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| English Version at the Bottom |
May isang kagubatan ang hindi naapektuhan ng tagtuyot. Ito ay ang mahiwagang gubat ng Kamu. Wala itong pinagbago at punong-puno pa rin ng likas na yaman. Sagana ang puno at ng mga hayop na puwedeng hulihin upang makain. Dito nagpupunta ang mga taombayan upang mangaso.
Dalawang magkapatid ang nagpasyang mangaso sa mahiwagang kagubatan. Maagang nagpunta ang magkapatid upang makarami ng mahuhuling hayop. Ngunit kabaliktaran ng kanilang inaasahan, maghahapon na ay wala pa silang nahuhuling kahit isang hayop.
Gutom na gutom na ang magkapatid kaya’t nagpasya silang magpahinga muna bago umuwi. May nakita silang isang ibon na dumapo sa puno kung saan sila umupo para magpahinga. Agad pinana at tinamaan ng nakatatandang kapatid ang ibon. Gumawa sila ng siga upang iluto ang nahuli. Nang maluto ang ibon at kakainin na sana nila ito ay may lumapit na isang magandang babae. Sinabi ng babae na siya ay naliligaw sa kagubatang iyon at ilang araw ng hindi pa nakakakain. Gutom na gutom na rin daw ito.
Naawa ang magkapatid sa magandang babae. Bagamat gutom na sila ay ibinigay nila sa kanya ang nilutong ibon. Pinanood nilang kumain ang babae. Kibit labi sila nang ubusin ng magandang babae ang pagkain.
Pagkatapos kumain ay nagpasalamat ang babae sa magkapatid. Natutuwa daw siya sa kanila dahil nagawa pa nilang ibigay ang nag-iisang pagkain nila sa kanya kahit na sila mismo ay nagugutom na. Pinayuhan niya ang mga ito na umuwi na sa kanilang pamilya. Bumalik na lang daw sila bukas sa lugar ding iyon at may ibibigay siya sa kanila.
Sinunod ng dalawa ang sinabi ng magandang babae. Umuwi ang magkapatid ngunit sila ay malungkot sapagkat walang bitbit na mailuluto para sa hapunan ng mag-anak.
Kinabukasan, nagbalik ang magkapatid sa parehas na lugar kung saan nila nakilala ang babae. Ngunit wala dun ang babae na kanilang inaasahan. Hinanap nila ang abo ng kanilang pinagsigaan kung saan nila niluto ang ibon ngunit sa halip ay may nakita silang kakaibang halaman na tumubo sa lugar na iyon. Nagtaka sila sapagkat nakakasiguro silang wala pa ang nasabing halaman kahapon ng sila ang nagpapahinga. Marahil ito na ang sinasabi ng maganda at mahiwagang babae na ibibigay niya sa kanila.
Ngayon lang nila nakita ang halamang iyon at nang bunutin nila ito ay nakita nila na ang ugat nito ay matataba na parang mga bunga. Nag-uwi sila ng nasabing halaman upang itanong sa mga taombayan kung may nakakaalam sa halamang ito. Ngunit wala ni isa ang makapagsabi kung ano ito.
Niluto nila ang bunga at tinikman ito. Masarap ang bunga at nakakabusog ito maski konti lamang ang kakainin. Natuwa ang taombayan dahil sa may pantawid gutom na sila hanggang sa matapos ang tagtuyot. Tinawag nilang kamote ang bunga dahil galing ito sa mahiwagang kagubatan ng Kamu.
Legend of the Sweet Potato
A hundred years ago, there was a huge drought that occurred here on earth. The heat was intense and there was no rain that poured down. The crops were wilted and the cattle got sick and eventually died. Because of this, food was scarce. The people would look for ways to find food. They would go to the forest and hunt.
There was one forest that wasn’t affected by the drought. This was the magical forest of Kamu. It remained the same and was full of natural resources. The trees were full of fruits and there were plenty of wild animals that can be killed to be eaten. The townspeople would go here to hunt for food.
Two siblings decided to go the forest to look for food. They went early so that they could hunt plenty of wild animals to bring home. However, unlike what they expected they were not able to find a single animal. It was already growing dark.
The siblings were already hungry and decided to rest awhile before going home. They were resting under a big tree when a bird perched on the same tree. They shot the bird and quickly made fire to cook the it. When the bird was cooked and the two were about to eat, a beautiful lady came near them. She told the boys she had been lost for days now and that she was very hungry.
The two boys were sorry for the lady. They gave her their food even if they were hungry themselves. They watched the girl eat the food hungrily. They bit their lips as she ate all of the food.
After eating, the beautiful girl thanked the boys. She was very happy because they gave her food even if they had not eaten anything themselves. She told the boys to go home to their families and come back tomorrow in the same place they were in.
The siblings did as they were told. However, they were unhappy as they were not able to bring home food for their family to eat.
The following day, the two went back to the same place they met the lady. They looked for the lady but she was nowhere to be found. They were amazed as there were no trace of the fire they had made the day before. Instead a strange plant grew on the spot they built the fire. They were sure that the plant was not existent just yesterday. They thought that maybe this is what the beautiful lady had told them that she was giving them.
It was the first time they saw such plant. When they pulled the plant out they saw that the roots were fat as if it was a fruit. They brought home the plant and asked the people if they knew what it was. But no one could tell what the plant was.
They cooked the fruit and tasted it. The fruit was delicious and made them full even with just few bites. The people were glad that they now have something to eat during the drought. They called the fruit kamote because it came from the mysterious forest of Kamu.
Researched and Rewritten by Lovedy
Translated and Formatted by Daniel Andrei Garcia
