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T he F ox an d th e H ed geh og

A Fox swimming across a rapid river was carried

by the force of the current into a very deep ravine,
where he lay for a long time very much bruised,
sick, and unable to move. A swarm of hungry
blood-sucking flies settled upon him. A Hedgehog,
passing by, saw his anguish and inquired if he
should drive away the flies that were tormenting
him.

"By no means," replied the Fox; "pray do not

molest them." "How is this?' said the Hedgehog;
"do you not want to be rid of them?' "No," returned
the Fox, "for these flies which you see are full of
blood, and sting me but little, and if you rid me of
these which are already satiated, others more
hungry will come in their place, and will drink up all
the blood I have left."
Aesop's Cube

T he Ba t and the W ea sel s

A Bat who fell upon the ground and was caught by

a Weasel pleaded to be spared his life. The
Weasel refused, saying that he was by nature the
enemy of all birds. The Bat assured him that he
was not a bird, but a mouse, and thus was set
free. Shortly afterwards the Bat again fell to the
ground and was caught by another Weasel,whom
he likewise entreated not to eat him. The Weasel
said that he had a special hostility to mice. The Bat
assured him that he was not a mouse, but a bat,
and thus a second time escaped.

It is wise to turn circumstances to

good account.
Aesop's Cube

T he Mon key an d th e Ca mel

The beasts of the forest gave a splendid

entertainment at which the Monkey stood up and
danced. Having vastly delighted the assembly, he
sat down amidst universal applause. The Camel,
envious of the praises bestowed on the Monkey
and desiring to divert to himself the favor of the
guests, proposed to stand up in his turn and dance
for their amusement. He moved about in so utterly
ridiculous a manner that the Beasts, in a fit of
indignation, set upon him with clubs and drove him
out of the assembly.

It is absurd to ape our betters.

Aesop's Cube

T he Sic k Lion

A Lion, unable from old age and infirmities to

provide himself with food by force, resolved to do
so by artifice. He returned to his den, and lying
down there, pretended to be sick, taking care that
his sickness should be publicly known. The beasts
expressed their sorrow, and came one by one to
his den, where the Lion devoured them. After
many of the beasts had thus disappeared, the Fox
discovered the trick and presenting himself to the
Lion, stood on the outside of the cave, at a
respectful distance, and asked him how he was. "I
am very middling," replied the Lion, "but why do
you stand without? Pray enter within to talk with
me." "No, thank you," said the Fox. "I notice that
there are many prints of feet entering your cave,
but I see no trace of any returning."
 He is wise who is warned by the
misfortunes of others.

Aesop's Cube

T he A ss in the Lio n's Skin

An Ass once found a Lion's skin which the hunters

had left out in the sun to dry. He put it on and went
towards his native village. All fled at his approach,
both men and animals, and he was a proud Ass
that day. In his delight he lifted up his voice and
brayed, but then every one knew him, and his
owner came up and gave him a sound cudgelling
for the fright he had caused. And shortly
afterwards a Fox came up to him and said: "Ah, I
knew you by your voice."

Fine clothes may disguise, but silly

words will disclose a fool.
 The Cube

The Legend of the Sampaguita

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Sampaguita, Philippine's national flower

A long time ago, neighboring villages Balintawak and Gagalangin are separated by a
strong wall made of dried bamboos. This wall is torn and replaced every five years,
sometimes by the guardsmen of Ballintawak and sometimes by the guardsmen of
Gagalangin. This is done according to the respective datu's command.
Rosita, the daughter of barangay Balintawak's is blessed with incomparable beauty and
kindness. Her mother died when she was young but she has four maids to assist her. A lot
of admirers tried to win her heart but her heart belonged only to Delfin, son Gagalangin's
datu.

The conflict between their families did not hinder their love for each other. Every night,
when the moon is bright they would secretly meet at the end of the fence with Rosita's
maidservants.

One day, the datu of Gagalangin heard that the fence is being destroyed by the servants of
datu Balintawak so that they can build a new one. He asked one of his guards to watch at
the said fence-making. When the guard came back, he told the datu that the new fence
was moved. He was mad because the datu of Balintawak took five meters of their land, in
essence occupying a bit of their land. Immediately, he sent a man to the datu of the
neighboring barangay.

"Tell him", he said, "to take the fence back to its original place! He is being unlawful and
stealing is a crime!"

When the datu of Balintawak heard about it, he became furious and said, "Tell him that I
did not stole anything. I am just returning the wall to it's original position according to the
laws of my ancestors!"

Delfin's father was enraged when he heard the response. In situations like this, the usual
conclusion was bloodshed.

The cheif of Gagalangin prepared his army. By the edge of his sword, he had to take back
the land that was taken from him. When the chief of Balintawak heard that the cheif of
Gagalangin are preparing for war agains him, he too prepared his army. When the time
drew nearer to the day of the attack, the chief of Balintawak suddenly fell ill and not long
after that, passed away. Delfin was left with the great responsibility of being general of
the army of Gagalangin.

When Rosita heard of this, she was distressed. Delfin was very young and had not had
any experience in war. Whereas her father has been honed by many fights ever since he
was a child. Indeed, she was extremely distressed. She wanted to speak to Delfin so that
the war could be postponed so that they could have a peaceful negotiation with her father.
However, there was no time for them to talk. The next day, her father was heading a
massive army.

The battle between the two tribes was fierce and bloody. Many men died that day. Delfin
was fatally wounded, and because of the amount of blood he lost, he fell to the ground.
Before he breathed his last, he gave instructions to his soldiers for his body to be buried
next to the wall, near the secret passage where in the full moon, he and Rosita, along with
her maidservants, peacefully walked through the lush grass of the fields.
The stories of old never went into details as to the two lover's story, nor did it mention the
result of the battle. All that was said is this: when Rosita heard about Delfin's death, the
young woman fell desperately ill. Her father called the best doctors from everywhere, but
none of them could heal the pitiful young lady. Little by little, her strength left her. When
Rosita felt that she did not have long to live, she requested that her father that her body be
buried next to Delfin's. Although this was hard on the cheif, he granted the wish of the
daughter whom he loved dearly.

Many years passed since that time. The days of the villages and chiefs have long gone
and the Spanish came to colonize the land. The city of Manila had been founded and
there are now many people living in Balintawak and Gagalangin. However, the people
from these two places have been perturbed by one mysterious thing. Every month of
May, especially when the moon is bright, there is a mysterious sound heard somewhere in
the middle of the two cities. The sound is like that of a young woman, sweetly whispering
like a wind in the night, kissing the leaves and the plants. "Sumpa kita!... Sumpa kita!"
("You are my promise.. you are my vow!") is what they would hear. Some people would
wait around but they did not see anything. However, they noticed in the wild part of the
area, there grew two trees who's flowers are small and white with many petals and who's
smell was unbelievably fragrant. This is what the people saw every year on the month of
May.

It was not long until they thought of digging underneath the two trees to find out the
mystery of that voice and the meaning of the words that were uttered. They did not have
to dig too deep until they found something. However, their wonder was only deepened
when they saw that the two trees started from the mouths of two skulls, buried close
together, with their skeleton still intact. It came back to the memories of the elder people
of the story of the two lovers, Delfin and Rosita.

In the meantime, this story, passed down from mouth to mouth has been altered bit by bit.
The words "Sumpa kita!" uttered by the evening breeze, to the listeners of the ages has
become "Sampaguita", which is now used for the beautifully scented flowers that
sometimes grow on the grave mounds of lovers.