote: