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| English Translation at the Bottom |
Parehas na iginigiit ng dalawa na sila ang mas marami kaysa sa isa. Napagkasunduan nila na upang mapatunayan kung sino ang nagsasabi ng totoo ay magtatawag at magtitipon sila ng kanilang kauri. Magkikita sila bukas sa lugar ding iyon upang bilangin kung sino nga ang mas nakararami.
Humayo na nga ang dalawang ibon upang ipaalam sa mga kauri ang magaganap na bilangan bukas. Ipinamahagi ni Kuwago ang balita at tinipon niya ang lahat ng kanyang mga kamag-anak. Lahat ng mga kuwago ay nagpahayag na sasama sila bukas upang maipakita nila sa mga kalapati na sila ang may mas madaming pangkat. Sa dami nila isip ng mga kuwago, tiyak na mananalo sila sa pustahan at mapapahiya ang mga kalapati. Natatawa na sila kapag naiisip nila ang magiging reaksyon ni Kalapati sa dami ng mga kuwagong dadalo.
Kinabukasan, maaga pa lang ay nagpunta na ang mga kuwago sa nasabing lugar. Parang isang malaking pagtitipon ng mga kuwago ang naganap sa kagubatan, andun silang malakas na nagtatawanan, nagbibiruan at nagkukuwentuhan.
Naiinip na ang mga kuwago sapagkat matagal dumating ang mga inaantay nilang mga kalapati. Malapit ng lumubog ang araw ay wala pa ring mga kalapati ang dumarating. Nagtawanan sila at naisip na baka natakot ang mga kalapati na matalo sa pustahan kaya’t hindi na nagpakita ang mga ito.
Ngunit hindi pa natatapos sa pagtatawanan ang mga kuwago ay biglang dumilim ang buong paligid. Nagulat ang lahat sapagkat meron pa namang araw ng oras na iyon. Tumingala ang mga kuwago at nasindak. Nanlaki ang kanilang mga mata sa nakita- libu-libong mga kalapating nagliparan patungo sa napagkasunduang lugar. Sa dami ng mga kalapating dumarating ay nagawa nilang takpan ang sinag ng araw at dahil dito ay dumilim nga ang kapaligiran. Sa takot, dali-daling nagsiliparan ang mga kuwago upang makaalis sa lugar na iyon at magtago mula sa mga kalapati.
Hindi makapagsalita sa gulat ang mga kuwago. Ang tanging nasabi nila sa sindak sa nakita ay “hoo, hoo”. At hanggang sa ngayon ay hindi na bumalik sa dati ang dilat nilang mga mata at tanging ang mga pantig na iyon ang kanilang laging nababanggit. Sa tuwing gabi na rin sila lumalabas kung hahanap ng makakain dahil sa takot na baka makasalubong nila ang pangkat ng mga kalapati na tumalo sa kanila sa pustahan.
Legend of the Owl
Once upon a time, the pigeon and the owl were able to meet on a tree in the forest. The two chatted about a lot of things while they were resting. They were soon talking about who were greater in number.
Both insisted that their flock were greater in number than the other. To prove who was saying the truth, the two agreed on a bet. They were to meet on the same place together with all the relatives that they could find. There will be a head count to find out who was indeed greater in number.
The two bid each other goodbye in haste to inform their families of the bet that they had just made. The owl gathered all of his kind and told them of the bet with pigeon. All of his family agreed to go with him tomorrow to show off to the other group that there were more of them. They were all laughing just thinking of how the pigeons would look silly after seeing how many owls there were in the head count. They were sure to win the bet landslide.
The owls were early the following morning. The meeting place looked like one huge reunion party for the owls. There was a lot of laughing, joking and chatting going on while waiting for the pigeons.
They were starting to get impatient as the pigeons were late. It was already late in the afternoon but still no pigeons have shown up. The owls were laughing saying the pigeons got scared they would lose the bet so they stood the owls up.
The birds were about to celebrate their win when all of the sudden the whole place turned dark. They were all surprise by the sudden darkness since the sun has not yet set at that time. The owls looked up and were startled to see almost a thousand pigeons flying to the meeting place. The owls’ eyes grew big due to their astonishment. Because of the great number of pigeons who came flying to the meeting place, they were able to block the sun thus making the forest dim. The owls got scared and hastily flew away from the place.
The owls were still awe struck that all they could say is a stuttering “hoo, hoo”. Until now, their eyes never returned to its normal size. Because of fear, the owls now only come out at night. They were scared that they might meet the thousand of pigeons who beat them in the bet.
Researched and Rewritten by Lovedy
Translated and Formatted by Daniel Andrei Garcia
