 |
| English Translation at the Bottom |
Noong unang panahon, may isang mag-asawa na biniyayaan ng isang magandang anak na babae. Ang kanilang anak ay tinawag nilang Amba.
Ang mag-asawa ay may hanapbuhay na paghahabi ng mga tela. Parehas na galing sa angkan ng mga mahuhusay humabi ang mag-asawa. Kaya’t tama lamang na ito rin ay kanyang ipapamana sa nag-iisang anak.
Habang maliit pa ang bata ay itinuro na ng mag-asawa kung paano ang humabi. At habang lumalaki na nga ang bata ay unti-unti itong naging bihasa sa paghahabi ng mga tela. Maging ang mga mahihirap na disenyo ay kaya ng gawin ng bata sa murang edad. Nahigitan na nito ang kakayanan ng kanyang ama at ina.
Dahil sa kanyang natatanging kakayanan, naging tanyag ang bata sa iba’t ibang lupalop. Marami ang dumarayo hindi lamang para bumili ng mga disenyo kundi upang makita rin ang paggawa ng bata. Naging mayaman din ang mag-anak dahil sa mga bentang tela na ginagawa ng bata.
Ngunit ang bata ay naging mayabang. Dahil sa alam nito na magaling siya sa kanyang kakayanang paghahabi hinamon nito ang sino man na magkipagtagisan sa kanya. Maraming mga mahuhusay na maghahabi ang tumaggap sa hamon ng batang si Amba. Gusto rin nilang patunayan kung siya nga ay magaling tulad ng napabalita.
Nagtagisan ng galing ang mga maghahabi. Napakahusay nga ang bata. Lahat ng magagaling na maghahabi ay napakahanga sa kakayanan ni Amba. Nilaos sila ng bata at dahil dito, mas lalong yumabang ang bata.
Ani niya, wala nang makakatalo sa kanyang kakayanan. Maging ang mga diyosa ay kanyang hinamak na wala na ngang makahihigit pa sa galing niya. Narinig ng mga diyosa ang kayabangan ng bata. Hindi na sila nasisiyahan sa nagiging asal ng bata.
Isang araw, isang matanda ang nagpunta sa bahay ng bata at hinamon niya ito. Natawa ang bata ngunit pumayag din ito. Mukha namang pangkaraniwan lang ang matanda at baka nga hindi pa nito alam kung paano humabi. Sigurado na siyang walang panalo sa kanya ang matanda.
Nag-umpisa ang paligsahan. Maraming tao ang dumalo upang manood kung mananalo ang matanda sa batang si Amba. Naging napakaganda ng telang hinabi ng matanda. Maging si Amba ay natulala sa mahirap na disenyong nagawa ng matanda. Ang pasya nang pagkapanalo ay sa tela ng matanda.
Nagngingit-ngit ang bata. Paano daw siya natalo ng isang matanda na mahina na ang mata at uugod-ugod pa. Pinagalitan niya ang matanda at tinulak-tulak ito. Igigiit nito na ang matanda ay nandaya at baka ipinalit lamang ang isang nagawa nang tela sa ginagawa nito. Baka nga si Amba pa gumawa ng tela aniya.
Tangka na niyang pagbubuhatan ng kamay ang matanda nang biglang lumiwag ang damit ng matanda at nagbago ang kanyang anyo. Iyon pala ay isang diyosa na nagpapanggap lamang.
Hindi na maganda ang asal ng bata ayon sa diyosa. Naging masyadong mayabang ang bata at nararapat daw itong parusahan. Nagbago ang anyo ng bata. Lumiit ito at nagkaroon ng mga mahahabang paa. Umiiyak ang kanyang mga magulang ngunit alam nilang wala na silang magawa para sa bata.
Simula noon ang batang si Amba ay naging unang gagamba. Sa ngayon, makikita pa rin ang kahusayan ng mga gagamba sa paghahabi ng kanilang mga bahay.
The Legend of the Spider
|
Once upon a time, there was a couple who had been blessed with a beautiful baby girl. They named their child Amba.
Weaving was the main livelihood of the couple. They make beautiful and intricate designs of cloths. The couple both came from a family of great weavers. It didn’t come as a surprise that Amba was taught how to weave and she excelled in it.
Even as a young girl, Amba was very good at the craft her parents have taught her. As she grew up, she explored and experimented on how to make different designs. Because of this, she was a master weaver even at a young age. She has even surpassed her parents’ ability.
Amba became famous because of her talent in weaving. She was known throughout the land. Many would come to their place not only to buy the cloths that Amba had made but also to look at her weave. Many wonder at the magical way her hands work. The family became rich because of this livelihood.
But due to her new found fame, the girl became arrogant. She knew she was good at weaving that she challenged anyone who would like to go against her. Many great weavers heeded Amba’s challenge. They too would like to prove Amba’s talents.
The challenge was set and the weaving begun. Amba fascinated all her challengers at how easily she weaved intricate patterns. There was no doubt that the girl outdid all the other weavers. Because of this, she became even more arrogant than before.
Amba claimed that she was the best weaver there is. She even said that no goddess can surpass her ability to weave beautiful designs. The goddesses heard Amba’s taunts against them. They had noticed how proud Amba had become. They were not happy with Amba’s arrogance.
One day, an old woman had come to challenge Amba. The girl agreed to the match. She laughed to herself thinking that the woman looked as if she doesn’t even know how to weave. It would definitely be easy for Amba to beat her. Plus, it’s a chance to show off her skills.
The weaving started and the old woman proved to be a great adversary to Amba. The old woman made a complicated and beautiful design that left everyone, even Amba, in awe. The old woman won the challenge.
Amba could not believe that she was beaten by an old woman. She mocked the woman saying that she had cheated. The cloth could have been swapped by the old woman. It could even have been a cloth that Amba had made beforehand.
Before Amba could have pushed the old woman, the whole place suddenly lit up. The old woman was suddenly transformed into a beautiful goddess. She saw how arrogant Amba had become. The girl was to be punished for her pride.
At the wave of the goddess’ hand, Amba’s appearance changed. She became smaller and her legs grew longer. Her parents could not do anything for they knew that their daughter had indeed become very proud of herself.
Amba was the very first spider. Up to this day, one can still see the spider’s skills in weaving in the complicated designs they make their houses of.
Researched and Rewritten by Lovedy
Translated and Formatted by Daniel Andrei Garcia
