My Brother's Peculiar Chicken

(Alejandro R. Roces) My brother Kiko once had a very peculiar chicken. It was peculiar because no one could tell whether it was a rooster or a hen. My brother claimed it was a rooster. I claimed it was a hen. We almost got whipped because we argued too much. The whole question began early one morning. Kiko and I were driving the chickens from the cornfield. The corn had just been planted, and the chickens were scratching the seeds out for food. Suddenly we heard the rapid flapping of wings. We turned in the direction of the sound and saw two chickens fighting in the far end of the field. We could not see the birds clearly as they were lunging at each other in a whirlwind of feathers and dust. Look at that rooster fight! my brother said, pointing exactly at one of the chickens. Why, if I had a rooster like that, I could get rich in the cockpits. Lets go and catch it, I suggested. No, you stay here. I will go and catch it, Kiko said. My brother slowly approached the battling chickens. They were so busy fighting that they did not notice him. When he got near them, he dived and caught one of them by the leg. It struggled and squawked. Kiko finally held it by both wings and it became still. I ran over where he was and took a good look at the chicken. Why, it is a hen, I said. What is the matter with you? my brother asked. Is the heat making you sick? No. Look at its face. It has no comb or wattles. No comb and wattles! Who cares about its comb or wattles? Didnt you see it in fight? Sure, I saw it in fight. But I still say it is a hen. Ahem! Did you ever see a hen with spurs on its legs like these? Or a hen with a tail like this? I dont care about its spurs or tail. I tell you it is a hen. Why, look at it.

The argument went on in the fields the whole morning. At noon we went to eat lunch. We argued about it on the way home. When we arrived at our house Kiko tied the chicken to a peg. The chicken flapped its wings and then crowed. There! Did you hear that? my brother exclaimed triumphantly. I suppose you are going to tell me now that hens crow and that carabaos fly. I dont care if it crows or not, I said. That chicken is a hen. We went into the house, and the discussion continued during lunch. It is not a hen, Kiko said. It is a rooster. It is a hen, I said. It is not. It is. Now, now, Mother interrupted, how many times must Father tell you, boys, not to argue during lunch? What is the argument about this time? We told Mother, and she went out look at the chicken. That chicken, she said, is a binabae. It is a rooster that looks like a hen. That should have ended the argument. But Father also went out to see the chicken, and he said, Have you been drinking again? Mother asked. No, Father answered. Then what makes you say that that is a hen? Have you ever seen a hen with feathers like that? Listen. I have handled fighting cocks since I was a boy, and you cannot tell me that that thing is a rooster. Before Kiko and I realized what had happened, Father and Mother were arguing about the chicken by themselves. Soon Mother was crying. She always cried when she argued with Father.

You know very well that that is a rooster, she said. You are just being mean and stubborn. I am sorry, Father said. But I know a hen when I see one. I know who can settle this question, my brother said. Who? I asked. The teniente del Barrio, chief of the village. The chief was the oldest man in the village. That did not mean that he was the wisest, but anything always carried more weight if it is said by a man with gray hair. So my brother untied the chicken and we took it to the chief. Is this a male or a female chicken? Kiko asked. That is a question that should concern only another chicken, the chief replied. My brother and I happen to have a special interest in this particular chicken. Please give us an answer. Just say yes or no. Is this a rooster? It does not look like any rooster I have ever seen, the chief said. Is it a hen, then? I asked. It does not look like any hen I have ever seen. No, that could not be a chicken. I have never seen like that. It must be a bird of some other kind. Oh, whats the use! Kiko said, and we walked away. Well, what shall we do now? I said. I know that, my brother said. Lets go to town and see Mr. Cruz. He would know. Mr. Eduardo Cruz lived in a nearby town of Katubusan. He had studied poultry raising in the University of the Philippines. He owned and operated the largest poultry business in town. We took the chicken to his office. Mr. Cruz, Kiko said, is this a hen or a rooster? Mr. Cruz looked at the bird curiously and then said:

Hmmm. I dont know. I couldnt tell in one look. I have never run across a chicken like this before. Well, is there any way you can tell? Why, sure. Look at the feathers on its back. If the feathers are round, then its a hen. If they are pointed, its a rooster. The three of us examined the feathers closely. It had both. Hmmm. Very peculiar, said Mr. Cruz. Is there any other way you can tell? I could kill it and examined its insides. No. I do not want it killed, my brother said. I took the rooster in my arms and we walked back to the barrio. Kiko was silent most of the way. Then he said: I know how I can prove to you that this is a rooster. How? I asked. Would you agree that this is a rooster if I make it fight in the cockpit and it wins? If this hen of yours can beat a gamecock, I will believe anything, I said. All right, he said. Well take it to the cockpit this Sunday. So that Sunday we took the chicken to the cockpit. Kiko looked around for a suitable opponent. He finally picked a red rooster. Dont match your hen against that red rooster. I told him. That red rooster is not a native chicken. It is from Texas. I dont care where it came from, my brother said. My rooster will kill it.

Dont be a fool, I said. That red rooster is a killer. It has killed more chickens than the fox. There is no rooster in this town that can stand against it. Pick a lesser rooster. My brother would not listen. The match was made and the birds were readied for the killing. Sharp steel gaffs were tied to their left legs. Everyone wanted to bet on the red gamecock. The fight was brief. Both birds were released in the centre of the arena. They circled around once and then faced each other. I expected our chicken to die of fright. Instead, a strange thing happened. A lovesick expression came into the red roosters eyes. Then it did a love dance. That was all our chicken needed. It rushed at the red rooster with its neck feathers flaring. In one lunge, it buried its spurs into its opponents chest. The fight was over. Tiope! Tiope! Fixed fight! the crowd shouted. Then a riot broke out. People tore bamboo benches apart and used them as clubs. My brother and I had to leave through the back way. I had the chicken under my arm. We ran toward the coconut groves and kept running till we lost the mob. As soon as we were safe, my brother said: Do you believe it is a rooster now? Yes, I answered. I was glad the whole argument was over. Just then the chicken began to quiver. It stood up in my arms and cackled with laughter. Something warm and round dropped into my hand. It was an egg.

Summary

He has a brother named Kiko and one day they found a strange chicken and fighted over it because they don't know whether its a rooster or a hen and then they told their parents and they fighted too. Now,they asked for help to Tinienteng Tasio but don't know what is it so they went to Mr. Eduardo Cruz who studied poultry husbandry in Los Banos and operated so he's an expert in chicken and eggs, he said to them if its okay to cut it up and examine it ,but Kiko yelled no, so the brothers walked home empty-handed (well empty-answered) and decided to test the chicken to a fight and it was matched with a killer chicken with a rare species so it was the fight and it

was awkward because it did a love dance and the observer said it was a fair match and there was a riot and they get the chicken and they ran and it laid an egg. THE END

What is the conflict in the story of my brother's peculiar chicken by alendro r. roces?
Is the chicken in "my brother's peculiar chicken" by alejandro roces a hen or a rooster?

THE CREATION
Igorot In the beginning there were no people on the earth. Lumawig, 93 the Great Spirit, came down from the sky and cut many reeds. 94 He divided these into pairs which he placed in different parts of the world, and then he said to them, "You must speak." Immediately the reeds became people, and in each place was a man and a woman who could talk, but the language of each couple differed from that of the others. Then Lumawig commanded each man and woman to marry, which they did. By and by there were many children, all speaking the same language as their parents. These, in turn, married and had many children. In this way there came to be many people on the earth. Now Lumawig saw that there were several things which the people on the earth needed to use, so he set to work to supply them. He created salt, and told the inhabitants of one place to boil it down and sell it to their neighbors. But these people could not understand the directions of the Great Spirit, and the next time he visited them, they had not touched the salt. Then he took it away from them and gave it to the people of a place called Mayinit. 95 These did as he directed, and because of this he told them that they should always be owners of the salt, and that the other peoples must buy of them. Then Lumawig went to the people of Bontoc and told them to get clay and make pots. They got the clay, but they did not understand the moulding, and the jars were not well shaped. Because of their failure, Lumawig told them that they would always have to buy their jars, and he removed the pottery to Samoki. 96 When he told the people there what to do, they did just as he said, and their jars were well shaped and beautiful. Then the Great Spirit saw that they were fit owners of the pottery, and he told them that they should always make many jars to sell. In this way Lumawig taught the people and brought to them all the things which they now have.

THE FLOOD STORY

Igorot Once upon a time, when the world was flat and there were no mountains, there lived two brothers, sons of Lumawig, the Great Spirit. The brothers were fond of hunting, and since no

mountains had formed there was no good place to catch wild pig and deer, and the older brother said: "Let us cause water to flow over all the world and cover it, and then mountains will rise up." 97 So they caused water to flow over all the earth, and when it was covered they took the headbasket 98 of the town and set it for a trap. The brothers were very much pleased when they went to look at their trap, for they had caught not only many wild pigs and deer but also many people. Now Lumawig looked down from his place in the sky and saw that his sons had flooded the earth and that in all the world there was just one spot which was not covered. And he saw that all the people in the world had been drowned except one brother and sister who lived in Pokis. Then Lumawig descended, and he called to the boy and girl, saying: "Oh, you are still alive." "Yes," answered the boy, "we are still alive, but we are very cold." So Lumawig commanded his dog and deer to get fire 99 for the boy and girl. The dog and the deer swam quickly away, but though Lumawig waited a long time they did not return, and all the time the boy and girl were growing colder. Finally Lumawig himself went after the dog and the deer, and when he reached them he said: "Why are you so long in bringing the fire to Pokis? Get ready and come quickly while I watch you, for the boy and girl are very cold." Then the dog and the deer took the fire and started to swim through the flood, but when they had gone only a little way the fire was put out. Lumawig commanded them to get more fire and they did so, but they swam only a little way again when that of the deer went out, and that of the dog would have been extinguished also had not Lumawig gone quickly to him and taken it. As soon as Lumawig reached Pokis he built a big fire which warmed the brother and sister; and the water evaporated so that the world was as it was before, except that now there were mountains. The brother and sister married and had children, and thus there came to be many people on the earth.

LUMAWIG ON EARTH
Igorot One day when Lumawig, 100 the Great Spirit, looked down from his place in the sky he saw two sisters gathering beans. And he decided to go down to visit them. When he arrived at the place he asked them what they were doing. The younger, whose name was Fukan, answered: "We are gathering beans, but it takes a long time to get enough, for my sister wants to go bathing all the time." Then Lumawig said to the older sister: "Hand me a single pod of the beans." And when she had given it to him, he shelled it into the basket and immediately the basket was full. 101 The younger sister laughed at this, and Lumawig said to her: "Give me another pod and another basket."

She did so, and when he had shelled the pod, that basket was full also. Then he said to the younger sister: "Go home and get three more baskets." She went home, but when she asked for three more baskets her mother said that the beans were few and she could not need so many. Then Fukan told her of the young man who could fill a basket from one pod of beans, and the father, who heard her story, said: "Go bring the young man here, for I think he must be a god." So Fukan took the three baskets back to Lumawig, and when he had filled them as he did the other two, he helped the girls carry them to the house. As they reached their home, he stopped outside to cool himself, but the father called to him and he went up into the house and asked for some water. The father brought him a cocoanut shell full, and before drinking Lumawig looked at it and said: "If I stay here with you, I shall become very strong." The next morning Lumawig asked to see their chickens, and when they opened the chicken-coop out came a hen and many little chicks. "Are these all of your chickens?" asked Lumawig; and the father assured him that they were all. He then bade them bring rice meal that he might feed them, and as the chickens ate they all grew rapidly till they were cocks and hens. Next Lumawig asked how many pigs they had, and the father replied that they had one with some little ones. Then Lumawig bade them fill a pail with sweet potato leaves and he fed the pigs. And as they ate they also grew to full size. The father was so pleased with all these things that he offered his elder daughter to Lumawig for a wife. But the Great Spirit said he preferred to marry the younger; so that was arranged. Now when his brother-in-law learned that Lumawig desired a feast at his wedding, he was very angry and said: "Where would you get food for your wedding feast? There is no rice, nor beef, nor pork, nor chicken," But Lumawig only answered, "I shall provide our wedding feast." In the morning they all set out for Lanao, for Lumawig did not care to stay any longer in the house with his brother-in-law. As soon as they arrived he sent out for some tree trunks, but the trees that the people brought in were so small that Lumawig himself went to the forest and cut two large pine trees which he hurled to Lanao. When the people had built a fire of the trees he commanded them to bring ten kettles filled with water. Soon the water was boiling hot and the brother-in-law laughed and said: "Where is your rice? You have the boiling water, but you do not seem to think of the rice." In answer to this Lumawig took a small basket of rice and passed it over five kettles and they were full. Then he called "Yishtjau," and some deer came running out of the forest. These were not what he wanted, however, so he called again and some pigs came. He told the people that they were each to catch one and for his brother-in-law he selected the largest and best. They all set out in pursuit of the pigs and the others quickly caught theirs, but though the brotherin-law chased his until he was very tired and hot he could not catch it Lumawig laughed at him and said:

"You chase that pig until he is thin and still you cannot catch it, though all the others have theirs." Thereupon he grasped the hind legs of the pig and lifted it. All the people laughed and the brother-in-law said: "Of course you can catch it, because I chased it until it was tired." Lumawig then handed it to him and said, "Here, you carry it." But no sooner had the brother-inlaw put it over his shoulder than it cut loose and ran away. "Why did you let it go?" asked Lumawig. "Do you care nothing for it, even after I caught it for you? Catch it again and bring it here." So the brother-in-law started out again, and he chased it up stream and down, but he could not catch it. Finally Lumawig reached down and picked up the pig and carried it to the place where the others were cooking. After they had all eaten and drunk and made their offerings to the spirits, Lumawig said: "Come, let us go to the mountain to consult the omen concerning the northern tribes." So they consulted the omen, but it was not favorable, and they were starting home when the brother-in-law asked Lumawig to create some water, as the people were hot and thirsty. "Why do you not create water, Lumawig?" he repeated as Lumawig paid no attention to him. "You care nothing that the people are thirsty and in need of drink." Then they quarreled and were very angry and Lumawig said to the people, "Let us sit down and rest." While they rested, Lumawig struck the rock with his spear and water came out. 102 The brotherin-law jumped up to get a drink first, but Lumawig held him back and said he must be the last to drink. So they all drank, and when they had finished, the brother-in-law stepped up, but Lumawig gave him a push which sent him into the rock and water came from his body. "You must stay there," said Lumawig, "because you have troubled me a great deal." And they went home, leaving him in the rock. Some time after this Lumawig decided to go back to the sky to live, but before he went he took care that his wife should have a home. He made a coffin of wood 103 and placed her in it with a dog at her feet and a cock at her head. And as he set it floating on the water, 104 he told it not to stop until it reached Tinglayen. Then, if the foot end struck first, the dog should bark; and if the head end was the first to strike, the cock should crow. So it floated away, and on and on, until it came to Tinglayen. Now a widower was sharpening his ax on the bank of the river, and when he saw the coffin stop, he went to fish it out of the water. On shore he started to open it, but Fugan cried out, "Do not drive a wedge, for I am here," So the widower opened it carefully and took Fugan up to the town, and then as he had no wife of his own, he married her.

HOW THE FIRST HEAD WAS TAKEN 105

Igorot One day the Moon, who was a woman named Kabigat, sat out in the yard making a large copper pot. The copper was still soft and pliable like clay, and the woman squatted on the ground with the heavy pot against her knees while she patted and shaped it. 106

Now while she was working a son of Chal-chal, the Sun, came by and stopped to watch her mould the form. Against the inside of the jar she pressed a stone, while on the outside with a wooden paddle dripping with water she pounded and slapped until she had worked down the bulges and formed a smooth surface. The boy was greatly interested in seeing the jar grow larger, more beautiful, and smoother with each stroke, and he stood still for some time. Suddenly the Moon looked up and saw him watching her. Instantly she struck him with her paddle, cutting off his head. Now the Sun was not near, but he knew as soon as the Moon had cut off his son's head. And hurrying to the spot, he put the boy's head back on, and he was alive again. Then the Sun said to the Moon, "You cut off my son's head, and because you did this ever after on the earth people will cut off each other's heads."

THE SERPENT EAGLE 107

Igorot Once there lived two boys whose mother sent them every day to the forest to get wood 108 for her fires. Each morning, as they started out, she gave them some food for their trip, but it was always poor and there was little of it, and she would say: "The wood that you brought yesterday was so poor that I cannot give you much to eat today." The boys tried very hard to please her, but if they brought nice pine wood she scolded them, and if they brought large dry reeds she said: "These are no good for my fire, for they leave too much ashes in the house." Try as they would, they failed to satisfy her; and their bodies grew very thin from working hard all day and from want of enough to eat. One morning when they left for the mountains the mother gave them a bit of dog meat to eat, and the boys were very sad. When they reached the forest one of them said: "You wait here while I climb the tree and cut off some branches." He went up the tree and soon called down, "Here is some wood," and the bones of his arm dropped to the ground. "Oh," cried his brother, "it is your arm!" "Here is some more wood," cried the other, and the bones of the other arm dropped to the ground. Then he called again, and the bones of his leg fell, then those of his other leg, and so on till all the bones of his body lay on the ground. "Take these home," he said, "and tell the woman that here is her wood; she only wanted my bones." The younger boy was very sad, for he was alone, and there was no one to go down the mountain with him. He gathered up the bundle of wood, wondering meanwhile what he should do, but just as he finished a serpent eagle called down from the tree tops: "I will go with you, Brother." So the boy put the bundle of wood on his shoulder, and as he was going down the mountain, his brother, who was now a serpent eagle, flew over his head. When he reached the house, he put down the bundle and said to his mother:

"Here is your wood." When she looked at it she was very much frightened and ran out of the house. Then the serpent eagle circled round and round above her head and called: "Quiukok! quiukok! quiukok! I do not need your food any more."

THE TATTOOED MEN 109

Igorot Once there were two young men, very good friends, who were unhappy because neither of them had been tattooed. 110 They felt that they were not as beautiful as their friends. One day they agreed to tattoo each other. One marked the breast and back of the other, his arms and legs, and even his face. And when he had finished, he took soot off the bottom of a cookingpot and rubbed it into all the marks; and he was tattooed beautifully. The one who had done the work said to the other: "Now, my friend, you are very beautiful, and you must tattoo me." Then the tattooed one scraped a great pile of black soot off the cooking-pots, and before the other knew what he was about, he had rubbed it all over him from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet; and he was very black and greasy. The one who was covered with soot became very angry and cried: "Why do you treat me so when I tattooed you so carefully?" They began to fight, but suddenly the beautifully tattooed one became a great lizard which ran away and hid in the tall grass, while the sooty one became a crow and flew away over the village. MALAKAS AND AMAGANDA When the world first began there was no land; there was only the Sea and the Sky, and between them flew a huge, beautiful Kite (a bird similar to a hawk). One day, the bird, which had nowhere to land and rest, grew tired of flying about, and in frustration stirred up the Sky in a quarrel against the Sea. The Sky threw rain, thunder, and lightning that reached the Sea, who in turn rose up and hurled waves and hurricanes that reached the Sky. In order to restrain its fury, the Sky showered a multitude of massive boulders down upon the Sea, which became the islands that formed the Philippines. These islands prevented the waters from rising any more - instead causing them to flow back and forth, and thereby creating the tides. Afterwards, the Sky then ordered the Kite to light on one of the newly-formed islands to build her nest, and to leave the Sea and the Sky in peace. Now at this same time the Land Breeze and the Sea Breeze were married, and they had a child which they named Bamboo. One day, when Bamboo was floating against the sea, it struck the feet of the Kite. Shocked, hurt, and angered that anything should strike it, the bird furiously pecked at the bamboo until it split in half. Out of one section came a golden-bronze colored man, named Malakas (Strong One) and from the other half came a similarly hued woman, named Maganda (Beautiful One). The earthquake then called on all the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea to see what should

be done with these two, and the animals decided that they should marry each other. Together, Malakas and Maganda had many children, and from them eventually came all the different races of people. After a while the parents grew very tired of having so many idle and useless children around. They wished to be rid of them, but they knew of no other place to send them off to. Time went on and the children became even more numerous that the parents could no longer enjoy any peace. One day, in an act of pure irritation and desperation, Malakas seized a stick and began beating them on all sides. This so frightened the children that they all fled in different directions; seeking some place to hide both within and outside the house. Some of the children ran into hidden rooms in the house, several concealed themselves within the actual walls, while others hid in the fireplace. Some ran outside and the rest fled out to the sea. Now it happened that those who went into the hidden rooms of the house later became the chiefs of the islands (Maharlikas); and those who concealed themselves in the walls became slaves (Alipins). Those who hid in the fireplace became the Negritos and the Aetas; and those who ran outside turned into free men (Timawas). As for those who fled to the Sea; they were gone many years, and when their children eventually came back, they had become the white foreigners. Notes Because the Philippines has so many islands and is inhabited by different ethnic groups, Philippine mythology and superstitions are very diverse. Even the story of Malakas and Maganda vary from region to region, but specific elements of the story remain the same: there is a huge bird that splits a giant bamboo, and Malakas and Maganda emerge from the halves. The names Malakas and Maganda also denote a deeper meaning and truth about Pilipino culture. Pilipinos consider women to be maganda - beautiful, sweet, and soft; while men as malakas - a strong and sturdy being to whom the family can depend on at all times. The final part about the children who fled out to the sea and eventually came back as white foreigners seems to have been added to the original version that had been handed down orally over the years from generation to generation.

The Legend of the sampaguita

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.

ALAMAT NG SAMPAGUITA
Ang sampaguita, na ating pambansang bulaklak, ay may iniingatang isang magandang alamat. Ang dalawang pangunahing tauhan ay bibigyan natin ng mga makabagong pangalan, bagaman ayon sa mattanda, ang mga tagpong inilalarawan sa kuwento ay nangyari noong bago pa dumating dito sa atin ang mga Kastila. Noo'y panahon pa ng mga baranggay at datu. Ang Balintawak at ang Gagalangin ay baranggay na magkapit-bahay. Sa pagitan ay may isang matibay na bakod na yari sa mga pinatuyong kawayan , na tuwing limang taon ay ginigiba at pinapalitan. Kung minsan, ang nagpapalit ay ang mga kawal ng datu sa Gagalangin; kung minsan naman ay ang mga kawal ng datu sa Balintawak. Ngunit ang lahat ay gumagawa alinsunod sa utos ng kanikanilang puno. Ang datu ng Balintawak ay mayroon daw isang anak na dalaga na walang pangalawa sa kagandahan, maging sa mukha at sa pag-uugali. Ang ngalan niya ay Rosita, wala na siyang ina, datapuwa't mayroon siyang apat na abay na pawang mga dalaga rin; sila ang nag-aasikaso sa kanyang mga pangangailangan. Maraming binatang nagingibig sa kanya, ngunit ang nakabihag ng kanyang mailap na puso ay ang anak na binata ng datu ng Gagalangin na nangangalang Delfin. Nakapagtataka kung bakit gaong ang kanilang mga ama ay mahigpit na magkaaway ay sila'y tinubuan ng pag-ibig sa isa't isa. Marangal ang pag-ibig ni Delfin kay Rosita -- walang halong pag-iimbot, alang ano mang masamang hangarin. Sa

isang sulok ng bakod ng hanggahan natatabingan ng malagong halaman, si Delfin ay gumagawa ng isang lihim na lagusan kanayang madaraanan. Kaya't kung gabing maliwanag ang buwan, malimit daw magpasayal sila ni Rosita, kasama ang mga abay na dalaga. Sinasamyo nila ang malinis na simoy ng kabukiran at pinanonood nila ang kaayaayang mukha ng buwan. Ang pag-iibigan nilang iyon ay lingid sa kaalaman ng kanilang mga magulang. Minsan, nabalitaan ng datu ng Gagalangin na ang hanggahang bakod ay binubuwag at pinapalitan ng mga tagaBalintawak. Nag-utos siya sa ilan niyang mga tauhan upang magmasid sa ginagawang pagbabakod ng mga tagaBalintawak. Nang sila'y magbali, tumanggap siya ng blita na ang bagong bakod na itinatayo ay iniusod nang may limang talampakan sa dako ng Gagalangin, at samakatuwid ay nakakakuha sa kanilang lupa. Agad siyang nagpautos sa datu ng Balintawak. "Sabihin ninyo," anya sa mga utusan, " na ibalik ang bakod sa dating kintatayuan. Hindi matuwid ang kanilang ginagawa, sapagka't tunay na isang pagnanakaw." Nagalit ang datu ng Balintawak nang humarap sa kanya ang mga sugong buhat sa Gagalangin at sabihin sa kanya ang biling ng datu roon. "Sabihin niyo sa inyong datu," ang wika niya sa mga sugo," na ako'y hindi magnanakaw. Ang bakod ay binbalik ko lamang sa dapat kalgyan ayon sa natuklasan kong mga kasulatan ng aking mga nuno." Ipinag-alab bg loob ng ama ni Delfin ang tinanggap niyang balita. Sa gayung mga alitan, ang karaniwang nagiging hangganan ay digmaan. Inihanda ng datu ng Gagalangin ang kanyang mga hukbo. Kailangang bawiin niya sa pamamagitan ng patalim ang lupang sa palagay niya ay ninakaw sa kanya. Nang mabalitaan ng datu ng Balintawak na ang Gagalangin ay naghahanda upang siya ay digmain, iginayak din niya ang kanyang mga kawal. Nang malapit na ang araw ng paglusob ng hukbo ng Gagalangin sa mga taga-Balintawak, ang datu ay biglang dinapuan ng isang mahiwagang karamdaman at di nagtagal ay namatay. Naiwan kay Delfin ang isang mabigat na panagutan: siya ang magiging heneral ng hukbo ng Gagalangin. Nang makarating sa kaalaman ni Rosita ang bagay na ito, siya'y kinabahan. Si Delfin ay batang-bata at wala pang gaanong karanasan sa digmaan, samatalang ang kanyang ama ay nahasa na sa maraming pakikilaban sapul pagkabata. Gayon na lamang ang kanyang pag-aalala. Ibig sana niyang magkausap sila ni Delfin upang ito'y himuking iurong na ang digmaan at mapayapang pakipag-usapan sa ama niya ang lahat. Datapuwa't wala na silang panahon upang magkausap pa. Kinabukasan noo'y lalabas na sa larangan ang kanyang ama sa unahan ng isang malaking hukbo. Naging madugo ang labanan nang magsagupa ang dalawang hukbo. Maraming nalagas sa magkabilang panig. Si Delfin ay natadtad ng sugat , at dahil sa masaganang dugong nawala sa kanya, siya'y nabuwal na lamang at sukat sa lupa. Bago siya nalagutan ng hininga, ipinagbilin niya sa kanyang mga kawal na doon siya ilibing sa tabi ng hanggahang bakod, malapit sa lihim na lagusang dinaraanan niya kung gabing maliwanag ang buwan at sila ni Rosita, kama ng mga abay nito, ay mapayapang namamasyal sa makapal na damuhan. Hindi nabanggit ng mga matatandang nagkuwento ang sinapit na buhay ng dalawang magsing-ibig, kung ano ang naging hanggan ng labanan. Ang sabi lamang nila ay ganito : nang mabalitaan ni Rosita ang pagkamatay ni Delfin sa labanan, ang dalaga'y nagkasakit sa matinding dalamhati. Nagpatawag ng magagaling na mangagamot ang datung ama niya, ngunit sino man sa kanila'y hindi nakapagpagaling sa kaawa-awang dalaga. Unti-unti itong pinanawan ng lakas. Nang sa palagay ni Rosita ay hindi siya magtatagal, hiningi niya sa kanyang ama na ang bangkay niya'y doon lamang ilibing sa tabi ng pinaglibingan kay Delfin. Masaklap man sa kalooban ng datu, pinagbigyan niya ang kahilingan ng minamahal niyang anak. Maraming taon ang lumipas mula noon. Nawala na ang mga baranggay at dumating na ang mga Kastila. Naitatag na ang siyudad ng Maynila. At buhat noo'y marami ng tao sa Balintawak at sa Gagalangin. Ngunit ang mga tao sa dalawang pook na ito ay naliligalig sa isang mahiwagang bagay. Kung buwan daw ng Mayo, lalu na kung mga gabing maliwanag ang buwan, may mahiwagang tinig na naririnig ang nagsisipanirahan sa may pagitan ng ng dalwang nayong naturan. Ang tinig ay waring sa isang babae at malambing daw na parang marahang bulong ng panggabing hanging humahalik sa mga dahon ng halaman. "Sumpa kita! ...Sumpa kita!" ang winiwika raw ng tinig. Ngunit ang mga tao, kung minsa't sila'y nagbabantay, ay wala namang nakikita. Napansin nila na ang waring nagmumula sa isang masukal na dako, na sinibulan ng dalawang puno ng halamang ang mga bulaklak ay may kaliitan datapuwa't maputi, maraming talulot at ang iwing bango'y pambihira. Ganyan ang lagi nang nasasaksihan ng mga tao roon kung buwan ng Mayo, taun-taon. Sa di-kawasa'y naisipan nilang hukayin ang dalawang halamang iyon upang matuklasan ang hiwaga ng malambing na tinig at ang kahulugan ng mga salitang sinasambit. Hindi naman sila gaanong naghirap. Nguni't ang kanilang pagtataka'y lalo pang nadagdagan nang makita nilang ang dalwang puno ng mababangong halaman ay nagmumula sa mga bibig ng dalawang bungong hindi gaanong nagkakalayo sa pagkakabaon, at nakakabit pa rin sa kalansay. Ngayo'y nanariwa sa alala ng mga matatanda ang kasaysayan ng dalawang kapos-palad - Si Delfin at si Rosita. Samantala.... Ang kuwento'y nagkasalin-salin sa maraming bibig, at ang "Sumpa kita!" na inihahatid ng panggabing simoy sa pandinig ng mga nagmamatyag ay naging "Sampaguita" , na siyang iningalan na tuloy sa mahalimuyak na bulaklak ng halamang tumutubo sa libing ng magsing-irog.

ALAMAT NG SAMPAGUITA
Ang sampaguita, na ating pambansang bulaklak, ay may iniingatang isang magandang alamat. Ang

dalawang pangunahing tauhan ay bibigyan natin ng mga makabagong pangalan, bagaman ayon sa mattanda, ang mga tagpong inilalarawan sa kuwento ay nangyari noong bago pa dumating dito sa atin ang mga Kastila. Noo'y panahon pa ng mga baranggay at datu. Ang Balintawak at ang Gagalangin ay baranggay na magkapit-bahay. Sa pagitan ay may isang matibay na bakod na yari sa mga pinatuyong kawayan , na tuwing limang taon ay ginigiba at pinapalitan. Kung minsan, ang nagpapalit ay ang mga kawal ng datu sa Gagalangin; kung minsan naman ay ang mga kawal ng datu sa Balintawak. Ngunit ang lahat ay gumagawa alinsunod sa utos ng kani-kanilang puno. Ang datu ng Balintawak ay mayroon daw isang anak na dalaga na walang pangalawa sa kagandahan, maging sa mukha at sa pag-uugali. Ang ngalan niya ay Rosita, wala na siyang ina, datapuwa't mayroon siyang apat na abay na pawang mga dalaga rin; sila ang nag-aasikaso sa kanyang mga pangangailangan. Maraming binatang nagingibig sa kanya, ngunit ang nakabihag ng kanyang mailap na puso ay ang anak na binata ng datu ng Gagalangin na nangangalang Delfin. Nakapagtataka kung bakit gaong ang kanilang mga ama ay mahigpit na magkaaway ay sila'y tinubuan ng pag-ibig sa isa't isa. Marangal ang pag-ibig ni Delfin kay Rosita -- walang halong pag-iimbot, alang ano mang masamang hangarin. Sa isang sulok ng bakod ng hanggahan natatabingan ng malagong halaman, si Delfin ay gumagawa ng isang lihim na lagusan kanayang madaraanan. Kaya't kung gabing maliwanag ang buwan, malimit daw magpasayal sila ni Rosita, kasama ang mga abay na dalaga. Sinasamyo nila ang malinis na simoy ng kabukiran at pinanonood nila ang kaayaayang mukha ng buwan. Ang pag-iibigan nilang iyon ay lingid sa kaalaman ng kanilang mga magulang. Minsan, nabalitaan ng datu ng Gagalangin na ang hanggahang bakod ay binubuwag at pinapalitan ng mga tagaBalintawak. Nag-utos siya sa ilan niyang mga tauhan upang magmasid sa ginagawang pagbabakod ng mga tagaBalintawak. Nang sila'y magbali, tumanggap siya ng blita na ang bagong bakod na itinatayo ay iniusod nang may limang talampakan sa dako ng Gagalangin, at samakatuwid ay nakakakuha sa kanilang lupa. Agad siyang nagpautos sa datu ng Balintawak. "Sabihin ninyo," anya sa mga utusan, " na ibalik ang bakod sa dating kintatayuan. Hindi matuwid ang kanilang ginagawa, sapagka't tunay na isang pagnanakaw." Nagalit ang datu ng Balintawak nang humarap sa kanya ang mga sugong buhat sa Gagalangin at sabihin sa kanya ang biling ng datu roon. "Sabihin niyo sa inyong datu," ang wika niya sa mga sugo," na ako'y hindi magnanakaw. Ang bakod ay binbalik ko lamang sa dapat kalgyan ayon sa natuklasan kong mga kasulatan ng aking mga nuno." Ipinag-alab bg loob ng ama ni Delfin ang tinanggap niyang balita. Sa gayung mga alitan, ang karaniwang nagiging hangganan ay digmaan. Inihanda ng datu ng Gagalangin ang kanyang mga hukbo. Kailangang bawiin niya sa pamamagitan ng patalim ang lupang sa palagay niya ay ninakaw sa kanya. Nang mabalitaan ng datu ng Balintawak na ang Gagalangin ay naghahanda upang siya ay digmain, iginayak din niya ang kanyang mga kawal. Nang malapit na ang araw ng paglusob ng hukbo ng Gagalangin sa mga taga-Balintawak, ang datu ay biglang dinapuan ng isang mahiwagang karamdaman at di nagtagal ay namatay. Naiwan kay Delfin ang isang mabigat na panagutan: siya ang magiging heneral ng hukbo ng Gagalangin. Nang makarating sa kaalaman ni Rosita ang bagay na ito, siya'y kinabahan. Si Delfin ay batang-bata at wala pang gaanong karanasan sa digmaan, samatalang ang kanyang ama ay nahasa na sa maraming pakikilaban sapul pagkabata. Gayon na lamang ang kanyang pag-aalala. Ibig sana niyang magkausap sila ni Delfin upang ito'y himuking iurong na ang digmaan at mapayapang pakipag-usapan sa ama niya ang lahat. Datapuwa't wala na silang panahon upang magkausap pa. Kinabukasan noo'y lalabas na sa larangan ang kanyang ama sa unahan ng isang malaking hukbo. Naging madugo ang labanan nang magsagupa ang dalawang hukbo. Maraming nalagas sa magkabilang panig. Si Delfin ay natadtad ng sugat , at dahil sa masaganang dugong nawala sa kanya, siya'y nabuwal na lamang at sukat sa lupa. Bago siya nalagutan ng hininga, ipinagbilin niya sa kanyang mga kawal na doon siya ilibing sa tabi ng hanggahang bakod, malapit sa lihim na lagusang dinaraanan niya kung gabing maliwanag ang buwan at sila ni Rosita, kama ng mga abay nito, ay mapayapang namamasyal sa makapal na damuhan. Hindi nabanggit ng mga matatandang nagkuwento ang sinapit na buhay ng dalawang magsing-ibig, kung ano ang naging hanggan ng labanan. Ang sabi lamang nila ay ganito : nang mabalitaan ni Rosita ang pagkamatay ni Delfin sa labanan, ang dalaga'y nagkasakit sa matinding dalamhati. Nagpatawag ng magagaling na mangagamot ang datung ama niya, ngunit sino man sa kanila'y hindi nakapagpagaling sa kaawa-awang dalaga. Unti-unti itong pinanawan ng lakas. Nang sa palagay ni Rosita ay hindi siya magtatagal, hiningi niya sa kanyang ama na ang bangkay niya'y doon lamang ilibing sa tabi ng pinaglibingan kay Delfin. Masaklap man sa kalooban ng datu, pinagbigyan niya ang kahilingan ng minamahal niyang anak. Maraming taon ang lumipas mula noon. Nawala na ang mga baranggay at dumating na ang mga Kastila. Naitatag na ang siyudad ng Maynila. At buhat noo'y marami ng tao sa Balintawak at sa Gagalangin. Ngunit ang mga tao sa dalawang pook na ito ay naliligalig sa isang mahiwagang bagay. Kung buwan daw ng Mayo, lalu na kung mga gabing maliwanag ang buwan, may mahiwagang tinig na naririnig ang nagsisipanirahan sa may pagitan ng ng dalwang nayong naturan. Ang tinig ay waring sa isang babae at malambing daw na parang marahang bulong ng panggabing hanging humahalik sa mga dahon ng halaman. "Sumpa kita! ...Sumpa kita!" ang winiwika raw ng tinig. Ngunit ang mga tao, kung minsa't sila'y nagbabantay, ay wala namang nakikita. Napansin nila na ang waring nagmumula sa isang masukal na dako, na sinibulan ng dalawang puno ng halamang ang mga bulaklak ay may kaliitan datapuwa't maputi, maraming talulot at ang iwing bango'y pambihira. Ganyan ang lagi nang nasasaksihan ng mga tao roon kung buwan ng Mayo, taun-taon.

Sa di-kawasa'y naisipan nilang hukayin ang dalawang halamang iyon upang matuklasan ang hiwaga ng malambing na tinig at ang kahulugan ng mga salitang sinasambit. Hindi naman sila gaanong naghirap. Nguni't ang kanilang pagtataka'y lalo pang nadagdagan nang makita nilang ang dalwang puno ng mababangong halaman ay nagmumula sa mga bibig ng dalawang bungong hindi gaanong nagkakalayo sa pagkakabaon, at nakakabit pa rin sa kalansay. Ngayo'y nanariwa sa alala ng mga matatanda ang kasaysayan ng dalawang kapos-palad - Si Delfin at si Rosita. Samantala.... Ang kuwento'y nagkasalin-salin sa maraming bibig, at ang "Sumpa kita!" na inihahatid ng panggabing simoy sa pandinig ng mga nagmamatyag ay naging "Sampaguita" , na siyang iningalan na tuloy sa mahalimuyak na bulaklak ng halamang tumutubo sa libing ng magsing-irog.

What is the story of The Dog and the Lion - a Maranao fable?
A dog was walking through the forest when all of a sudden, he came across a lion. The lion wanted to eat the dog but it began to rain. The dog then looked at his reflection in a puddle and came up with an idea. He said to the lion "look into the puddles, and you will see all the lions who have been captured by dogs." The dog pointed to the puddle and exclaimed, "this is a prison for lions." As the dog showed the lion puddle after puddle, the lion decided it would be best just to leave the dog alone. The lion walked away hungry and the dog survived thanks to his quick thinking.
A dog was chasing a lion with all his might when the lion turned around and roared at him. The dog abandoned his pursuit, turned tail, and ran. A fox happened to see the dog and said, 'Why on earth would you chase after something when you cannot even stand the sound of its voice?' It is a foolish man who wants to rival his superiors. He is doomed to fail, and becomes a laughing-stock as well. Its a Maranao fable though its often mistaken for Aesop.

The Dog and the Lion

One day an old dog lost his way while chasing rabbits. Soon he notices a lion in the distance running towards him with a hungry look in his eye. Noticing some bones on the ground close by, the dog immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the lion is about to leap, the old dog exclaims , "That was one delicious lion! I wonder, if there are any more around here?" Upon hearing this, the young lion stops mid-stride and hurries to safety in the trees. A squirrel who had been watching from a nearby tree, knows the dog's trick and decides he can trade his knowledge for protection from the lion. Catching up with the lion, he explains what happened and strikes a deal. The young lion is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!" Now, the old dog spies the lion coming with the squirrel on his back. Instead of running, he sits down with his back to the pair, pretending he hasn't seen them yet. When they get close enough, the old dog says, "Where's that squirrel? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another lion!"

Moral: Don't mess with old dogs. Age and experience will always overcome youth and treachery.

what ia a narrative??????
A narrative is a story that is created in a constructive format (as a work of writing, speech, poetry, prose, pictures, song, motion pictures, video games, theatre or dance) that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, to recount, and is related to the adjective gnarus, knowing or skilled Stories are an important aspect of culture. Many works of art and most works of literature, tell stories; indeed, most of the humanities involve stories. narrative [nrtv]
n1. an account, report, or story, as of events, experiences, etc.2. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) (sometimes preceded by the) the part of a literary work that relates events3. the process or technique of narrating

adj
1. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) telling a story a narrative poem

2. of or relating to narration narrative art WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF A NARRATIVE OR STORY????

SHORT STORY ELEMENTS

SETTING CONFLICT POINT OF VIEW

PLOT CHARACTER THEME

SETTING The time and location in which a story takes place is called the setting. For some stories the setting is very important, while for others it is not. There are several aspects of a

storys setting to consider when examining how setting contributes to a story (some, or all, may be present in a story):
a) place - geographical location. Where is the action of the story taking place? b) time - When is the story taking place? (historical period, time of day, year, etc) c) weather conditions - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc? d) social conditions - What is the daily life of the characters like? Does the story contain local colour (writing that focuses on the speech, dress, mannerisms, customs, etc. of a particular place)? e) mood or atmosphere - What feeling is created at the beginning of the story? Is it bright and cheerful or dark and frightening?

PLOT The plot is how the author arranges events to develop his basic idea; It is the sequence of events in a story or play. The plot is a planned, logical series of events having a beginning, middle, and end. The short story usually has one plot so it can be read in one sitting. There are five essential parts of plot:
a) Introduction - The beginning of the story where the characters and the setting is revealed.

b) Rising Action - This is where the events in the story become complicated and the conflict in the story is revealed (events between the introduction and climax). c) Climax - This is the highest point of interest and the turning point of the story. The reader wonders what will happen next; will the conflict be resolved or not? d) Falling action - The events and complications begin to resolve themselves. The reader knows what has happened next and if the conflict was resolved or not (events between climax and denouement). e) Denouement - This is the final outcome or untangling of events in the story. It is helpful to consider climax as a three-fold phenomenon: 1) the main character receives new information 2) accepts this information (realizes it but does not necessarily agree with it) 3) acts on this information (makes a choice that will determine whether or not he/she gains his objective).

CONFLICT Conflict is essential to plot. Without conflict there is no plot. It is the opposition of forces which ties one incident to another and makes the plot move. Conflict is not merely limited to open arguments, rather it is any form of opposition that faces the main character. Within a short story there may be only one central struggle, or there may be one dominant struggle with many minor ones.
There are two types of conflict: 1) External - A struggle with a force outside ones self.

2) Internal - A struggle within ones self; a person must make some decision, overcome pain, quiet their temper, resist an urge, etc.

There are four kinds of conflict: 1) Man vs. Man (physical) - The leading character struggles with his physical strength against other men, forces of nature, or animals. 2) Man vs. Circumstances (classical) - The leading character struggles against fate, or the circumstances of life facing him/her. 3) Man vs. Society (social) - The leading character struggles against ideas, practices, or customs of other people. 4) Man vs. Himself/Herself (psychological) - The leading character struggles with himself/herself; with his/her own soul, ideas of right or wrong, physical limitations, choices, etc.

CHARACTER There are two meanings for the word character: 1) The person in a work of fiction. 2) The characteristics of a person. Persons in a work of fiction - Antagonist and Protagonist Short stories use few characters. One character is clearly central to the story with all major events having some importance to this character - he/she is the PROTAGONIST. The opposer of the main character is called the ANTAGONIST. The Characteristics of a Person In order for a story to seem real to the reader its characters must seem real. Characterization is the information the author gives the reader about the characters themselves. The author may reveal a character in several ways: a) his/her physical appearance b) what he/she says, thinks, feels and dreams c) what he/she does or does not do d) what others say about him/her and how others react to him/her Characters are convincing if they are: consistent, motivated, and life-like (resemble real people) Characters are 1. Individual - round, many sided and complex personalities. 2. Developing - dynamic, many sided personalities that change, for better or worse, by the end of the story. 3. Static - Stereotype, have one or two characteristics that never change and are emphasized e.g. brilliant detective, drunk, scrooge, cruel stepmother, etc.

POINT OF VIEW Point of view, or p.o.v., is defined as the angle from which the story is told. 1. Innocent Eye - The story is told through the eyes of a child (his/her judgment being different from that of an adult) . 2. Stream of Consciousness - The story is told so that the reader feels as if they are inside the head of one character and knows all their thoughts and reactions.

3. First Person - The story is told by the protagonist or one of the characters who interacts closely with the protagonist or other characters (using pronouns I, me, we, etc). The reader sees the story through this persons eyes as he/she experiences it and only knows what he/she knows or feels. 4. Omniscient- The author can narrate the story using the omniscient point of view. He can move from character to character, event to event, having free access to the thoughts, feelings and motivations of his characters and he introduces information where and when he chooses. There are two main types of omniscient point of view: a) Omniscient Limited - The author tells the story in third person (using pronouns they, she, he, it, etc). We know only what the character knows and what the author allows him/her to tell us. We can see the thoughts and feelings of characters if the author chooses to reveal them to us. b) Omniscient Objective The author tells the story in the third person. It appears as though a camera is following the characters, going anywhere, and recording only what is seen and heard. There is no comment on the characters or their thoughts. No interpretations are offered. The reader is placed in the position of spectator without the author there to explain. The reader has to interpret events on his own.

THEME The theme in a piece of fiction is its controlling idea or its central insight. It is the authors underlying meaning or main idea that he is trying to convey. The theme may be the authors thoughts about a topic or view of human nature. The title of the short story usually points to what the writer is saying and he may use various figures of speech to emphasize his theme, such as: symbol, allusion, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, or irony. Some simple examples of common themes from literature, TV, and film are: - things are not always as they appear to be - Love is blind - Believe in yourself - People are afraid of change - Dont judge a book by its cover
Myths are tales involving the gods of old. They may deal with a conflict among the gods themselves, or ways in which the gods would reveal themselves as unique characters unto the lowly creatures of the Earth, including, of course, man. Legends of creation usually involve spirits or gods, or just an omnipotent God. At any rate, almost every legend involves a miracle or curse invoked in the name of, or by the hand of, a Higher Power.

Generally, fables are short narratives that revolve around particular moral lessons. Animals are the heroes in most fables. They are made to stand for certain traits of the human race, and to teach the ways of the world through vivid characterization and lively interaction.

The supernatural involves the fair folk, dwarves, mermaids, demons, strange beasts and other phenomena. Tales of divine intervention are included here, as they are also classified as unexplainable.

Heroes adventure and gather the fruits of their labor and Fate. These tales have inspired the Filipinos to aspire for the greatest since the dawn of time.

And, finally, what is a Filipino if he does not know how to laugh? Tales of laughter insist on having a separate category. Moral lessons are sometimes scattered aboutthough most of the time, stories in this area had been created and are handed down for the sole purpose of having fun.

Types of Reference Materials

By their very name, reference materials are obviously those items most likely to be useful in answering reference questions. For this reason, they are often held by libraries as resources which are either non-circulating or circulated under strict limitations. In the case of some very useful or popular titles, the patron is best served when the library can own at least two copies to allow for a reference and a circulating copy. A brief outline of the most common types of reference materials is presented below.
Almanacs Contain specific facts, statistical data, tables of comparative information, and organized lists of basis reference information related to people, places, events, etc. Usually cover broad periods of time, whereas Yearbooks will have the same time of information for a single year. Example World Almanac and Book of Facts Atlases

Contain an organized group of physical, political, road, and/or thematic maps. Symbols, scales, and terms used in the atlas should be explained in an easy to understand and complete manner. Example Atlas of American History Bibliographies Contain one or more lists of resources and materials sharing some common attribute such as location, publishing date, subject, etc. A good bibliography should include all pertinent bibliographical data. Some will include descriptive or critical annotations. Example Guide to Reference Books for School Media Centers Biographical Resources Contain information about individual people or locate (index) other works which provide this type of information. Collected biographies can cover a given subject, a stated time period, or other special groups of individuals. Example Current Biography Yearbook Dictionaries Contain words of a given language and other information such as their origins, pronunciations, and definitions. Unabridged dictionaries contain 250,000 words or more. Special dictionaries include picture dictionaries, foreign language dictionaries, synonym dictionaries, thesauri, etc. Example Websters School Dictionary Directories Contain an organized list of people and/or organizations of some type. Other information such as addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, etc. are included for each entry. Example Special Collections in Childrens Literature Encyclopedias, General Contain an alphabetically organized listing of a broad range of subjects with basic information for each entry. General encyclopedias provide a good basis for the beginning stages of research. They are also helpful resources for ready reference questions. Example World Book Encyclopedia Encyclopedias, Subject Contain the same type of information and organized like a general encyclopedia. The entries are limited to those that fall within the subject encyclopedias scope of the coverage. Example The Grolier Encyclopedia of Science and Technology

PARTS OF A BOOK
Title

Name of the book

Author

Person who writes the book

Publisher

Company who prints the book

Illustrator

Person who draws the picture for a book

Preface

Introduction to the book

Table of Contents

List of chapters with their page numbers

Appendix

Extra information put near the end of a book

Glossary

Alphabetical list of definitions and pronunciations of special or unusual words

Index

Alphabetical list of topics and their page numbers placed at the very end of a book

Text

Main part of the book written by the author

TItle page

First page of a book which tells the title, author, illustrator, and publisher
Bibliography

List of other books to read

Whole story of a shawl for anita by: lolita andrada?

My mother brought us up single-handedly. It was a Herculean task for a woman so frail, dealing with three adolescent children. But she managed. She never finished high school, but her deft hands had skillfully eked out a living for the four of us. She was good at knitting. That tided us over until the eldest got a diploma of teaching. Then she put up a sari-sari store to send the other children to college. Mother wanted us all to start a college degree and she had sacrifice much to see us through. Mother had a soft heart - especially for Anita. Anita was the youngest, and I, being the middle child, had always envied her. She was sickly and Mother willingly indulged her. My sister's whimpers never irked her. She was ever so gentle with her when I impatient and jealous. I never understood my mother. My mother who had always been a frail woman was much thinner now. Anita who was married by now had never stopped being pampered. Her lack of concern for our mother's failing health was getting on my nerves. I felt like shouting at her, calling her names when I heard her ask Mother to knit a shawl for her. Mother could hardly refuse, but I knew that the task was just too much for her. Her fingers had lost their flexibility; rheumatic pain told on her knuckles that felt a million pins pricking. My heart went out to her every time I saw her painfully the knitting needles into the yarn. The rest of us did not want to see Mother lift a finger. She was too old to work, and we wanted to save her the burden of doing even the lightest household chores. Mother said she felt useless being cooped up in the house all day, doing nothing. That was before Anita sweet talked her into knitting her shawl. I was beginning to hate Anita for being so callous. Knitting the shawl might have been an agony for Mother, but she never showed any pain. At the end of the day, she would look at her handiwork, a smile on her lips as she held it against her. Knitting proved to be a slow process, but Mother didn't mind, I did and when Anita showed up one day to visit Mother I scolded her for being so thoughtless. Anita touched my arm and in a gentle voice said, "I did it for Mother. That shawl is giving her reason to live. She was wasting away, didn't you notice? She felt so useless because she had nothing to do, no matter how small. Mother is one person who prefers to live her life working. If she stops working, she will stop living." I nodded my head. Perhaps Anita was right. I was beginning to understand my mother.

KUNG TUYO NA ANG LUHA MO, AKING BAYAN

Amado V. Hernandez I. Lumuha ka, aking Bayan; buong lungkot mong iluha Ang kawawang kapalaran ng lupain mong kawawa: Ang bandilang sagisag moy lukob ng dayong bandila, Pati wikang minana moy busabos ng ibang wika, Ganito ring araw nang agawan ka ng laya, Labintatlo ng Agosto nang saklutin ang Maynila, II. Lumuha ka, habang sila ay palalong nagdiriwang, Sa libingan ng maliit, ang malakiy may libingan; Katulad mo ay si Huli, naaliping bayad-utang, Katulad mo ay si Sisa, binaliw ng kahirapan; Walang lakas na magtanggol, walang tapang na lumaban, Tumataghoy, kung paslangin; tumatangis, kung nakawan! III. Iluha mo ang sambuntong kasawiang nagtalakop Na sa iyoy pampahirap, sa banyagay pampalusog: Ang lahat mong kayamanay kamal-kamal na naubos, Ang lahat mong kalayaay sabay-sabay na natapos; Masdan mo ang iyong lupa, dayong hukboy nakatanod, Masdan mo ang iyong dagat, dayong bapor, nasa laot! IV. Lumuha ka kung sa puso ay nagmaliw na ang layon, Kung ang araw sa langit mo ay lagi nang dapithapon, Kung ang alon sa dagat mo ay ayaw nang magdaluyong, Kung ang bulkan sa dibdib mo ay hindi man umuungol, Kung wala nang maglalamay sa gabi ng pagbabangon, Lumuha ka nang lumuhat ang laya moy nakaburol. V. May araw ding ang luha moy masasaid, matutuyo, May araw ding di na luha sa mata mong namumugto Ang dadaloy, kundi apoy, at apoy na kulay dugo, Samantalang ang dugo mo ay aserong kumukulo; Sisigaw kang buong giting sa liyab ng libong sulo At ang lumang tanikalay lalagutin mo ng punglo!

Si Amado V. Hernandez (Setyembre 13, 1903- Marso 24, 1970) ay kilala bilang Makata ng mga Manggagawa, dahil isa siyang pinuno ng mga manggagawa at ipinaglaban niya ang ang kawalan ng katarungan na sinapit ng mga ito. Nakulong siya dahil sa kanyang pagkakasangkot sa mga kilusang komunista. Taong 1973 nang siya ay ginawaran ng titulo bilang Pambansang Alagad ng Sining. Ang mga tulang kanyang naisulat : Isang Dipang Langit Panata sa Kalayaan Ang mga Kayamanan ng Tao Ang Dalaw Bartolina Kung Tuyo Na Ang Luha Mo Aking Bayan Bayang Pilipinas Ang Tao Bayani Sa Batang Walang Bagong Damit Isang Sining ang Pagbigkas

Ako ang daigdig

ni Alejandro G. Abadilla I ako ang daigdig

ako ang tula ako ang daigdig ang tula ako ang daigdig ng tula ang tula ng daigdig ako ang walang maliw na ako ang walang kamatayang ako ang tula ng daigdig II ako ang daigdig ng tula ako ang tula ng daigdig

ako ang malayang ako matapat sa sarili sa aking daigdig ng tula ako ang tula sa daigdig ako ang daigdig ng tula ako III ako ang damdaming malaya ako ang larawang buhay ako ang buhay na walang hanggan

ako ang damdamin ang larawan ang buhay damdamin larawan buhay tula ako IV ako ang daigdig sa tula

ako ang daigdig ng tula ako ang daigdig ako ang tula daigdig tula ako

Ang Manok Kong Bulik

Jose Corazon de Jesus I. Linggo ng umaga. Ang nayo'y tahimik, ang maraming dampa'y naro't nakapinid liban na sa ibong maagang umawit ay wala ka man lang marinig sa bukid... Di-kaginsaginsa'y aking naulinig ang pagtitilaok ng manok kong bulik, ako'y napabangon at aking naisip: Pintakasi ngayon! May sabong sa Pasig! Gadali pa halos ang taas ng Araw sa likod ng gintong bundok ng Silangan ay kinuha ko na sa kanyang kulungan ang manok kong bulik na sadyang panlaban... Kay-kisig na bulik! At aking hinusay bawa't balahibong nasira ang hanay, ang palong ay aking hinimas ng laway, binughan ng aso nang upang tumapang!

II. Muling nagtilaok nang napakahaba at saka gumiri nang lalong magara, kumkukutok-kutok pa't kumahig sa lupa, napalatak ako nang hindi kawasa... Ang aking puhunang sampung piso yata'y nabilang ko tuloy sa malaking tuwa! "Sampung pisong husto" ang aking nawika! "kapagka nanalo'y doble na mamaya!" III. Nang aalis ako't handa nang talaga, siyang pagkagising ng aking asawa; sinabi sa aking iwanan ko siya ng maipamaryang dalawang piseta, ang sagot ko nama'y mangutang ka muna't sa pagbabalik ko ay babayaran ta... Nguni, di pumayag, ako'y lumayas na't baka ang baom ko ay makulangan pa!

IV. Sumakay sa tram'ya na patungong Pasig, na taglay ang tuwang walang kahulilip! Hinhimas-himas ang manok kong bulik at inaantig ko ang lakas ng bagwis! Nang ako'y dumating sa Pasig kong nais di naman nalaon ay aking sinapit ang lumang sabungan; tao'y nagsisikip! V. Nakiupo ako't nakikiumpuk-umpok sa hanay ng mga taong tanga'y manok, ang aking katabi'y agad kong hinimok na kami'y nagkahig upang magkasubok; nagkayari kaming sa labang susunod, mga manok nami'y siyang magsasalpok, kaya ako noon sa tuwa ng loob ang panalo'y tila salat ko na halos! VI. Nang kami'y naron na sa sadyang bitawan, ang sigawa'y halos hindi magkamayaw! Ang dala kong kuwalta, todo sa pustaha't pati kusing yata'y ipinag-ubusan... "Sa pula! Sa pula!" ang doo'y hiyawan;

"Sa bulik! Sa bulik!" ang dito'y tawagin, may logro ang diyes sa aking kalaban at may doblado pa akong napakinggan. VII. Ang tari ay aming hinubdan ng katad at ang talim nito'y kumisap na kagyat; iniaro ko na ang manok kong hawak saka ibinaba nang lubhang banayad... nagpandali na po sa gitna ng galak ang bulik at pulang kapwa malakas, nang magkasalpok na sa dakong itaas ang pula'y natari't bituka'y lumabas! VIII."Panalo na ako!" ang aking nasambit, ang kagalakan ko'y walang kahulilip nguni't sa hindi ko malaman kung bakit ay biglang tumakbo ang manok kong bulik at hagad bg pula'y sa sulok sumiksik na nangungupeteng sa karuwaga'y labis... Kaya, sa nangyari ako ay nanlamig at pinagpusan pa ng gamunggong pawis... IX. Nang aking kunin na ang manok kong duwag, ngalingali ko nang sa lupa'y ihampas, biro baga itong wala namang sugat ay siyang tumakbo nang wala sa oras! Ang sambalilo ko'y nalabnot ko't sukat at ako'y nanggigil sa sariling palad, hiyawan ng tao'y hindi magkamulat at parang tiyupe ang manok kong hawak! X. At ako'y umuwing malatang-malata, malamig ang tulo ng pawis sa mukha, nang aking sapitin ang sira kong dampa sa aming palayok tutong man ay wala... Mainit ang ulo't walang patumangga sa aking asawa'y nasabi kong bigla; "O! anak ang tupa! ako ay sinama, dahil sa kanina'y namuwisit kang lubha!" Sa nangyayaring ito'y isang bagay lamang ang sa pagkatalo'y aking natutuhan, bawa't pagkabigo ay aral sa buhay

at tinandaan kong sabong ay ilagan, iyang mga taong lagi sa sabungan todo kung pumusta't todo kung humapay, alin sa dalawa ang kahihinatnan: Mamatay sa gutom o kaya'y magnakaw!

Ponemang Suprasegmental

Home Kapayapaan KABATAAN Tayutay Tanging Pamana Halimbawa ng Silabus (Syllabus) Pang - Uri (Kayarian at Kaantasan) Pagpapalwawak ng pangungusap Iba't Ibang Pagpapahayag Paglalarawan Paglalahad Pangangatwiran Talumpati Noli Me Tangere Pangungusap at kayarian Pang-abay Ponemang Suprasegmental Pagbabagong Morpoponemiko

Ponema - ang pinakamaliit na unit ng makabuluhang tunog. 0Ang pag-aaral ng ponema ay binubuo ng segmental at suprasegmental. Segmental = ay ang tunay na tunog at ang bawat tunog ay kinakatawanan ng isang titik sa ating alpabato. Suprasegmental = ay ang pag-aaral ng ng diin (Stress), tono (tune), haba (lengthening) at hinto (Juncture). 2 Sa pakikipagtalastasan, matutukoy natin ang kahulugan, layunin o intensyon ng pahayag o ng nagsasalita sa pamamagitan ng mga ponemang suprasegmental o ng mga haba, diin, tono at hinto sa pagbibigkas at pagsasalita. 1. Haba * ito ay ang pagbigkas nang mahaba sa patinig (a, e, i, o, u ) ng bawat pantig. * maaaring gumamit ng simbolong tuldok (. ) para sa

pagkilala sa haba. * mga halimbawa ng salita: bu.kas = nangangahulugang susunod na araw bukas = hindi sarado 2. Diin *tumutukoy ito sa lakas ng pagbigkas s isangpantig ng salitng binibigkas. *maaring gamitin sa pagkilala ng pantig na may diin ang malaking titik. *Mga halimbawa ng salita: BU:hay = kapalaran ng tao bu:HAY = humihinga pa LA:mang = natatangi la:MANG = nakahihigit; 3. nangunguna Tono * nagpalilinaw ng mensahe o intensyong nais ipabatid sa kausap * Tulad ng pag-awit, sa pagsasalita ay may mababa, katamtaman at mataas na tono. * maaaring gamitin ang blg. 1 sa mababa, blg. 2 sa katamtaman at blg. 3 sa mataas. * halimbawa ng salita: Kahapon = 213, pag-aalinlangan Kahapon = 231, pagpapatibay talaga = 213, pag-aalinlangan talaga = 231, pagpapatibay 4. Hinto *ito ay ang saglit na pagtigil sa pagsasalita upang higit na maging malinaw ang mensahe. *maaring gumamit ng simbolo kuwit( , ), dalawang guhit na pahilis ( // ) o gitling ( - ) * mga halimbawa ng salita: Hindi, siya ang kababata ko. Hindi siya ang kababata

ko.
Narito ang mga pangungusap na walang paksa 1. Pangungusap na pasasalamat - nangangahulugang may pangyayaring ginawa na at kailangan lamang pasalamatan. Halimbawa: a. Salamat.(po) b. Maraming salamat.(po) 2. Pangungusap na patawag - tinatawag sa pangalan ang isang tao at nauunawaan naman ng tinatawag na siya'y hinahanap Halimbawa: a. Allan! b. Korina! 3. Pangungusap na pangkalikasan - nauukol ito sa mga pangyayaring may kinalaman sa kalikasan Halimbawa: a. Umuulan na. b. Lumilindol. 4.Pangungusap na pagbati - nangangahuluganng kaharap naang taong binabati Halimbawa: a. Magandang Araw. b. Maligayang pagbati sa iyo. 5. Pangungusap na pagpaalam - nangangahulugang dati nang kausap ang pinagpaalaman ng aalis Halimbawa: a. Paalam na.(po) b. Hanggang sa muli.(po) 6. Pangungusap na pamanahon - nagsasaad ng panahon. Halimbawa: a. Pasko na! b. Bertdey mo na.

7. Pangungusap na panagot sa tanong - sumasagot ito sa tanong Halimbawa: a. Oo. b. Hindi. c. Baka. 8. Pangungusap na muling pagtatanong nangangahulugang may nauna nang pahayag na hindi lamang ganoong narinig o naunawaan kaya ipinapauulit. Halimbawa: a. Saan? b. Ano? c. Ha? 9. Pangungusap na pautos - nangangahulugang kaharap na ng nag-uutos ang inuutusan. Halimbawa: a. Lakad na. b. Sulong! c. Halika. 10. Pangungusap na pakiusap - pangungusap na ginagamitan ng paki at maki. Halimbawa: a. Pakidala nito. b. Makikiraan.(po) 11. Pangungusap na pasukdol - pangungusap na ginagamitan ng mga katagang kay at napaka. Halimbawa: a. Kaybuti mo! b. Napakatamis nito! 12. Pangungusap na padamdam - nagsasaad ng nadarama Halimbawa: a. Aray! b. Ay!

13. Pangungusap na eksistensyal - gumagamit ito ng mga katagang may mayroon at wala. Halimbawa: a. May pasok ngayon. b. Walang tao riyan.

Pangungusap
Mula sa Tagalog na Wikipedia, ang malayang ensiklopedya Tumalon sa: nabigasyon, hanapin Ang artikulong ito ay hindi sumisipi ng anumang sanggunian o pinagmulan. (Agosto 2008)
Tumulong sa pagpaganda ng artikulo sa pagdagdag ng mga sipi sa mga makakatiwalaang pinagmulan. Ang hindi matiyak na nilalaman ay maaaring mapagdudahan at matanggal.

Sa linggwistika, ang pangungusap ay lipon ng mga salita na nagpapahayag ng buong diwa. Binubuo ito ng panlahat na sangkap, ang panaguri at ang paksa subalit buo ang diwa.

Mga nilalaman
[itago] 1 Mga ayos ng pangungusap 2 Uri ng mga pangungusap 2.1 Ayon sa pangungusap na walang paksa 2.2 Ayon sa kayarian 2.3 Iba pa

] Mga ayos ng pangungusap

May dalawang ayos ang pangungusap: karaniwan at di-karaniwan. Kung panaguri ay nauuna kaysa simuno, ang pangungusap ay nasa karaniwang ayos; at kung ang simuno naman ang nauuna kaysa sa panaguri, ang pangungusap ay nasa di-karaniwan ayos. Ang panandang "ay" ay kadalasang makikita sa mga pangungusap na nasa di karaniwang ayos.
Karaniwan - Nagsisimula sa Panaguri at Nagtatapos sa simuno. Di- Karaniwan - Nagsisimula sa Simuno at Nagtatapos sa Panaguri.
Si Elsie ay bumili ng bagong sasakyan. Halimbawa: Bumili ng bagong sasakyan si Elsie. Halimbawa:

[Uri ng mga pangungusap

[Ayon sa pangungusap na walang paksa

Mga pangungusap na eksistensyal - nagpapahayag ng pagkamayroon ng isa o higit pang tao, atbp. Pinangungunahan ito ng may o mayroon. Halimbawa: Mayroon daw ganito roon. Mga pangungusap na pahanga nagpapahayag ng damdaming paghanga. Halimbawa: Kayganda ng babaing iyun! Mga sambitlang tumutukoy sa mga iisahin o dadalawahing pantig na nagpapahayag ng matinding damdamin. Halimbawa: Aray! Mga pangungusap na pamanahon nagsasaad ng oras o uri ng panahon. Halimbawa: Maaga pa. Mga pormularyong panlipunan mga pagbati, pagbibigay-galang, atbp. na nakagawian na sa lipunang Pilipino. Halimbawa: Magandang umaga po.

[Ayon sa kayarian
Ang pangungusap ay may apat na kayarian: payak, tambalan, hugnay at langkapan. Ang payak na pangungusap ay nagpapahayag ng iisang kaisipan. Maaaring nagtataglay ng payak o tambalang simuno at panaguri. May apat itong kayarian: payak na simuno at payak na panaguri; payak na simuno at tambalang panaguri; tambalang simuno at payak na panaguri; at tambalang simuno at tambalang panaguri. Mga halimbawa:
Ang pamahalaan ay masigasig sa mabilisang pagsugpo ng kriminalidad sa bansa. Ang mga lalaki at babae ay naghahanda ng palatuntunan para sa darating na pista. Ang aming pangkat ay naglinis ng mga kalye at nagpinta ng mga pader sa paaralan. Ang mga guro at mag-aaral ay aawit at sasayaw para sa pagdiriwang ng Buwan ng Wika.

Ang tambalang pangungusap ay binubuo ng dalawa o higit pang sugnay na makapag-iisa: Halimbawa:

Nagtatag ng isang samahan sina Arnel at agad silang umisip ng magandang proyekto para sa mga kabataan ng kanilang pook. Maraming balak silang gawin sa Linggo: magpapamigay sila ng pagkain sa mga batang lansangan, magpapadala sila nga mga damit sa mga batang ulila saka maghahandog sila ng palatuntunan para sa mga maysakit sa gabi.

Ang hugnayang pangungusap ay binubuo ng isang sugnay na makapag-iisa at isa o dalawang sugnay na di-makapag-iisa. Halimbawa:
Gaganda ang iyong buhay kung susunod ka sa mga pangaral ng inyong magulang.

Ang batang putol ang mga kamay ay mahusay gumuhit.

Ang langkapang pangungusap ay binubuo ng dalawa o mahigit pang sugnay na makapag-iisa at dalawa o mahigit pang sugnay na di-makapag-iisa. Halimbawa:
Ang buhay sa mundo ay pansamantala lamang kaya't dapat na tayo ay magpakabuti upang makamit ang kaligayahan sa kabilang buhay. Nahuli na ang mga masasamang-loob kaya't payapa na kaming nakatutulog sa gabi, kasi sila lamang ang gumugulo sa amin. Ang mga bayani natin ay namuhunan ng dugo upang makamtan ang kalayaan nang ang bayan ay matahimik at lumigaya.

[Iba pa
Maiuuri rin ang pangungusap bilang pasalaysay o paturol, patanong, pautos at padamdam:
Pasalaysay o Paturol: Ito ay nagsasalaysay ng katotohanan o pangyayari. Lagi itong nagtatapos sa tuldok(.) Patanong: Ito ay nag-uusisa tungkol sa isang katotohanan o pangyayari, at tandang pananong(?) ang bantas sa hulihan nito. Pautos: Ito ay uri ng pangungusap kung saan ay nakikiusap o nag uutos ito. Padamdam: Ito ay nagsasabi ng matinding damdamin gaya ng tuwa, lungkot, pagkagulat, paghanga, panghihinayang at iba pa.

Pamilang ay isang pang-uring nagbibigay dami, bilang o kabuuan. is an adjective that describes quantity, number, or whole. at ang iba ibang pang-uring pamilang ay: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Patakaran: Ito ay ang karaniwang paraan ng pagbilang. Panunuran: nagsasaad ng ayos o pagkakasunud-sunod ng mga tao o bagay. Patakda: ito ay nagsasaad ng tiyak o hustong bilang. Pahalaga: Ito ay tumuturing sa halaga ng isang bagay. Pamahagi: nagsasaad ng pagbabahagi ng isang kabuuan. Palansak: nagsasaad ng maramihan o minsanang bagay.

Pamilang isang pang-uring nagbibigay dami, bilang o kabuuan. Ang mga pang-uring pamilang ay ang mga sumusunod:

1. Patakaran - Ito ay ang karaniwang paraan ng pagbilang. Halimbawa: Sampung mag-aaral ang tumanggap ng paghanga. 2. Panunuran nagsasaad ng ayos o pagkakasunud-sunod ng mga tao o bagay.

Halimbawa: Siya ay ikalawang humingi ng tulong. 3. Patakda ito ay nagsasaad ng tiyak o hustong bilang. Note: Karaniwang inuulit ang unang pantig ng salitang ugat sa pang-uring patakda. Halimbawa: Sasampung piso ang natira sa pera niya. 4. Pahalaga Ito ay tumuturing sa halaga ng isang bagay. Halimbawa: Tiglilimampiso ang bili ko sa mga aklat na ito. 5. Pamahagi nagsasaad ng pagbabahagi ng isang kabuuan. Halimbawa: Kalahatiang ibinigay ko sa kanyang buwanang sahud. 6. Palansak nagsasaad ng maramihan o minsanang bagay. Halimbawa: Daang-libong piso ang pinuhunan ko sa kalakal.

"Ang Guryon" ni Ildefonso Santos Tanggapin mo, anak, itong munting guryon na yari sa patpat at papel de Hapon; magandang laruang pula, puti, asul, na may pangalan mong sa gitna naroon Ang hiling ko lamang, bago paliparin ang guryon mong ito ay pakatimbangin; ang solo't paulo'y sukating magaling nang hindi mag-ikit o kaya'y magkiling

"The Kite" by Ildefonso Santos Take this my son, this little kite A kite of stick and Japanese paper Pretty red, white and blue toy With your name at its center My only wish, before you fly it Take care of this little kite's balance Take care of its every end So it won't turn upside down nor sway And when the wind blows, take it out

Saka pag sumimoy ang hangin , ilabas at sa papawiri'y bayaang lumipad; datapwa't ang pisi'y tibayan mo, anak, at baka lagutin ng hanging malakas. Ibigin mo't hindi, balang araw ikaw ay mapapabuyong makipagdagitan; makipaglaban ka, subali't tandaan na ang nagwawagi'y ang pusong marangal. At kung ang guryon mo'y sakaling madaig, matangay ng iba o kaya'y mapatid; kung saka-sakaling di na mapabalik, maawaing kamay nawa ang magkamit! Ang buhay ay guryon: marupok, malikot, dagiti't dumagit, saanman sumuot... O, paliparin mo't ihalik sa Diyos, bago pa tuluyang sa lupa'y sumubsob

And set it free in the air But take care of the string, my son For the strong winds might cut it down Like it or not, the day will come When you'll be enticed into a kite-fight Struggle o struggle, but always remember Only a clean heart scores a victory And if in case, your kite has fell Taken by others, or the string was cut If it has not been returned May merciful hands claim it as theirs Life is a kite, weak and turbulent Fight or be fought, wherever it goes O let it fly and kiss our God Before it fell unto the earth.

Anyo ng Tula? Ang mga anyo ng tula ay maaaring i-uri sa apat na bahagi na nauna na namin nailimbag sa nakaraang artikulo.Ito ay ang Malayang taludturan,

Tradisyonal, May sukat na walang tugma at Walang sukat na may tugma.Upang maintindihan ng mabuti, ay iisa-isahin kong ipaliwanag ang bawat anyo ng tula. Ang Malayang taludturan - Isang tula na isinulat nang walang sinusunod na patakaran kung hindi ang ano mang naisin ng sumusulat.Ito ay ang anyo ng tula na ipinakilala ni Alejandro G. Abadilla. Ayon sa kanya, maaaring makalikha ng tula na walang sukat at walang tugma. Gnunit dapat manatili ang karikatan, ito ay ang paggamit ng matatalinhagang pahayag na ipinakilala niya Sa kanyang tulang Ako ang Daigdig. Ang Tradisyonal na Tula - Ito ay isang anyo ng tula na may sukat,tugma at mga salitang may malalim na kahulugan. Samantalang ang dalawa ay maiintindihan na sa tawag pa lamang dito.Ang anyo ng tula na May sukat na walang tugma at Walang sukat na may tugma. Ngunit di lang diyan nagtatapos ang lahat.May tatlong natitira at kakaibang anyo pa ang tula na kinakailangan ninyong malaman.Ito ay ang DIONA, TANAGA at DALIT. Sa makatuwid pito lahat ang anyo ng tula.Ang tatlong natitira ay espesyal dahil sa kung anong kadahilan na inyong malalaman sa ilang saglit lamang.Ang tatlong ito ay nabibilang sa katutubong uri ng mga tula.Isang katibayan na di pa sinisilang si Francisco Balagtas o kung sino mang sikat at bihasa sa larangan ng ganitong panitikan ay mayaman na tayong mga Pilipino sa pagkamalikhain lalo na sa pagbuo ng mga tula.

Malayang Taludturan karugtong ng elemento ng tula ... Check your bulk/spam folders if you can't find our mail. http://www.slideshare.net/rosemelyn/malayang-taludturan
Ako ay may nakita Batang mataba, Siya ay mataba Ngunit mandaraya, Napakasungit, Ang lupitlupit. BLANGKO BERSO

Ang Kaunaunahang Nanirahan Sa Pilipinas Ay Ang Mga A Indonesyo B Malay C Negrito D Intsik 2 Ano Ang Tawag Sa Aklat Na Siyang Kaunaunahang Aklat Na from scribd.com

Alimbkad
Ipinamalas Ng Mga Telebisyon Network Ang Kapalpakan Ng Paglusob Ng Pulisya Sa Bus Na Binihag Ni Rolando Mendoza Na Dating Pulis Na Pinaltalsik Pagkaraan Dahil Sa Mga from alimbukad.com

Batuta

Naglalakad Ako Sa EDSA Nang Biglang Pumatak Ang Ulan Ulan Ulan Ulan Naging Baha Baha Baha Baha Baha Baha Na ---TRadisyunal - may sukat o pare-parehong bilang ng mga pantig sa bawat taludtod at tugma o pagkakasintunog ng mga dulong pantig ng mga taludtod ng isang saknong Berso Blangko - tulang may suakt bagamat walang tugma Malayang taludturan - tulang walang sukat at walang tugma. Ang anyo ng tulang ito ay siyang nanaluktok na anyong tula sa panahon ng paghingi ng pagbabago ng mga kabataan.

TilamsikNgDiwa

"At pumapatak sa kaluluwa ang bersong tila hamog sa pastulan. . Maano kung hindi siya mabantayan ng aking pag-ibig.. Mabituin ang gabi at hindi siya kapiling. . Ito na ang lahat. May umaawit sa malayo. Sa malayo.. Hindi mapanatag ang kaluluwa ko sa pagkawala niya. . Upang waring ilapit siya, hinahanap siya ng aking mata.. Hinahanap siya ng aking puso, at hindi siya kapiling. . Ganito rin ang gabing nagpapusyaw sa ganito ring mga punongkahoy.. Kami, sa tagpong iyon, ang nagbago. . Hindi ko na siya mahal, natitiyak ko, ngunit minahal ko siya nang todo.. Hinahanap ng tinig ko ang simoy upang hipuin a

panitikan: Tula Blg. 1

"Ito ay isang blanko bersong tula na may sukat na lalabindalawahin ngunit walang tugmaan ang mga taludturan. Galit ang damdaming ipinahahayag ng persona sa tula. Hinanakit dahil sa perwisyong nagawa ng asong si Bantay noong siya ay buhay pa. Ngunit ito ay nagpapahayag din ng pagkaawa sapagkat inilibing pa rin si Bantay sa bakuran ng kanyang amo kahit hindi siya naging mabait at masunurin. Gumamit ng guni-guning naglalarawan ang makata upang pukawin ang imahinasyon ng mambabasa. Inilarawan niya nang mabuti ang ayos ng bangkay ni Bantay upang maisip ng mga mambabasa ang biswal na imahe na nais ipakita ng may-akda. Ang guni-guning naglalarawan ay nakapal"

Pag-usal ng Kamay 2007 July

"Posted in Uncategorized 2 Comments Ang Makata at ang Malayang Taludturan sa Kritika ni Edith Tiempo Monday, July 23rd, 2007 . Ang mundong ating tinitirhan ay pinatatakbo ng mga galamay ng prosa. Mula sa unang wikang inusal ng ating mga bibig nang matakdang makulong sa paggamit ng kataga upang ihatid ang kaisipan

sa kabilang ibayo ng pag-intindi, hanggang sa lubusang pagkahinog ng kakayahan ng dilang baluktutin at bigyang-hugis ang hangin sa loob ng ating mga bibig upang magpaanod sa kalawakan sa gitna ng mga usapin at usapan, prosa ang naghaharing anyo ng kataga. . Kung kaya lumutang ang tulaang muling pag-apaw ng isang karanasan sa ibang anyo, gamit ang itinugato

English II Foreshadowing is used in written art and film to give hints about things to come in later plot developments. It can be very broad and easily understood, or it may be complex use of symbols, that are then connected to later turns in the plot. Sometimes an author may deliberately use false hints, called red herrings, to send readers or viewers off in the wrong direction. This is particularly the case with mystery writers, who want to bury clues to a mystery in information that is partially true and partially false. Foreshadowing is an old literary device. Uses of it occur before the development of the novel in the 18th century. Both Chaucer and Shakespeare employed foreshadowing, as did Dante. In short poems, foreshadowing may not be particularly effective, but in longer poems, which were frequently the writing style of the Middle Ages, foreshadowing is very effective and important.
"Foreshadowing can be, in fact, a form of 'backwriting.' The writer goes back through the copy and adds foreshadowing to prepare the reader for later events. . . . "This does not mean that you are going to give away the ending. Think of foreshadowing as setup. The best foreshadowing is subtle and is woven into the story--often in multiple ways. In this fashion, foreshadowing helps build tension and gives resonance and power to the story."

A plot twist is a change in the expected direction or outcome of the plot of a film, television series, video game, novel, comic or other fictional work. It is a common practice in narration used to keep the interest of an audience, usually surprising them with a revelation. Some "twists" are foreshadowed and can thus be predicted by many viewers/readers, whereas others are a complete shock. When a plot twist happens near the end of a story, especially if it changes one's view of the preceding events, it is known as a twist ending. Revealing the existence of a plot twist often spoils a movie, since the majority of the movie generally builds up to the plot twist. A device used to undermine the expectations of the audience is the false protagonist. It involves presenting a character at the start of the film as the main character, but then disposing of this character, usually killing them. It is a red herring.

Contents
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1 Example of a plot twist (Spoiler) 2 Twist ending 2.1 Mechanics of the twist ending 2.1.1 Literary devices

3 References 4 See also

Example of a plot twist (Spoiler)

An early example of the murder mystery genre[1] with multiple twists[2] was the Arabian Nights tale "The Three Apples". It begins with a fisherman discovering a locked chest. The first twist occurs when the chest is broken open and the dead body is found inside. The initial search for the murderer fails, and a twist occurs when two men appear, separately claiming to be the murderer. A complex chain of events finally reveal the murderer to be the investigator's own slave.

[Twist ending
A twist ending is a plot twist occurring near or at the conclusion of a story, an unexpected conclusion to a work of fiction that causes the audience to reevaluate the narrative or characters.
[Literary devices

Anagnorisis, or discovery, is the protagonist's sudden recognition of their own or another character's true identity or nature. Through this technique, previously unforeseen character information is revealed. A notable example of anagnorisis occurs in Oedipus Rex: Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother in ignorance, learning the truth only toward the climax of the play.[3] The earliest use of this device as a twist ending in a murder mystery was in "The Three Apples", a medieval Arabian Nights tale, where the protagonist Ja'far ibn Yahya by chance discovers a key item towards the end of the story that reveals the culprit behind the murder to be his own slave all along.[4][5] The most well-known cinematic use of this technique was in The Empire Strikes Back, where Luke Skywalker famously learns that his father is actually the evil Darth Vader.[6] Another film to use it is the 2001 film The Others, in which a mother is convinced that her house is being haunted. At the end of the film, she learns that, in fact, she and her children are the ghosts. Similarly, in M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, a main character who believes he is alive, and is helping a boy communicate with dead people, discovers that he is also dead. A memorable episode of The Twilight Zone was the episode "Five Characters in Search of an Exit", in which the protagonists horrifically discover at the climax, that they were discarded toys in a donation bin. Another example is in Fight Club, when Edward Norton's character realizes that Tyler Durden is his own split personality. Sometimes the audience may discover that the true identity of a character is in fact unknown, as in "Layer Cake" or the assassin in "The Day of the Jackal". Flashback, or analepsis, is a sudden, vivid reversion to a past event. It is used to surprise the reader with previously unknown information that provides the answer to a mystery, places a character in a different light, or reveals the reason for a previously inexplicable action. The Alfred Hitchcock film Marnie employed this type of twist ending. Sometimes this is combined with the above category, as the flashback may reveal the true identity of the one of the characters, or that the protagonist is related to one of the villain's past victims, as Sergio Leone

did with Charles Bronson's character in "Once Upon a Time in the West" or Frederick Forsyth's "The Odessa File". An unreliable narrator twists the ending by revealing, almost always at the end of the narrative, that the narrator has manipulated or fabricated the preceding story, thus forcing the reader to question their prior assumptions about the text. This motif is often used within noir fiction and films, notably in the film The Usual Suspects. An unreliable narrator motif was employed by Agatha Christie in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, a novel that generated much controversy due to critics' contention that it was unfair to trick the reader in such a manipulative manner.[7] Another example of unreliable narration is a character who has been revealed to be insane and thus causes the audience to question the previous narrative; a notable example of this is in the Terry Gilliam film Brazil. Peripeteia is a sudden reversal of the protagonist's fortune, whether for good or ill, that emerges naturally from the character's circumstances. Unlike the deus ex machina device, peripeteia must be logical within the frame of the story. An example of a reversal for ill would be Agamemnon's sudden murder at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra in Aeschylus' The Oresteia or the inescapable situation Kate Hudson's character finds herself in at the end of The Skeleton Key. This type of ending was a common twist ending utilised by The Twilight Zone, most effectively in the episode "Time Enough at Last" where Burgess Meredith's character is robbed of all his hope by a simple but devastating accident with his glasses. A positive reversal of fortune would be Nicholas Van Orton's suicide attempt after mistakenly believing himself to have accidentally killed his brother, only to land safely in the midst of his own birthday party, in the film The Game. Another example is the Oscar-nominated Indian movie Lagaan, where Aamir Khan's character is thought to have been caught out of the last ball to lose the game, only to realize that the fielder was outside the boundary line and it was actually a six, causing his team to win the game. Deus ex machina is a Latin term meaning "God out of a machine." It refers to an unexpected, artificial or improbable character, device or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction to resolve a situation or untangle a plot. In Ancient Greek theater, the "deus ex machina" (' ') was the character of a Greek god literally brought onto the stage via a crane (mechanes), after which a seemingly insoluble problem is brought to a satisfactory resolution by the god's will. In its modern, figurative sense, the "deus ex machina" brings about an ending to a narrative through unexpected (generally happy) resolution to what appears to be a problem that cannot be overcome (see Mel Brooks' History of the World, Part I). This device is often used to end a bleak story on a more positive note. Poetic justice is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished in such a way that the reward or punishment has a logical connection to the deed. In modern literature, this device is often used to create an ironic twist of fate in which the villain gets caught up in his/her own trap. For example, in C. S. Lewis' The Horse and His Boy, Prince Rabadash climbs upon a mounting block during the battle in Archenland. Upon jumping down while shouting "The bolt of Tash falls from above," his hauberk catches on a hook and leaves him hanging there, humiliated and trapped. Chekhov's gun refers to a situation in which a character or plot element is introduced early in the narrative, then not referenced again until much later. Often the usefulness of the item is not immediately apparent until it suddenly attains pivotal significance. A similar mechanism is the "plant," a preparatory device that repeats throughout the story. During the resolution, the true significance of the plant is revealed. An example of this would be the geologist's hammer in The

Shawshank Redemption, which the character Andy Dufresne acquires early on in the movie. At the end, it is revealed that Dufresne has for the progression of the entire film, spanning over 19 years, secretly been using the hammer to tunnel an escape route out of the prison. Another example is seen in M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, where the significance of an early scene becomes apparent at the end, necessitating a different interpretation of all that has happened in between; in this case, it is not a physical device but an action which is pivotal to the outcome. Both Chekhov's gun and plants are used as elements of foreshadowing. Villains in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! were often Chekhov's gunsthey would be introduced early on as "innocuous secondary characters", then ignored until they turned out to be the one in the scary costume driving people away to get at a hidden fortune. The movie Citizen Kane introduced "Rosebud" early in the film both as a minor prop and as the major plot focus only to reveal what "Rosebud" really meant in the last scene. This is also shown in the movie Seven Pounds when Will Smith's character calls the police at the beginning of the film to report his suicide. A red herring is a false clue intended to lead investigators toward an incorrect solution. This device usually appears in detective novels and mystery fiction. The red herring is a type of misdirection, a device intended to distract the protagonist, and by extension the reader, away from the correct answer or from the site of pertinent clues or action. An example would be the way such information is used in the film Saw (2004).[8] The Indian murder mystery film Gupt: The Hidden Truth cast many veteran actors who had usually played villainous roles in previous Indian films as red herrings in this film to deceive the audience into suspecting them. In the bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code, the misdeeds of a key character named "Bishop Aringarosa" draw attention away from the true master villain. "Aringarosa" literarily means "Red Herring." A red herring can also be used as a form of false foreshadowing. A cliffhanger is an abrupt ending that leaves the main characters in a precarious or difficult situation, creating a strong feeling of suspense that provokes the reader to ask, "What will happen next?" Cliffhangers often frustrate the reader, since they offer no resolution at all; however, the device does have the advantage of creating the Zeigarnik effect (unfinished or interrupted tasks are better remembered). A cliffhanger is often employed at the end of an installment of serialized novels, movies, or in most cases, TV series. In The Dark Tower, Stephen King uses cliffhangers between most of the books; especially in the end of The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands. A literal cliffhanger can be seen at the end of The Italian Job. In medias res (Latin, "into the middle of things") is a literary technique in which narrative proceeds from the middle of the story rather than its beginning. Information such as characterization, setting, and motive is revealed through a series of flashbacks. This technique creates a twist when the cause for the inciting incident is not revealed until the climax. This technique is used within the film The Prestige in which the opening scenes show one of the main characters drowning and the other being imprisoned. Subsequent scenes reveal the events leading up to these situations through a series of flashbacks. In Monsters, a similar beginning proves to be a flashforward as it is the linear conclusion of the events that then follow; this is not apparent till the end. In medias res is often used to provide a narrative hook. Nonlinear narrative narration works by revealing plot and character in non-chronological order. This technique requires the reader to attempt to piece together the timeline in order to fully understand the story. A twist ending can occur as the result of information which is held until the climax and which places characters or events in a different perspective. Some of the earliest known uses of non-linear story telling occur in The Odyssey, a work that is largely told in flashback via the narrator Odysseus. The nonlinear approach has been used in works such as the

films Mulholland Drive ,"Sin City", and Pulp Fiction, the television show Lost (especially in many episodes in the later seasons), and the book Catch-22.[9][10] Reverse chronology works by revealing the plot in reverse order, i.e., from final event to initial event. Unlike traditional chronological storylines, which progress through causes before reaching a final effect, reverse chronological storylines reveal the final effect before tracing the causes leading up to it; therefore, the initial cause represents a "twist ending." Examples employing this technique include the films
The Latin phrase "deus ex machina" comes to English usage from Horace's Ars Poetica, where he instructs poets that they must never resort to a god from the machine to solve their plots. He refers to the conventions of Greek tragedy, where a crane (mekhane) was used to lower actors playing gods onto the stage. The machine referred to in the phrase could be either the crane employed in the task, a calque from the Greek "god from the machine" (" ," ap mkhans thes), or the riser that brought a god up from a trap door. Although this phrase is somewhat diluted in transliteration as earlier in history, the phrase "god from the machine" implies the old use of mechanical manipulation, i.e. to be made with one's hands. So if there were a more generally accurate way of translating deus ex machina into English, it would be "god from our hands" or "god that we make", implying that the device of said god is entirely artificial or conceived by man.

A side story in fiction is a form of narrative that occurs alongside established stories set within a fictional universe. As opposed to a prequel, sequel, or interquel, a side story takes place within the same time frame as an existing work. Side stories are common in epic type series, especially war oriented series where it is possible to tell many stories from many different points of view. Early examples of a side story are found in the ancient Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana, which contained numerous side stories which were loosely related to the main story of those epics. It is typical for side stories to be self contained, small scale events, insignificant in the bigger picture. They tend to be one shot stories with a beginning, middle, and end and focus heavily on character drama while the major action occurs mostly in the background. They are commonly used in sitcoms to keep interest in the story or to use remaining time. A side story is not quite the same as a spin-off. A spin-off takes already known characters, usually supporting or background characters and involves them in a story or series which highlights them and further develops their character. The series' true main characters may make cameo appearances or be referred to in dialogue. Side stories, rather, focus on a completely new set of characters who have no history and typically no connections to the existing main characters. The settings for side stories are intentionally away from the major events that the main characters are known to be participating in. The term "side story" is widely used in anime fandom, where it is a direct translation of the Japanese word gaiden which is often used to describe such stories. A dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a flashforward, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some other element. Commonly, dream sequences appear in many films to shed light on the psychical process of the dreaming character. For

instance in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, the purpose of Pee Wee's dreams is to inform the audience of his anxieties and fears after losing his bike. Other times major action takes place in dreams, allowing the filmmaker to explore infinite possibilities, as Michel Gondry demonstrates in The Science of Sleep. Audio or visual elements, such as distinctive music or coloration, are frequently used to signify the beginning and end of a dream sequence in film. Harvard psychologist Deirdre Barrett points out in the film chapter of The Committee of Sleep that, while the main content of dream sequences is determined by the film's overall plot, visual details often reflect the indvidual dream experience of the screenwriter or director. For Hitchcocks Spellbound, Dali designed sharply angled sets inspired by his own dream space, Ingmar Bergman lit dream sequences in several films with a harsh glare of light which he says reflects his own nightmares (though most peoples have dim light), and Orson Welles designed a scene of the trial to reflect the manner in which architecture constantly changed in his dreams.[1] It has also become commonplace to distinguish a dream sequence from the rest of the film by showing a shot of a person in bed sleeping or about to go to sleep. Other films show a dream sequence followed by a character waking up in their own bed, such as the dream sequence George Gershwin composed for his film score to Delicious. Certain Surrealist and neo-Surrealist directors such as Luis Buuel and David Lynch refuse to distinguish between waking life and dreams in many of their films, mixing the two states as they please.[2] The dream sequence that Atossa narrates near the beginning of Aeschylus' Athenian tragedy The Persians (472 BCE) may be the first in the history of European theatre.[3] Similar to a dream sequence is a plot device in which an entire story has been revealed to be a dream. As opposed to a segment of an otherwise real scenario, in these cases it is revealed that everything depicted was unreal. Oftentimes this is used to explain away inexplicable events. Because it has been done, in many occasions, to resolve a storyline that seemed out of place or unexpected, it is often considered weak storytelling; and further, in-jokes are often made in writing (particularly television scripts) that refer to the disappointment a viewer might feel in finding out everything they've watched was a dream. For example, the entire sequence of the Family Guy episodes 'Stewie Kills Lois' and 'Lois Kills Stewie' are revealed to have taken place within a virtual reality simulation, upon which a character asks whether a potential viewer could be angry that they've effectively watched a dream sequence. The TV show Dallas revealed that an entire season of the program was a dream. A narrative hook (or hook) is a literary technique in the opening of a story that "hooks" the reader's attention so that he or she will keep on reading. The "opening" may consist of several paragraphs for a short story, or several pages for a novel, but ideally it is the opening sentence. One of the most common forms is dramatic action, which engages the reader into wondering what the consequences of the action will be. This particular form has been recommended from the earliest days, stemming from Aristotle, and the widely used term in medias res stems from the Roman Empire. However, action is not, in itself, a hook, without the reader's wondering what will happen next, or what caused the actions to occur. Overly dramatic openings may leave the reader indifferent because the characters acting or being acted on are non-entities; even murder of a faceless character may not engage interest.

The use of action as the hook, and the advice to so use it, is so widespread as to sometimes lead to the use of the term to mean an action opening, but other things can be used for narrative hooks, such mysterious settings, or engaging characters, or even a thematic statement, as with Jane Austen's opening line, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." When a story does not lend itself to a good hook when it is laid out linearly, the writer may tell the story out of order to engage the reader's interest. The story may begin with a dramatic moment and, once the reader is curious, flashback to the history necessary to understand it. Or it may be told as a story-within-a-story, with the narrator in the frame story telling the story to answer the curiosity of his listeners, or by warning them that the story began in an ordinary seeming way, but they must follow it to understand latter actions. A famous early example of this technique was used in the One Thousand and One Nights, also known as the Arabian Nights, in which the frame story consists of Sheherazade telling stories to King Shahriyar; she must keep him 'hooked' to each of the stories, in order to prevent him from executing her the next morning. Narrative hooks often play an important role in suspense thrillers and mystery fiction, particularly in murder mysteries. This also dates back to the One Thousand and One Nights, in which a tale, "The Three Apples", begins with the discovery of a young woman's dead body, thus keeping the reader interested in "whodunit".[1][2] Poetic justice is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished, often in modern literature by an ironic twist of fate intimately related to the character's own conduct.

[Origin of the term

English drama critic Thomas Rymer coined the phrase in The Tragedies of the Last Age Considere'd (1678) to describe how a work should inspire proper moral behaviour in its audience by illustrating the triumph of good over evil. The demand for poetic justice is consistent in Classical authorities and shows up in Horace, Plutarch, and Quintillian, so Rymer's phrasing is a reflection of a commonplace. Philip Sidney, in Defense of Poetry, argued that poetic justice was, in fact, the reason that fiction should be allowed in a civilized nation.

History of the notion

Notably, poetic justice does not merely require that vice be punished and virtue rewarded, but also that logic triumph. If, for example, a character is dominated by greed for most of a romance or drama, he cannot become generous. The action of a play, poem, or fiction must obey the rules of logic as well as morality, and when the humour theory was dominant poetic justice was part of the justification for humor plays. During the late 17th century, critics pursuing a neo-classical standard would criticize William Shakespeare in favor of Ben Jonson precisely on the grounds that Shakespeare's characters change during the course of the play. (See Shakespeare's reputation for more on the Shakespeare/Jonson dichotomy.) When Restoration comedy, in particular, flouted poetic justice by rewarding libertines and punishing dull-witted moralists, there was a backlash in favor of drama, in particular, of more strict moral correspondence.

[Examples
"For 'tis the sport to have the engineer / Hoist with his own petard." (Shakespeare, Hamlet (III.iv.207).)

The story of Esther includes two instances of poetic justice, both involving Haman. Ultimately, Haman is executed on the gallows that he had prepared for Esther's cousin Mordecai. Dante's Divine Comedy reads like a compendium of examples of poetic justice. Almost every episode of The Twilight Zone features poetic justice, usually due to an ironic twist. An interesting and unusual example of poetic justice is found in Dr Pradhan's Sahitya Akademi award-winning poem Equation where the economic-sexual exploiters of poor tribals in Kalahandi, (Orissa) get paid back in their own coin when they get afflicted with various maladies and sexually transmitted diseases. The self-fulfilling prophecy can be considered an early example of poetic justice. One example of this is the ancient Sanskrit story of Krishna, where King Kamsa is told in a prophecy that a child of his sister Devaki would kill him. In order to prevent it, he imprisons both Devaki and her husband Vasudeva, allowing them to live only if they hand over their children as soon as they are born. He murders nearly all of them one by one, but the eighth child, Krishna, is saved and raised by a cowherd couple, Nanda and Yasoda. After growing up and returning to his kingdom, Kamsa is eventually killed by Krishna. In other words, Kamsa's cruelty in order to prevent his death is what led to him being killed.

[Examples in television and film

Poetic justice is referred to in The Simpsons episode "Boy Scoutz N the Hood." When Bart returns home from a Junior Campers meeting Homer asks "How was jerk practice, boy? Did they teach you how to sing to trees and build crappy furniture out of useless wooden logs?" The chair that Homer is sitting on then breaks and he declares "D'oh! Stupid poetic justice." In the film Batman Returns, The Penguin informs his traitorous cohort Max Shreck, that he will be killed in a pool of the toxic byproducts from his "clean" textile plant. The Penguin goes on to wonder if this is tragic irony or poetic justice. In the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indy's love interest Dr. Elsa Schneider is a Nazi agent. After this revelation, she tries fooling Indy and others saying, "I believe in the grail, not the swastika." Yet, she continues working with the Nazis and Walter Donovan. She tricks Donovan into drinking from the false grail and he dies a horrible death. In the end, poetic justice comes in the form of her death. She tries stealing the grail and triggers an earthquake. Indy grabs her hand before she falls into a bottomless pit. Yet, her greed overcomes her and she reaches for the grail again, causing Indy to lose his grip on her. Indy's father, Henry Jones Sr., sums her death up, saying, "Elsa never really believed in the grail. She thought she found a prize." Disney films, most specifically animated films, often use poetic justice as an ending device (examples include The Lion King, Aladdin, and The Great Mouse Detective, among many others), with the hero being rewarded, and the villain being punished in ironic and, occasionally, fatal ways.

In the film, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, as well as in the short story and the musical, the titular character, Sweeney Todd, kills his customers with a razor blade. In a twist of the story, at the end, having assassinated the Judge and the Beadle, Todd is killed by Toby, a boy he kept with Mrs. Lovett, with his own razor blade, while Mrs. Lovett, who bakes the dead customers into meat pies, is thrown into her own oven to bake to death by Todd. In the film Back to the Future 2, when Marty McFly is on the roof top of Biff's Casino & Hotel, Biff issues a nod to poetic justice before admitting to killing Marty's father, George Mcfly, with the same gun he intends to kill Marty with. Some caper films end with poetic justice, when a criminal gang's takings of a well planned heist are lost in a manner that is usually not quite their own fault, in complete opposition to the perfect execution of the crime itself. A striking example are the last minutes of Mlodie en sous-sol or the original versions of Ocean's Eleven and The Italian Job. In the television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, several characters find poetic justice. This is most noticeable in the episode The Southern Raiders, in which a character who killed two main characters' mother lives with his own mother in retirement, who is angry and constantly berating and talking down to him. In the film Cruel Intentions, Kathryn, who has been holding up an image of purity, innocence, and popularity while actually being manipulative, deceitful, and two-faced, is exposed at the end of the film due to the diary of her stepbrother Sebastian, who had just recently died. In the film The Killing, after a very carefully planned, and at first successful robbery, a series of unexpected side events (an unfaithful and greedy wife, a too weak suitcase...) ends up with most of the gang killed, the money scattered by the wind at the airport, causing the mastermind to be arrested just when he was about to flee the country.

A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction. A cliffhanger is hoped to ensure the audience will return to see how the characters resolve the dilemma. The phrase is believed to come from the end-of-episode situation in adventure silent films of the early 1900s days, with the protagonist literally left hanging from the edge of a cliff, although[citation needed] the oldest usage the Oxford English Dictionary has is from 1937. Some serials end with the caveat "To Be Continued..." or "The End?" In television series, the following episode usually begins with a recap sequence.

[History
The idea of ending a tale at a point where the audience is left in suspense as to its conclusion (which, in most cases, is then given at another time) may have been a staple part of storytelling for almost as long as the idea of stories have existed. It is a central theme and framing device of the collection of stories known as the One Thousand and One Nights, wherein the queen Scheherazade, who is facing a morning execution on the orders of her husband, King Shahryar,

devises the solution of telling him a story but leaving it at a cliffhanger, thus forcing the king to postpone her execution to hear the rest of the tale. The term 'cliffhanger' may have originated with Thomas Hardy's serial novel A Pair of Blue Eyes in 1873. At the time newspapers published novels in a serial format with one chapter appearing every month. To ensure continued interest in the story, many authors employed different techniques. When the novel was serialised in Tinsley's Magazine between September 1872 and July 1873, Hardy chose to leave one of the main protagonists, Henry Knight, literally hanging off a cliff staring into the stony eyes of a trilobite embedded in the rock. This became the archetypal and literalcliff-hanger of Victorian prose. Once Hardy created it, all serial writers used the cliff-hanger even though Anthony Trollope felt that the use of suspense violated "all proper confidence between the author and his reader." Basically, the reader would expect "delightful horrors" only to feel betrayed with a much less exciting ending. Despite the rhetorical distaste all serial authors used the cliffhanger and Wilkie Collins is famous for saying about the technique: "Make 'em cry, make 'em laugh, make 'em wait exactly in that order." Collins is famous for the Sensation Novel, which relied heavily upon the cliffhanger. Examples of his endings include: "The next witnesses called were witnesses concerned with the question that now followed--the obscure and terrible question: Who Poisoned Her? (The Law and the Lady) "Why are we to stop her, sir? What has she done?" "Done! She has escaped from my Asylum. Don't forget; a woman in white. Drive on." (The Woman in White) "You can marry me privately today," she answered. "Listen--and I will tell you how!" (Man and Wife)" This anticipation and conversation inducing authorial technique would often be very contrived as the only purpose was to maintain interest in the monthly serial. Therefore, these were regularly removed from the plot when the serial was published as a full novel. The cliff-hanger migrated to film and is best known from the popular silent film series The Perils of Pauline (1914), shown in weekly installments and featuring Pearl White as the title character, a perpetual damsel in distress who was menaced by assorted villains, with each installment ending with her placed in a situation that looked sure to result in her imminent death to escape at the beginning of the next installment only to get into fresh danger at its end. Specifically, an episode filmed around the New Jersey Palisades ended with her literally left hanging over a cliff and seeming about to fall. Possibly the most famous cliffhanger was at the end of the 1969 movie, The Italian Job, where the escape vehicle was literally balancing on the edge of a cliff. Although a cliffhanger can be enjoyable as a page turner at the end of a chapter in a novel, a cliffhanger at the very end of a work can be frustrating. Cliffhangers can build anticipation (and, subsequently, profit) for sequels. However, if no sequel follows, effective suspension of disbelief can leave the audience or readership wondering what happened in the work's fictional realm. Sometimes (for example at the end of Blake's 7) that goes so far that people write fan fiction (or even publish a novel) deciding what happens next.

[Serial media
Cliffhangers were especially popular in 1920s and 1930s serials when movie theaters filled the cultural niche now primarily occupied by television. Cliffhangers are often used in television series, especially soap operas that end each episode on a cliffhanger. Prior to the early 1980s,

season-ending cliffhangers were rare on U.S. television. The first such season-ender on U.S. TV was in the comedy send-up of soap operas Soap in 1978. Several Australian soap operas, which went off air over summer, such as Number 96, The Restless Years, and Prisoner, ended each year with major and much publicised catastrophe, such as a character being shot in the final seconds of the year's closing episode. In the US, it was the phenomenal success of the "Who shot J.R.?" season ending cliffhanger on Dallas, which closed the show's second season, that led the cliffhanger to become a popular staple on television dramas and later situation comedy series as well. Another notable cliffhanger was the "Moldavian Massacre" on Dynasty in 1985, which fueled speculation throughout the summer months regarding who lived or died when almost all the characters attended a wedding in the country of Moldavia, only to have revolutionaries topple the government and machine-gun the entire wedding party. The "Best of Both Worlds" episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1990 is also cited as a reason that season-enders are popular today. The two main ways for cliffhangers to keep readers/viewers coming back is to either involve characters in a suspenseful, possibly life-threatening situation, or to feature a sudden shocking revelation. The 2003 Season Finale of Home and Away features an example of both a shock cliffhanger (in the revelation that Angie Russell was Tasha Andrews' mother) and a suspense cliffhanger (the Sutherland family trapped in a mine shaft). Cliffhangers are also used to leave open the possibility of a character being killed off due to the actor not continuing to play the role. The aforementioned Star Trek season finale worked around the possibility of Patrick Stewart's contract expiring. Between seasons, his contract was renewed and as a result, the character of Captain Picard survived the cliffhanger.[citation needed] Cliffhangers are also sometimes deliberately inserted by writers who are uncertain whether a new series or season will be commissioned, in the hope that viewers will demand to know how the situation is resolved. Such was the case with the second season of Twin Peaks, which ended in a cliffhanger similar to the first season with a high degree of uncertainty about the fate of the protagonist, but the cliffhanger could not save the show from being canceled, resulting in the unresolved ending. Another notable example of this case was the Sledge Hammer! season 1 episode "The Spa Who Loved Me", which ended with the city destroyed by a nuclear explosion followed by the caption "To Be Continued...Next Season?". A second season was eventually signed, but instead of explaining the fate of the characters following the explosion, the season 2 opener took place five years prior to the incident. The Season 5 Finale of ABC show LOST ends with the island survivors, in a different time zone of 1977 on the island, attempting to blow the island up with a hydrogen bomb. The final scene shows a fatally injured Juliet Burke hammering on the hydrogen bomb, which failed to detonate after Jack Shepherd drops the bomb down, what would later chronologically be called 'The Hatch/Swan'. The finale ends with a massive white light, then the credits. The cliffhanger has become a genre staple (especially in comics, due to the multi-part storylines becoming the norm instead of self-contained stories). To such a degree, in fact, that series writers no longer feel they have to be immediately resolved, or even referenced, when the next episode is shown---for example, the last episode of the second series of Graham Linehan's The IT Crowd ended with a substantial cliffhanger that was not addressed until the third episode of series three,[1] variously because the writer didn't feel it was "a strong enough opener,"[2] or simply "couldn't be bothered."[3] The heavily serialized television drama True Blood has become notorious for cliffhangers. Not only do the seasons conclude with cliffhangers, but almost every episode finishes at a cliffhanger directly after or during a highly dramatic moment.[4]

Commercial breaks can be a nuisance to script writers because some sort of incompleteness or minor cliffhanger should be provided before each to stop the viewer from changing channels during the commercial break. Sometimes a series ends with an unintended cliffhanger caused by a very abrupt ending without a satisfactory dnouement, but merely assuming that the viewer will assume that everything sorted itself out. Sometimes a movie, book, or season of a television show will end with the defeat of the main villain before a second, evidently more powerful villain makes a brief appearance (becoming the villain of the next film). A good example of this is the anime version of Viewtiful Joe, which ends with Captain Blue being defeated and returned to normal, and then a large space craft approaching Earth. Pixar's The Incredibles spoofed this convention by having a new villain, The Underminer, burst into view from underground at the very end of the movie. The 2009 computer-animated film Astro Boy ended with an octopus-like alien hovering over the city and Astro flying to confront it. Another example of cliffhangers in movies is the horror franchise Saw (franchise), which has all its movie's ending with someone failing his tests and becoming trapped somewhere, leaving doubt as to what happened to him

The Two Brothers

Copyright 1997, Jim Loy Note: The Two Brothers is an ancient Egyptian story. The original papyrus is in the British Museum. There were once two brothers, Anpu was the older, Bata was the younger. Anpu had a wife, and owned a farm. Bata came to live with Anpu and his wife. Bata worked hard for his brother, plowing the fields, and harvesting the grain, and doing many other tasks. He was very good at his work. The animals would even speak to him. One day Anpu announced that it was time to plow the fields and sow the seeds. And he instructed his brother to take sacks of seed out to the fields. They spent the next few days plowing and sowing seeds. Then Anpu sent Bata back for more seeds. At Anpu's house, Bata found Anpu's wife fixing her hair. Bata said, "Get up and get me some seed, Anpu is waiting." Anpu's wife replied, "Get the seed yourself. I'm busy with my hair." Bata found a large basket, and filled it with seed. And, he carried the basket through the house. Anpu's wife said, "What is the weight of that basket you carry." Bata replied, "There are three sacks of wheat and two of barley." She said, "How strong you are, and handsome. Stay with me and let us make love. And Anpu will never know." Bata replied in horror, "Anpu is like a father to me, and you are like a mother to me. I won't tell anyone of the evil words that you have said. And never let me hear them again." He picked up his basket, and rushed out into the fields.

When Anpu got back home, he realized that something was wrong. No fire had been lit, no food had been cooked, and his wife was in bed moaning and weeping. Her clothes were torn, and she seemed to be bruised. Anpu demanded that she tell him what had happened. She replied, "When your brother came to fetch the seed, he saw me fixing my hair. He tried to make love to me. And I refused, saying, 'Is not Anpu like a father to you? And am I not like a mother to you?' And he became angry, and beat me. And he said that he would hurt me more if I told you what had happened. Oh Anpu, kill him for me, or I will surely die." Anpu was angry like a leopard. He took a spear, and hid behind the door of the cattle pen, waiting to kill his brother. When the sun had gone down, Bata returned with the cattle. The first cow said to Bata, "Your brother hides with a spear, behind the door. And he plans to kill you. Run away while you can." Bata would not believe the cow. But the second cow gave him the same warning. Then he saw his brother's feet behind the door. And he was afraid and ran away. Anpu chased him in great anger. As he ran, Bata called out to Ra, "O my good lord, who judges between the bad and the good, save me." And Ra heard Bata's prayer, and caused a river to flow between them. The river was wide and full of crocodiles. The two brothers stood on opposite banks of the river. Bata shouted to Anpu, "Ra delivers the wicked to the just. But I must leave you. Why did you try to kill me, without giving me a chance to explain?" And Bata told his side of the story. Then Bata took out his knife and cut himself, and he fell to the ground. And Anpu believed him, and was sick at heart. And he longed to be on the other side of the river, with his brother. Bata spoke again, "I must go to the valley of cedars, to be healed. And I shall hide my heart in a cedar tree. And when the cedar tree is cut down, I will be in danger of dying. If your beer turns sour, you will know that I need your help. Come to the valley of cedars and search for my heart. Put my heart in a bowl of water. And I will come back to life again. Anpu promised to obey his brother, and went home. He killed his wife, and threw her body to the dogs. Bata traveled to the valley of cedars, and rested until his wound had healed. He hunted wild beasts and built a house for himself. And he hid his heart in the branches of a tree. One day, the nine gods were walking in the valley. And they saw that Bata was lonely. And Ra ordered Khnum to make a wife for Bata, on his potters wheel. And when the gods breathed life into her, they saw that she was the most beautiful woman who ever lived. The seven Hathors gathered to declare her fate, and said that she would die a sudden death. Bata loved her. And he knew that whoever saw her would desire her. Every day, as he left to hunt wild animals, he warned her, "Stay in the house, or the sea may try to carry you away. And there is little I could do to save you." One day, when Bata had gone out to hunt, his wife grew bored and went out for a walk. And, as she stood beneath the tree, the sea saw her, and surged up the valley to get her. She tried to flee. But the tree caught her by the hair. She escaped, leaving a lock of her hair in the tree.

The sea took the lock of hair, and carried it to Egypt, where the Nile took it. And the hair floated to where the washermen of the King were washing the King's clothes. And the sweet-smelling hair caused the King's clothes to smell like perfume. And the King complained of this. This happened every day. One day the overseer of the washermen saw the lock of hair caught in the reeds. He ordered that it be brought to him. And he smelled its sweet smell. And he took the lock of hair to the King. And the King's advisers said, "This is a lock of hair from a daughter of Ra." And the King wanted to make this woman his Queen. The King sent many messengers to all lands. All returned to say that they had failed to find the woman. But one returned from the valley of the cedars to say that his companions had been killed by Bata, and that Bata's wife was the woman that he sought. The King sent many soldiers to fetch Bata's wife. And with the soldiers, he sent a woman to give jewels to Bata's wife, and to tell her that the King wanted to make her a queen. Bata's wife told this woman that Bata's heart was hidden in the tree, and that if the tree were cut down, Bata would die. And the soldiers cut down the tree. As the tree fell, Bata fell down dead. And the soldiers chopped up the tree and dispersed the pieces. At the same moment that Bata died, Anpu's beer began to bubble and turn sour. And he immediately put on his sandals, and grabbed his spear and his staff, and hastened to the valley of cedars. There he found his brother dead, and he wept. But he remembered his brother's instruction and searched for his heart. He searched in vain for three years. And he longed to return to Egypt. At the beginning of the fourth year, he said to himself, "If I don't find my brother's heart tomorrow, I will go back home." The next day, he searched again. And near the end of the day, he found what he thought was a seed. But it was Bata's dried up heart. And he put it in a bowl of water, and sat down to wait. The heart grew as it absorbed water. Bata came back to life, but was very weak. Then Anpu held the bowl to Bata's lips, and he swallowed the remaining water, and then swallowed his own heart. And his strength returned to him. And the two brothers embraced. Bata said, "Tomorrow, I will change myself into a sacred bull. And you will ride me back to Egypt. Lead me before the King. And he will reward you. Then return to your house." The next day, Bata changed into a bull. And Anpu rode him to Egypt, and led him before the King. The King rewarded Anpu with gold, and silver, and land, and slaves. And there was rejoicing throughout the land. And Anpu returned to his house. Eventually, Bata encountered his wife, who was now the Queen. And he said, "Look upon me, for I am alive." She asked, "And who are you?" He replied, "I am Bata. And it was you who caused the tree to be cut down, so that I would be destroyed. But I am alive." And she trembled in fear, and left the room. That evening, the King sat at a feast, with his Queen. And she said to him, "Will you swear by the gods that you will give me anything that I want?" The King promised that he would. The Queen said, "I desire to eat the liver of the sacred bull, for he is nothing to you."

The king was upset at her request. But the next day, he commanded that the bull be sacrificed. And the bull was sacrificed. And its blood splattered on each side the gate of the palace. That night, two persea trees sprang up next to the palace gate. The King was told of this miracle, and there was much rejoicing. One day the King and Queen were standing in the shade of one of the trees. And the tree spoke to the Queen, "False woman, you are the one who caused the cedar tree to be cut down, and you made the King slaughter the bull. But, I am Bata, I am still alive." And the Queen was afraid. Later, when the King and Queen were feasting, the Queen said, "Will you swear by the gods that you will give me anything that I want?" The King promised that he would. The Queen said, "It is my desire that those two persea trees be chopped down, to make furniture for me." The King was troubled by her request. But the next day the King and Queen watched as the trees were cut down. As the Queen stood watching, a chip of wood flew from one of the trees, and flew into her mouth, and she swallowed it. And it made the Queen become pregnant. After many days, the Queen gave birth to a son. The King loved him, and made him heir to the throne. In time the King died, and rejoined the gods. And his son succeeded him as King. The new King (who was Bata) summoned his court, and told everyone the story of his life. And he judged that his wife, who had become his mother, should die for her crimes. And the court agreed. And she was led away to be killed. Bata ruled Egypt for thirty years. Then he died. And his brother Anpu then ruled Egypt.

The Monkey and the Turtle

A Monkey, looking very sad and dejected, was walking along the bank of the river one day
when he met a turtle.

"How are you?" asked the turtle, noticing that he looked sad. The monkey replied, "Oh, my friend, I am very hungry. The squash of Mr. Farmer were all
taken by the other monkeys, and now I am about to die from want of food."

"Do not be discouraged," said the turtle; "take a bob and follow me and we will steal some
banana plants."

So they walked along together until they found some nice plants which they dug up, and then
they looked for a place to set them. Finally the monkey climbed a tree and planted his in it, but as the turtle could not climb he dug a hole in the ground and set his there.

When their work was finished they went away, planning what they should do with their crop.
The monkey said:

"When my tree bears fruit, I shall sell it and have a great deal of money." And the turtle said: "When my tree bears fruit, I shall sell it and buy three varas of cloth to wear
in place of this cracked shell."

A few weeks later they went back to the place to see their plants and found that that of the
monkey was dead, for its roots had had no soil in the tree, but that of the turtle was tall and bearing fruit.

"I will climb to the top so that we can get the fruit," said the monkey. And he sprang up the tree,
leaving the poor turtle on the ground alone.

"Please give me some to eat," called the turtle, but the monkey threw him only a green one and
ate all the the ripe ones himself.

When he had eaten all the good bananas, the monkey stretched his arms around the tree and
went to sleep. The turtle, seeing this, was very angry and considered how he might punish the thief. Having decided on a scheme, he gathered some sharp bamboo which he all around under the tree, and then he exclaimed:

Crocodile is coming! Crocodile is coming!" The monkey was so startled at the cry that he fell upon the sharp bamboo and was killed.

Then the turtle cut the dead monkey into pieces, put on it, and dried it in the sun. The next day,
he went to the mountains and sold his meat to other monkeys who gladly gave him squash in return. As he was leaving them he called back:

"Lazy fellows, you are now eating your own body; you are now eating your own body." Then the monkeys ran and caught him and carried to their own home. Let us take a hatchet," said one old monkey, "and cut him into very small pieces." But the turtle laughed and said: "That is just what I like. I have been struck with a hatchet many
times. Do you not see the black scars on my shell?"

Then one of the other monkeys said: "Let us throw him into the water." At this the turtle cried and begged them to spare his life, but they paid no heed to his pleadings
and threw him into the water. He sank to the bottom, but very soon came up with a lobster. The monkeys were greatly surprised at this and begged him to tell them how to catch lobsters.

"I tied one end of a string around my waist," said the turtle. "To the other end of the string I tied
a stone so that I would sink."

The monkeys immediately tied strings around themselves as the turtle said, and when all was
ready they plunged into the water never to come up again.

And to this day monkeys do not like to eat meat, because they remember the ancient story.[1]
The Ramayana (Sanskrit: , Rmyaa, IPA: [rmj] ?) is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon (smti), considered to be itihsa.[1] The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India, the other being the Mahabharata.[2] It depicts the duties of relationships, portraying ideal characters like the ideal father, ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife and the ideal king. The name Ramayana is a tatpurusha compound of Rma and ayana ("going, advancing"), translating to "Rama's Journey". The Ramayana consists of 24,000 verses in seven books (kas) and 500 cantos (sargas),[3] and tells the story of Rama (an Avatar of the Hindu preserver-God Vishnu), whose wife Sita is abducted by the demon king of Lanka, Ravana. Thematically, the epic explores the tenets of human existence and the concept of dharma.[4] Verses in the Ramayana are written in a 32-syllable meter called anustubh. The epic was an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry and Indian life and culture. Like its epic cousin the Mahbhrata, the Ramayana is not just an ordinary story: it contains the teachings of ancient Hindu sages and presents them in narrative allegory with philosophical and the devotional elements interspersed. The characters Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Bharata, Hanuman and Ravana are all fundamental to the cultural consciousness of India. There are other versions of the Ramayana, notably Buddhist (Dasaratha Jataka No. 461) and Jain in India, and also Indonesian, Philippine, Thai, Lao, Burmese and Malay versions of the tale.

Textuality
Traditionally, the Ramayana is ascribed to Valmiki, regarded as India's first poet.[5] The Indian tradition is unanimous in its agreement that the poem is the work of a single poet, the sage Valmiki, a contemporary of Rama and a peripheral actor in the epic drama.[6] The story's original version in Sanskrit is known as Valmiki Ramayana, dating to approximately the 5th to 4th century B.C.[7][8] While it is often viewed as a primarily devotional text, the Vaishnava elements appear to be later accretions possibly dating to the 2nd century BC or later.[8] The main body of the narrative lacks statements of Rama's divinity, and identifications of Rama with Vishnu are rare and subdued even in the later parts of the text.[9] According to Indian tradition, and according to the Ramayana itself, the Ramayana belongs to the genre of itihsa, like the Mahabharata. The definition of itihsa has varied over time, with one definition being that itihsa is a narrative of past events (purvtta) which includes teachings on the goals of human life.[1] According to Hindu tradition, the Ramayana takes place during a period of time known as Treta Yuga.[10] In its extant form, Valmiki's Ramayana is an epic poem of some 50,000 lines. The text survives in several thousand partial and complete manuscripts, the oldest of which appears to date from the 11th century A.D.[11] The text has several regional renderings,[12] recensions and subrecensions. Textual scholar Robert P. Goldman differentiates two major regional recensions: the northern (N) and the southern (S).[11] Scholar Romesh Chunder Dutt writes that "the Ramayana, like the Mahabharata, is a growth of centuries, but the main story is more distinctly the creation of one mind."[13] There has been discussion as to whether the first and the last chapters of Valmiki's Ramayana were composed by the original author. Some still believe they are integral parts of the book in spite of some style differences and narrative contradictions between these two chapters and the rest of the book.[14][15] Famous retellings include the Ramayanam of Kamban in Tamil (ca. 11th12th century), the Kotha Ramayana of Madhava Kandali in Assamese (ca. 14th century), Shri Rama Panchali or Krittivasi Ramayan by Krittibas Ojha in Bengali (ca. 15th Century), and Ramacharitamanas by Tulasidas in Awadhi which is an eastern form of Hindi (c. 16th century).[12]

Period
Some cultural evidence (the presence of sati in the Mahabharata but not in the main body of the Ramayana) suggests that the Ramayana predates the Mahabharata.[16] However, the general cultural background of the Ramayana is one of the post-urbanization period of the eastern part of North India (c. 450 BCE), while the Mahabharata reflects the Kuru areas west of this, from the Rigvedic to the late Vedic period.[17] By tradition, the epic belongs to the Treta Yuga, second of the four eons (yuga) of Hindu chronology. Rama is said to have been born in the Treta Yuga to King Daaratha in the Ikshvaku vamsa (clan).[18] The names of the characters (Rama, Sita, Dasharatha, Janaka, Vasishta, Vishwamitra) are all known in late Vedic literature, older than the Valmiki Ramayana.[19] However, nowhere in the surviving Vedic poetry is there a story similar to the Ramayana of Valmiki.[20] According to the modern academic view, Vishnu, who according to Bala Kanda was incarnated as Rama, first came into prominence with the epics themselves and further during the 'Puranic' period of the

later 1st millennium CE. There is also a version of Ramayana, known as Ramopakhyana, found in the epic Mahabharata. This version is depicted as a narration to Yudhishtira.[21] There is general consensus that books two to six form the oldest portion of the epic while the first book Bala Kanda and the last the Uttara Kanda are later additions.[22] The author or authors of Bala Kanda and Ayodhya Kanda appear to be familiar with the eastern Gangetic basin region of northern India and the Kosala and Magadha region during the period of the sixteen janapadas as the geographical and geopolitical data is in keeping with what is known about the region. However, when the story moves to the Aranya Kanda and beyond, it seems to turn abruptly into fantasy with its demon-slaying hero and fantastic creatures. The geography of central and South India is increasingly vaguely described. The knowledge of the location of the island of Sri Lanka also lacks detail.[23] Basing his assumption on these features, the historian H.D. Sankalia has proposed a date of the 4th century BC for the composition of the text.[24] A. L. Basham, however, is of the opinion that Rama may have been a minor chief who lived in the 8th or the 7th century BC.[25]

Characters

Rama seated with Sita, fanned by Lakshmana, while Hanuman pays his respects. Rama is the main protagonist of the tale. Portrayed as the seventh avatar of the God Vishnu, he is the eldest and favorite son of the King of Ayodhya, Dasharatha, and his wife Kausalya. He is portrayed as the epitome of virtue. Dasharatha is forced by Kaikeyi, one of his wives, to command Rama to relinquish his right to the throne for fourteen years and go into exile. Sita is the beloved wife of Rama and the daughter of king Janaka. She is the avatar of Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu. Sita is portrayed as the epitome of female purity and virtue. She follows her husband into exile and is abducted by Ravana. She is imprisoned on the island of Lanka until Rama rescues her by defeating the demon king Ravana. Later, she gives birth to Lava and Kusha, the heirs of Rama. Hanuman is a vanara belonging to the kingdom of Kishkindha. He is portrayed as the eleventh avatar of God Shiva (He is also called Rudra) and an ideal bhakta of Rama. He is born as the son of Kesari, a vanara king, and the Goddess Anjana. He plays an important part in locating Sita and in the ensuing battle.

Lakshmana, the younger brother of Rama, who chose to go into exile with him. He is portrayed as an avatar of the Shesha, the nga associated with the God Vishnu. He spends his time protecting Sita and Rama during which he fought the demoness Surpanakha. He is forced to leave Sita, who was deceived by the demon Maricha into believing that Rama was in trouble. Sita is abducted by Ravana upon him leaving her. He was married to Sita's younger sister Urmila. Ravana, a rakshasa, is the king of Lanka. After performing severe penance for ten thousand years he received a boon from the creator-God Brahma: he could henceforth not be killed by Gods, demons, or spirits. He is portrayed as a powerful demon king who disturbs the penances of Rishis. Vishnu incarnates as the human Rama to defeat him, thus circumventing the boon given by Brahma. Dasharatha is the king of Ayodhya and the father of Rama. He has three queens, Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra, and three other sons: Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna. Kaikeyi, Dasharatha's favourite queen, forces him to make his son Bharata crown prince and send Rama into exile. Dasharatha dies heartbroken after Rama goes into exile. Bharata is the son of Dasharatha. When he learns that his mother Kaikeyi had forced Rama into exile and caused Dasharatha to die brokenhearted, he storms out of the palace and goes in search of Rama in the forest. When Rama refuses to return from his exile to assume the throne, Bharata obtains Rama's sandals and places them on the throne as a gesture that Rama is the true king. Bharata then rules Ayodhya as the regent of Rama for the next fourteen years. He was married to Mandavi. Shatrughna is the son of Dasharatha and his third wife Queen Sumitra. He is the youngest brother of Rama and also the twin brother of Lakshmana. He was married to Shrutakirti. Sugriva-a vanara king who helped Rama regain Sita from Ravana. He had an agreement with Rama through which Vaali-Sugrivas brother and king of Kishkindha-would be killed by Rama in exchange for Sugrivas help in finding Sita. Sugriva ultimately ascends the throne of Kishkindha after the slaying of Vaali and fulfils his promise by putting the Vanara forces at Ramas disposal[26] Indrajit-a son of Ravana who twice defeated Lakshmana in battle before succumbing to him the third time. An adept of the magical arts, he coupled his supreme fighting skills with various stratagems to inflict heavy losses on the Vanara army before his death.[26] Kumbhakarna-a brother of Ravana, famous for his eating and sleeping. He would sleep for months at a time and would be extremely ravenous upon waking up, consuming anything set before him. His monstrous size and loyalty made him an important part of Ravanas army. During the war, he decimated the Vanara army before Rama cut of his limbs and head.[26] Soorpanaka- Ravana's demoness sister who fell in love with Rama and had the ability to take any form she wanted. Vibhishana-a younger brother of Ravana. He was against the kidnapping of Sita and joined the forces of Rama when Ravana refused to return her. His

intricate knowledge of Lanka was vital in the war and he was crowned king after the fall of Ravana.[26]

Synopsis
The Epic is traditionally divided into several major kas or books, that deal chronologically with the major events in the life of RamaBla Ka, Ayodhya Ka, Araya Ka, Kishkindha Ka, Sundara Ka, Yuddha Ka, and Uttara Ka.[12] The Bala Kanda describes the birth of Rama, his childhood and marriage to Sita.[27] The Ayodhya Kanda describes the preparations for Rama's coronation and his exile into the forest.[27] The third part, Aranya Kanda, describes the forest life of Rama and the kidnapping of Sita by the demon king Ravana. [27] The fourth book, Kishkindha Kanda, describes the meeting of Hanuman with Rama, the destruction of the vanara king Vali and the coronation of his younger brother Sugriva to the throne of the kingdom of Kishkindha.[27] The fifth book is Sundara Kanda, which narrates the heroism of Hanuman, his flight to Lanka and meeting with Sita.[27] The sixth book, Yuddha Kanda, describes the battle between Rama's and Ravana's armies.[27] The last book, Uttara Kanda, describes the birth of Lava and Kusha to Sita, their coronation to the throne of Ayodhya, and Rama's final departure from the world.[27]

Bala Kanda
Main article: Balakanda

The birth of the four sons of Dasharatha

Dasharatha was the king of Kosala, the capital of which was the city of Ayodhya. He had three queens: Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra. He was childless for a long time and, anxious to produce an heir, he performs a fire sacrifice known as Putra-Kameshti Yagya.[28] As a consequence, Rama is first born to Kausalya, Bharata is born to Kaikeyi, and Sumitra gives birth to twins named Lakshmana and Shatrughna.[29][30] These sons are endowed, to various degrees, with the essence of the God Vishnu; Vishnu had opted to be born into mortality in order to combat the demon Ravana, who was oppressing the Gods, and who could only be destroyed by a mortal.[31] The boys are reared as the princes of the realm, receiving instructions from the scriptures and in warfare. When Rama is 16 years old, the sage Vishwamitra comes to the court of Dasharatha in search of help against demons, who were disturbing sacrificial rites. He chooses Rama, who is followed by Lakshmana, his constant companion throughout the story. Rama and Lakshmana receive instructions and supernatural weapons from Vishwamitra, and proceed to destroy the demons.[32]

Janaka was the king of Mithila. One day, a female child was found in the field by the king in the deep furrow dug by this plough. Overwhelmed with joy, the king regarded the child as a "miraculous gift of God". The child was named Sita, the Sanskrit word for furrow.[33] Sita grew up to be a girl of unparalleled beauty and charm. When Sita was of marriageable age, the king decided to have a swayamvara which included a contest. The king was in possession of an immensely heavy bow, presented to him by the God Shiva: whoever could wield the bow could marry Sita. The sage Vishwamitra attends the swayamvara with Rama and Lakshmana. Only Rama wields the bow and breaks it. Marriages are arranged between the sons of Dasharatha and daughters, nieces of Janaka. The weddings are celebrated with great festivity at Mithila and the marriage party returns to Ayodhya.[32]

Ayodhya Kanda

Bharata Asks for Rama's paduka-footwear

After Rama and Sita have been married for twelve years, Dasharatha who had grown old expresses his desire to crown Rama, to which the Kosala assembly and his subjects express their support.[34][35] On the eve of the great event, Kaikeyiher jealousy aroused by Manthara, a wicked maidservantclaims two boons that Dasharatha had long ago granted her. Kaikeyi demands Rama to be exiled into wilderness for fourteen years, while the succession passes to her son Bharata. The heartbroken king, constrained by his rigid devotion to his given word, accedes to Kaikeyi's demands.[36] Rama accepts his father's reluctant decree with absolute submission and calm self-control which characterizes him throughout the story.[37] He is joined by Sita and Lakshmana. When he asks Sita not to follow him, she says, "the forest where you dwell is Ayodhya for me and Ayodhya without you is a veritable hell for me."[38] After Rama's departure, king Dasharatha, unable to bear the grief, passes away.[39] Meanwhile, Bharata who was on a visit to his maternal uncle, learns about the events in Ayodhya. Bharata refuses to profit from his mother's wicked scheming and visits Rama in the forest. He requests Rama to return and rule. But Rama, determined to carry out his father's orders to the letter, refuses to return before the

period of exile. However, Bharata carries Rama's sandals, and keeps them on the throne, while he rules as Rama's regent.[36][39]

Aranya Kanda
Rama, Sita and Lakshmana journeyed southward along the banks of river Godavari, where they built cottages and lived off the land. At the Panchavati forest they are visited by a rakshasa woman, Surpanakha, the sister of Ravana. She attempts to seduce the brothers and, failing in this, attempts to kill Sita. Lakshmana stops her by cutting off her nose and ears. Hearing of this, her demon brother, Khara, organizes an attack against the princes. Rama annihilates Khara and his demons.[40] When news of these events reaches Ravana, he resolves to destroy Rama by capturing Sita with the aid of the rakshasa Maricha. Maricha, assuming the form of a golden deer, captivates Sita's attention. Entranced by the beauty of the deer, Sita pleads with Rama to capture it. Rama, aware that this is the play of the demons, is unable to dissuade Sita from her desire and chases the deer into the forest, leaving Sita under Lakshmana's guard. After some time Sita hears Rama calling out to her; afraid for his life she insists that Lakshmana rush to his aid. Lakshmana tries to assure her that Rama is invincible, and that it is best if he continues to follow Rama's orders to protect her. On the verge of hysterics Sita insists that it is not she but Rama who needs Lakshmana's help. He obeys her wish but stipulates that she is not to leave the cottage or entertain any strangers. Finally with the coast clear, Ravana appears in the guise of an ascetic requesting Sita's hospitality. Unaware of the devious plan of her guest, Sita is then forcibly carried away by the evil Ravana.[40][41] Jatayu, a vulture, tries to rescue Sita, but is mortally wounded. At Lanka, Sita is kept under the heavy guard of rakshasis. Ravana demands Sita marry him, but Sita, eternally devoted to Rama, refuses.[39] Rama and Lakshmana learn about Sita's abduction from Jatayu, and immediately set out to save her.[42] During their search, they meet the demon Kabandha and the ascetic Shabari, who direct them towards Sugriva and Hanuman.[43][44]

Kishkindha Kanda

A stone bas relief at Banteay Srei in Cambodia depicts the combat between Vali and Sugriva (middle). To the right, Rama fires his bow. To the left, Vali lies dying.

Ravana is meeting Sita at Ashokavana. Hanuman is seen on the tree.

The Kishkindha Kanda is set in the monkey citadel Kishkindha. Rama and Lakshmana meet Hanuman, the greatest of monkey heroes and an adherent of Sugriva, the banished pretender to the throne of Kishkindha.[45] Rama befriends Sugriva and helps him by killing his elder brother Vali thus regaining the kingdom of Kiskindha, in exchange for helping Rama to recover Sita.[46] However Sugriva soon forgets his promise and spends his time in debauchery. The clever monkey Queen, Tara, calmly intervenes to prevent an enraged Lakshmana from destroying the monkey citadel. She then eloquently convinces Sugriva to honor his pledge. Sugriva then sends search parties to the four corners of the earth, only to return without success from north, east and west.[47] The southern search party under the leadership of Angad and Hanuman learns from a vulture named Sampati that Sita was taken to Lanka.[47][48]

Sundara Kanda
Main article: Sundara Kanda

The Sundara Kanda forms the heart of Valmiki's Ramayana[49] and consists of a detailed, vivid account of Hanuman's adventures.[45] After learning about Sita, Hanuman assumes a gargantuan form and makes a colossal leap across the ocean to Lanka. Here, Hanuman explores the demon's city and spies on Ravana. He locates Sita in Ashoka grove, who is wooed and threatened by Ravana and his rakshasis to marry Ravana. He reassures her, giving Rama's signet ring as a sign of good faith. He offers to carry Sita back to Rama, however she refuses, reluctant to allow herself to be touched by a male other than her husband. She says that Rama himself must come and avenge the insult of her abduction.[45] Hanuman then wreaks havoc in Lanka by destroying trees and buildings, and killing Ravana's warriors. He allows himself to be captured and produced before Ravana. He gives a bold lecture to Ravana to release Sita. He is condemned and his tail is set on fire, but he escapes his bonds and, leaping from roof to roof, sets fire to Ravana's citadel and makes the giant leap back from the island. The joyous search party returns to Kishkindha with the news.[45][50]

Yuddha Kanda

The War of Lanka by Sahibdin.It depicts monkey army of the protagonist Rama (top left, blue figure) fighting the demon-king of the king of Lanka, Ravana in order to save Rama's kidnapped wife Sita. The painting depicts multiple events in the battle against the three-headed demon general Trisiras, in bottom left Trisiras is beheaded by the monkey-companion of Rama Hanuman.

This book describes the battle between the forces of Rama and Ravana. Having received Hanuman's report on Sita, Rama and Lakshmana proceed with their allies towards the shore of the southern sea. There they are joined by Ravana's renegade brother Vibhishana. The monkeys named "Nal" and "Neel" construct a floating bridge (known as Rama Setu) across the ocean, and the princes and their army cross over to Lanka. A lengthy battle ensues and Rama kills Ravana. Rama then installs Vibhishana on the throne of Lanka.[51] On meeting Sita, Rama asks her to undergo agni Pariksha (test of fire) to prove her purity, since she had stayed at the demon's palace. When Sita plunges into the sacrificial fire, Agni the lord of fire raises Sita, unharmed, to the throne, attesting to her purity.[52] The episode of agni pariksha varies in the versions of Ramayana by Valmiki and Tulsidas.[53] The above version is from Valmiki Ramayana. In Tulsidas's Ramacharitamanas Sita was under the protection of Agni so it was necessary to bring her out before reuniting with Rama. At the expiration of his term of exile, Rama returns to Ayodhya with Sita and Lakshmana, where the coronation is performed.[51] This is the beginning of Ram Rajya, which implies an ideal state with good morals. It is a place where all religions, creed and castes can live together in harmony and work towards progress together. Ram Rajya is the ultimate state of a true democracy where through unity one gains strength and protects the other as humanity is the greatest essence above all. Gambling, drinking and hunting were commonly condemned in Ram Rajya.

Uttara Kanda
Sita in the Hermitage of Valmiki

The Uttara Kanda concerns the final years of Rama, Sita, and Rama's brothers. After being crowned king, many years passed pleasantly with Sita. However, despite the agni pariksha (fire ordeal) of Sita, rumors about her purity are spreading among the populace of Ayodhya.[54] Rama yields to public opinion and banishes Sita to the forest, where the sage Valmiki provides shelter in his ashrama (hermitage). Here she gives birth to twin boys, Lava and Kusha, who became pupils of Valmiki and are brought up in ignorance of their identity. Valmiki composes the Ramayana and teaches Lava and Kusha to sing it. Later, Rama holds a ceremony during Ashwamedha yagna, which the sage Valmiki, with Lava and Kusha, attends.

Lava and Kusha sing the Ramayana in the presence of Rama and his vast audience. When Lava and Kusha recite about Sita's exile, Rama becomes grievous, and Valmiki produces Sita. Sita calls upon the Earth, her mother, to receive her and as the ground opens, she vanishes into it.[54] [55] Rama then learns that Lava and Kusha are his children. Later a messenger from the Gods appears and informs Rama that the mission of his incarnation was over. Rama returns to his celestial abode.[52] The Uttara Kanda is regarded to be a later addition to the original story by Valmiki.[12]

Influence on culture and art

A Ramlila actor wears the traditional attire of Ravana

One of the most important literary works of ancient India, the Ramayana has had a profound impact on art and culture in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The story ushered in the tradition of the next thousand years of massive-scale works in the rich diction of regal courts and Brahminical temples. It has also inspired much secondary literature in various languages, notably the Kambaramayanam by the Tamil poet Kambar of the 13th century, the Telugu-language Molla Ramayana, 14th century Kannada poet Narahari's Torave Ramayan, and 15th century Bengali poet Krittibas Ojha's Krittivasi Ramayan, as well as the 16th century Awadhi version, Ramacharitamanas, written by Tulsidas. The Ramayana became popular in Southeast Asia during the 8th century and was represented in literature, temple architecture, dance and theatre. Today, dramatic enactments of the story of Ramayana, known as Ramlila, take place all across India and in many places across the globe within the Indian diaspora. The Ramayana has inspired works of film as well, most prominently the North American Sita Sings the Blues, which tells the story supporting Sita through song.

*THE CROW BOY*

Peeking out a window with the curtain half closed, I watched the mama order the young one into the bird bath. Hed wriggle around in the water, then look at his mom as if to say, Im done, can I please get out now? Mom would squawk at him till he crouched down again and nervously flipped his right wing a little. Again he was in trouble: Do it again, she apparently said. After getting him to bathe his right side, she wouldnt give in to his wails but instead made him turn around in the bath to flip his left wing and splash water up under it, over it, and put the wing-pit into the water. Then she made him duck his head under, all of it, beak, nose, eyes, and all. He had to dunk his head 3 times before Mama approved. Once he was clean enough to pass her inspection, she let him sit on the edge of the bird bath while she washed her face, ducking and dunking her head several times. While Mom was washing up, the little guy set up a rucus until his father flew in with a tasty morsel to shove into the little ones beak. That shut him up for a moment or two. Then all three of them began walking the yard, looking for goodies. It was a very sweet and touching scene, but it was also funny because the little guy obviously didnt want his bath at all!

Crow Boy is one such story where the kids of school in a Japanese village make fun of a shortboy and names him Chibi(short one). No one knows him well and he is not one of the folks who live near by. He walks alone from far away mountains every day to school. He attends the school diligently, but no one makes friends with him. He is always left alone to his own machinations during the intervals and lunch breaks. No plays with him and he continues to be taunted every day of his school life for 6 years. The author's single line in a page says it all - "He is always at the end of the line, always at the foot of the class, a forlorn little tag-along". A tag-along whom every one, including the teachers, at the best ignore or taunt with names like slowpoke and stupid. But, unknown to every one, Chibi is busy finding his own way to understand the world around him. He hears many different sounds, he finds a lot of interest in watching insects that most of the kids would run away from. He finds variety of different things interesting - the class which teaches a give list of subjects is just not for him. In the last grade of the school, in walks in a new teacher called Mr. Isobe. He is himself a bit different and regularly takes his class to a hill top behind the school. Here is where the rest of the kids are clueless and Chibi rises to the occasion; he knows about all the places where wild fruits grow, knows more about farming than anyone put together and he seems to talk with the crows. At the end of last year, Mr. Isobe makes Chibi appear on the stage for a talent show and every one hoots and jeers - "What can this stupid do?". Chibi starts imitating the various sounds of the crows. He imitates a newly hatched crow, a mother crow, father crow, cries of the crows when they are happy, sad and their cries in the morning and evenings. Every one is amazed that there could so many varieties in a simple crow call. Mr. Isobe then explains how Chibi learned all about the crow calls and various other information that he has at his disposal. It is a fine ending for a rather sad story in the beginning. Taro Yashima, the author, thanks a real person called Takeo Isonaga, who appears in this story as a teacher called Isobe. The story's emphasis is on the fact that the teacher can play a great role in moulding a kid; or making others kids aware of the talents present in each and every one of them. The other teachers were just like the majority of the kids and considered that Chibi was worthless and he had to be put up with for a period of 6 years. But, one teacher's belief could bring about a change in the school and make a kid happy. A great story. The book was published in 1965 and won the Caldecott Honor that year. Taro Yashima's illustrations in water colours are touching and brings out the emotions in the page. A great book to illustrate the fact to the kids that it is alright to be different. If Id gone for the camera, theyd have seen me and flown off. So all I can show you is this mental picture.

The Old Man Who Became A Fish

Some years ago a noted official became the magistrate of Ko-song County. On a certain day a guest called on him to pay his respects, and when noon came the magistrate had a table of food prepared for him, on which was a dish of skate soup. When the guest saw the soup he twisted his

features and refused it, saying, "To-day I am fasting from meat, and so beg to be excused." His face grew very pale, and tears flowed from his eyes. The magistrate thought this behaviour strange, and asked him two or three times the meaning of it. When he could no longer withhold a reply, he went into all the particulars and told him the story. "Your humble servant," he said, "has in his life met with much unheard-of and unhappy experience, which he has never told to a living soul, but now that your Excellency asks it of me, I cannot refrain from telling. Your servant's father was a very old man, nearly a hundred, when one day he was taken down with a high fever, in which his body was like a fiery furnace. Seeing the danger he was in, his children gathered about weeping, thinking that the time of his departure had surely come. But he lived, and a few days later said to us, 'I am burdened with so great a heat in this sickness that I am not able to endure it longer. I would like to go out to the bank of the river that runs before the house and see the water flowing by, and be refreshed by it. Do not disobey me now, but carry me out at once to the water's edge.' "We remonstrated with him and begged him not to do so, but he grew very angry, and said, ' If you do not as I command, you will be the death of me'; and so, seeing that there was no help for it, we bore him out and placed him on the bank of the river. He, seeing the water, was greatly delighted, and said, 'The clear flowing water cures my sickness.' A moment later he said further, 'I'd like to be quite alone and rid of you all for a little. Go away into the wood and wait till I tell vou to come.' "We again remonstrated about this, but he grew furiously angry, so that we were helpless. We feared that if we insisted, his sickness would grow worse, and so we were compelled to yield. We went a short distance away and then turned to look, when suddenly the old father was gone from the place where he had been seated. We hurried back to see what had happened. My father had taken off his clothes and plunged into the water, which was muddied. His body was already half metamorphosed into a skate. We saw its transformation in terror, and did not dare to go near him, when all at once it became changed into a great flatfish, that swam and plunged and disported itself in the water with intense delight. He looked back at us as though he could hardly bear to go, but a moment later he was off, entered the deep sea, and did not again appear. "On the edge of the stream where he had changed his form we found his finger-nails and a tooth. These we buried, and to-day as a family we all abstain from skate fish, and when we see the neighbours frying or eating it we are overcome with disgust and horror." Im Bang.

THE HUNTER WHO BECAME A FISH

TWO brothers started off to hunt. After they had I camped they heard a peculiar noise and one of them said, "I am going to find out what that is," and he followed the sound. It seemed to come from inside a hollow tree. Thinking there might be a bear in the tree the young man ran back to camp and said to his brother, "There must be a bear in that tree over there, but it makes a noise like a whirlwind." They went to the tree and one of them climbed up and looked into the hole. At first he couldn't see anything. Then, at the bottom of the hole, he saw a spotted trout jumping around. He got the trout out and threw it down to his brother, who said, "This is a curious fish. Let's take it to camp."

"Don't touch it," said the other, "It might be something that will harm us." But the young man didn't listen; he took the trout to camp, cleaned and ate it Right away, he said, "Bring some water, I am thirsty." Water was brought and he drank and kept drinking, "Couldn't drink enough." "I think the fish is making you sick," said his brother. "Get more water," was the answer. "Take my moccasins and fill them." When the young man was tired of bringing water he said to his brother, "You must go to the spring where you can drink all the water you want." He went to the spring, drank till he was tired, then rested and drank again. When the other brother went to the spring he was frightened; his brother's mouth was like the mouth of a fish. "Doesn't your mouth feel strange?" asked he.
p. 417

The man put up his hand and then knew that his mouth had grown large, but he kept on drinking. The next time the young man went to the spring his brother was half fish; fish to the waist, and he was still drinking. Later he went to the spring and found that his brother had become a fish and gone into the water. The next morning when the young man went to the spring, he saw a great fish far under the water, and the spring had become a pond. He sat down on the bank and soon the Fish rose to the surface, and said, "My poor brother, go home and tell our father what has happened to me. When you want fish come here and get all you need; this pond will always be full of fish." The young man went home and told what had taken place. The people came to the pond; the Fish rose to the surface, and said, "I shall not be a fish long, I am going to be a NYAGWAIHE." Soon the Fish changed to a NYAGWAIHE (a great bear). The Bear stayed around the pond and of each party that came to fish, it killed and ate one man. Nobody saw this, but each party always lost one of its number, and people began to think that if the Bear lived long it would kill a great many men. A council was called to decide what to do, and three young, men promised to kill the Bear. They went to the pond, but never came back. The Bear's brother said, "I will go to the pond, maybe I can drive him away." And taking parched corn flour to eat, new moccasins to wear, and a good bow and twelve arrows he went to the pond and camped on the bank. That night he dreamed that his brother, in the form of a man, came to him, and asked, "Why are you here? I can kill you." And he answered, "I came to drive you away, for you are doing a great deal of harm." The man said, "I will start at daylight and run. Follow, and see if you can overtake me." The next morning the young man went in the direction
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the man had indicated, running as fast as he could. Just at midday he saw bear tracks, and he called out, "Now I'll overtake you!"

He ran faster than before, ran till dark, then camped and built a fire. When he opened his bundle of corn flour it had turned to ants; he had nothing to eat. The Bear had done this to deprive his brother of food. While the young man sat by the fire thinking, he heard some one approaching; he knew it was the Bear and he had drawn his bow, ready to aim, when the Bear called out, "Wait, brother, till I talk with you. If you will let me go I will start early to-morrow morning, and leave this part of the country forever." The brother said, "I will let you go." They parted and the next morning the young man went back to his village and told the people what had happened and said, "You can fish in the lake as much as you like; no one will trouble you. And so it proved.

A Closer Look: Jody Paterson

Jody Paterson is a Victoria, B.C. writer and communications strategist who has been writing a column for the Victoria Times Colonist since 1996. These days, she writes most Fridays in the opinion section of the paper, and posts those columns and other commentary here.
Maybe it's the mirror: A reflection on body image Dec. 1, 2006 Nobody in our household is quite sure when the happy mirror first arrived. For the longest time, only my stepdaughter knew of its magical powers. The otherwise ordinary full-length mirror hung in her bedroom for years and I learned of its charms only after she moved away and left it behind. Ive known about the existence of bad mirrors for many years, of course, being well familiar with those kind. I cant count the number of store dressing rooms that have broken my heart over the years with their bright lights and bad mirrors. The happy mirror, on the other hand, tells a much different story to those who look into it. Wherever your body type and tendencies have taken you, it makes you look taller and thinner, and quite nicely proportioned. Your clothes look better. Your hair is neater. You look rested. At first, I resisted its allure. A mirror that made you look good just seemed like too guilty of a pleasure after a lifetime of bad mirrors. I worried that it would swoon me into thinking I looked OK all the time. Heaven forbid. But one day a few months ago, it just became obvious to my partner and I that we loved the happy mirror. Theres no denying the pleasure of walking by it as you breeze back and forth in the morning. The happy mirror sends you out the door feeling terrific. Is it wrong to be so caught up with the image in the mirror? Weve loved mirrors for a long, long time: first as ponds, then polished metal, and now as treated glass. For better or worse, we are fascinated by our own reflections.

I have no real idea what Im looking for when I glance in a mirror. I suppose I want to see the person I present to the world. Its an effective tool for steely-eyed assessment and reconsideration - for getting the poppyseed out of your teeth, the mascara off your nose, your clothes aligned. The happy mirror, on the other hand, is like having a kind-hearted person on hand at all times to warmly declare that you look really good. Stubby and thick around the middle? Not a bit. Slouching and pot-bellied? Nope. Youre just right. That women loathe their bodies is nothing new. Any number of theories have been put forward to explain that - media images, social conditioning, marketing. What isnt in dispute, however, is that what we see in the mirror continues to matter to us. I searched on Why do I hate my body? in Google this week and came up with page after page of Web sites devoted to the question. Some encourage continuing to hate your body by naming which part bugged you the most, while others denounced the fixation with body image and put the blame on the patriarchy, corporations and oppressive social conditions. One blogger wrote that she used to hate her body, but now hates the forces that conspire to make you hate your body. But has anyone considered the role of the humble mirror in all of this? Could it be that we were happier when there were only pond surfaces and the warm glances of passing strangers to convey to us how we looked? Up until the late 1800s, mirrors werent so hot. The techniques to make them were far from perfect, and the materials were a challenge. Then a German chemist invented silvering and the modern mirror was born. Life would never be the same. These days, we check ourselves in countless mirrors as a matter of course. The one in the bedroom. The one in the bathroom. The cars rear-view. Shiny glass buildings. Staff washrooms. Elevators. Mirrors greet us at every turn, passing their opinion on how we look with no regard for whether we want to know. Before I came upon the happy mirror, I thought I was condemned to always finding some aspect of myself wanting in my reflection. I suspected that that it was one of those garden-variety issues related to self-esteem and body image, perhaps related to some inner psychological tripwire from my childhood I hadnt worked out yet. Never once did I wonder if it was the mirrors. But to experience the happy mirror is to realize that you are whatever the mirror says you are. And if it says you cut one fine figure, you do. A lifetime of bad mirrors at every turn has left us believing the worst of ourselves. But thats nothing that a good mirror cant fix. We dont have to look for our personal truths in bad mirrors. We can seek out happy mirrors - pass a regulation requiring them in all public places, even. No more disappointments. Whats the worst that could happen? Wed start every morning believing that we looked great. Its not perfection we need - just mirrors that make us feel that way.

HAPPY MIRROR (A Japanese Folk Tale)

Many years ago in Japan, there lived a father, mother and their dear little girl. There was not a happier family in all the islands of Japan. They took their little daughter to the temple when she was just thirty days old. She wore a long kimono, as all the Japanese babies do. On her first doll festival, her parents gave her a set of dolls. There was no finer set anywhere. Her dolls had long, black hair, silky and smooth, and were clad in gowns of satin and silk. Her third birthday was a happy day. Her first sash of scarlet and gold was tied around her small waist. When that happened, she was no longer their baby daughter. She was their little girl, fast growing up. By the time she was seven, she was helping her parents in many ways. She could talk and dance and sing, and oh! Her parents loved her dearly. One day, a messenger brought exciting news. The emperor had sent for the father. He had to go tot Tokyo at once. Tokyo was a long way off and the roads were rough. The father would have to walk every step of the way for he had no horse. There were no railways or even jinrikishas to travel on. The little girl was glad her father was going to Tokyo. She knew that when he came back, he would tell her many interesting stories. She knew that he would bring her presents, too. The mother was happy because the father had been sent for the emperor. This was a great honor. At last, all was ready. The father looked very fine as he started out on the long trip. He was going to meet his emperor, so he dresses in fine robes of silk and satin. The little family stood on the porch of the little house to bid him goodbye. Do not worry. I will come back soon, said the father. While Im away, take care of everything. Keep our little daughter safe. Yes, we shall be alright. But you must take care of yourself. Come back to as soon as you can, said the mother. The little girl ran to his side. She caught hold of his sleeve to keep a moment. Father, she said, I will be very good while waiting for you to come back. Then he was gone. He went quickly down to the little garden and out through the gate. There, they could see him go down the road. He looked smaller as he went farther away. Then all they could see of him was his peaked hat. Soon, that was out of sight, too. The days seemed very long for the mother and the little girl. Many times each day, they would pray for the good father. They prayed for his safe journey. The days slipped by one and morning, the little girl saw someone coming over the mountains. She ran to tell her mother. Could that be her father? They both went to the garden gate to watch. As he came nearer, they knew that he was the father. They both ran to meet him, the little girl on one side, the mother on the other side. They were all happy again. As soon as they went into the house, the little girl ran to untie the fathers straw sandals. The mother lovingly took off his large straw hat. Then they all sat down on the white mat, for the father had bought some presents. There in a bamboo basket was a beautiful doll and a box full of cakes. Here, he said to the little girl, is a present for you. It is a prize for taking care of Mother and the house while I was away. Thank you, Father dear, said the little girl. Then she bowed her head to the ground. In a second, she had picked up her lovely new doll and had gone to play with it. Again, the husband looked into the basket. This time, he brought out a square wooden box. It was tied with gaily-colored ribbon. He handed it to his wife saying, And this is for you, my dear. The wife took the box and opened it carefully. One side had beautifully carved pine trees and

storks on it. The other side was bright and shining as smooth as a pool of water. Inside, there was something made of silver. She had never seen so lovely a present. She looked and looked at the pine trees and stork, which seemed almost real. Then she looked closer at the shining side. Suddenly she cried, I see someone looking at me in this round thing! She is very lovely. Her husband laughed but said nothing. Then the mothers eyes grew big with wonder. Why, the lady I see has a dress just like mine! she said. She seems to be talking to me. My dear, her husband answered, that is your own face that you see. What I have given you is a mirror. All the ladies in Tokyo have them. If you bring a smiling face in the mirror, you will see a smiling face. If you are cross, you will see a cross face in it. The wife thanked her husband for the lovely gift. She promised always to bring happy face to the mirror. She then shut it up in the box and put it away. Often, the mother would take out the box and look inside. Each time, she was surprised. She liked to see her eyes shine. She liked to see how red her lips were. She always brought a smiling face to it, so that she might always see a smiling face. Soon, she grew tired of looking in the box and she put it away. Only once a year did she open it and look at her face. She decided to save the lovely gift for the little girl when she grew up. The years went by. The little girl grew to be a woman and no longer played with dolls. Instead each day, she helped her mother about the house. How proud her father was of her! He saw that she was growing more like her mother. Her hair was the same; her eyes were the same; her mouth was the same. She was the very image of her mother. One day, the mother called her daughter and said, My daughter, I have something to give you. Once each year, you are to look into it. She took the square wooden box from the drawer. Carefully, the daughter untied the ribbon. Wondering, she lifted the cover and looked at the mirror. Why, Mother! she cried. Its you! You look just as you used to look when I was a little girl. Yes, dear, the mother answered, that is the way I looked when I was young. Be sure to smile when you look at me and I will smile back to you. From that day on, the good daughter kept a box near her. Once each year, she would open it. Her mothers words were always true. Always, she saw her mothers face. Oh, the joyful surprise! It was her mother, more beautiful each time that she looked. She seemed to smile at her daughter and the daughter smiled back at her. The daughter remembered to bring smiles to the little box and smiles always came back to her. THE AGED MOTHER
The quote does mean, with age comes wisdom. It is a falsity. While with age comes experiences, and generally with experience comes wisdom; it depends on whether the individual learned from their experiences to in fact gain that wisdom. If the individual never learns from what they experienced, then no matter what experiences they've had, there is nothing gained.

The Spider's Thread" (, Kumo no Ito?) is a 1918 short story by Rynosuke Akutagawa, first published in the children's magazine Akai Tori.

Plot summary
The Buddha Shakyamuni is meandering around Paradise one morning, when he stops at a lotusfilled pond. Between the lilies, he can see, through the crystal-clear waters, the depths of Hell.

His eyes come to rest on one sinner in particular, by the name of Kandata. Kandata was a coldhearted criminal, but had one good deed to his name: while walking through the forest one day, he decided not to kill a spider he was about to crush with his foot. Moved by this single act of compassion, the Buddha takes the silvery thread of a spider in Paradise and lowers it down into Hell. Down in Hell, the myriad sinners are struggling in the Pool of Blood, in total darkness save for the light glinting off the Mountain of Spikes, and in total silence save for the sighs of the damned. Kandata, looking up by chance at the sky above the pool, sees the spider's thread descending towards him and grabs hold with all the might of a seasoned criminal. The climb from Hell to Paradise is not a short one, however, and Kandata quickly tires. Dangling from the middle of the rope, he glances downward, and sees how far he has come. Realizing that he may actually escape from Hell, he is overcome by joy and laughs giddily. His elation is short-lived, however, as he realizes that others have started climbing the thread behind him, stretching down into the murky depths below. Fearing that the thread will break from the weight of the others, he shouts that the spider's thread is his and his alone. It is at this moment that the thread breaks, and he and all the other sinners are cast back down into the Pool of Blood. Shakyamuni witnesses this, knowing all but still with a slightly sad air. In the end, Kandata condemned himself by being concerned only with his own salvation and not that of others. But Paradise continues on as it has, and it is nearly noontime there. Thus the Buddha continues his meanderings.

[edit] Sources of Inspiration

Akutagawa was known for piecing together many different sources for many of his stories, and "The Spider's Thread" is no exception. He read Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov in English translation sometime between 1917 and 1918, and the story of "The Spider's Thread" is inspired partly by a very short fable from the novel known as the Fable of the Onion, where an evil woman who had done no good at all in her life is sent to hell, but her guardian angel points out to God that she had in fact done one good deed in her life: she once gave an onion to a beggar. So God told the angel to take that onion and use it to pull her out of hell. The angel very nearly managed to pull her out, but when other sinners began to hold on to her so they could also be pulled out, she kicked at them, saying that the onion was hers and she was the one getting pulled out, not them. At that moment, the onion broke and the woman fell back into hell, where she remains. Another inspiration for Akutagawa appears to be from a story of the same name found in Karma: A Story of Early Buddhism, an anthology of five Buddhist parables published in Tokyo in 1895. He took from here the character of Kandata, who is also an evil robber damned to Buddhist hell until his bad karma expires. Here, however, Kandata does not have a path to immediately leave hell but instead is told that any good deeds he may have done such as sparing the spider, would return to help him rise again.