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| English Version at the Bottom |
Noong unang panahon, may isang mag-asawa na ang ikinabubuhay ay ang pagtatanim ng mga gulay. Ito ay kanilang binebenta at kung minsan ay kanila na ring kinakain.
Ang mag-asawa ay biniyayaan ng isang magandang anak na babae. Tinawag nila itong Maita. Ang bata ay may maganda, madulas at malambot na buhok. Kapag nasisinagan ng araw, ang buhok ni Maita ay naninilaw na parang ginto. Mahilig ang bata na mag-ayos sa sarili. Upang mapanatili nitong maganda at malambot ang buhok ay halos minu-minuto nitong sinusuklay at inaayos ang buhok.
Kadalasan pinagsasabihan si Maita ng kanyang ama na itigil ang sobrang pagsusuklay at tumulong naman sa gawaing bahay. Ngunit natutuwa ang kanyang ina sa pagiging maayos nito sa sarili kaya’t hinahayaan lang niya ito. Bata pa naman daw si Maita; magsasawa din ito sa kanyang buhok at balang araw tutulong din daw siya sa mga gawaing bahay.
Subalit, nagkamali ang kanyang nanay. Sa halip mas lalo pang tumindi ang paghanga nito sa sarili at sa kanyang buhok. Kung noon ay minuto lang ang ginugugol nito sa pagsusuklay at pag-aayos ng buhok, ngayon ay inaabot siya ng ilang oras kung minsan pa nga ay buong araw.
Isang araw, nagkasakit ang kanyang ama. Kinailangan ng kanyang ina na magbenta ng kanilang pananim na gulay upang sa ganoon ay meron silang pambili ng makakain at ng gamot para sa ama.
Mahigpit na pinagbilinan ng kanyang ina si Maita na gawin ang mga gawaing bahay. Ipinagbilin niyang mag-luto siya ng makakain at siguradong gabi na ito makakauwi mula sa bayan. Bantayan daw siya ang kanyang ama at pakainin na rin ito upang lumukas. Pinaalala din niyang huwag kalimutang diligan ang kanilang mga tanim na gulay sapagkat tigang ang lupa sa kanilang bakuran. Nayayamot na pumayag ang bata. Siya na raw ang bahala sa kanyang ama at sa kanilang bahay.
Uumpisahan na sanang gawin ni Maita ang mga pinag-uutos ng kanyang ina nang siya ay mapadaan sa kanilang salamin at masulyapan ang kanyang buhok. Napatigil ito at kinuha ang kanyang suklay. Naisip ng bata na maaga pa. Mag-aayos daw muna siya ng kanyang buhok. Nagsuklay nga ng nagsuklay si Maita. Nawili ito at hindi napansin ang mga nagdaang oras. Maging ang mahinang pagtawag ng kanyang ama na humihingi ng makakain ay hindi narinig ng bata. Abala ito sa pag-aayos ng kanyang magandang buhok.
Lumubog na ang araw at dumating na ang ina ni Maita. Nagtataka ito ng makita ang kanilang mga pananim na gulay na natuyo dahil sa hindi nadiligan buong mag-hapon. Hinanap nito si Maita at nakita nga niya ang anak na abalang nagsusuklay sa harap ng salamin.
Pinagalitan si Maita ng kanyang ina dahil sa wala man lang itong nagawa sa mga pinagbilin sa kanya. Maging ang pakainin ang may sakit na ama ay hindi nagawa ni Maita. Mariing wika ng matanda sa bata na sana ay numipis na lang ang kanyang buhok upang sa ganoon ay hindi na niya ito pag-aaksayahan ng panahong suklayin. Bukas na bukas din ay ipapaputol na raw ng matanda ang buhok ni Maita. Umiiyak na tumakbo palabas ang bata. Ngunit hindi na ito sinundan ng ina, nagpunta ito sa kusina upang ipagluto ang asawang nanghina lalo sa gutom.
Nang mahimasmasan sa galit ang ina ni Maita ay hinanap niya ang bata sa bakuran ngunit hindi niya ito nakita. Ipinagtanong din niya ito sa mga kapitbahay ngunit walang nakakita sa bata. Matagal na hinanap ng ina si Maita subalit walang may alam kung nasaan ang bata.
Isang umaga nang nagwawalis sa may bakuran ang ina ay may nakita itong bagong halaman na umusbong. Ito ay may mahahabang dahon. Diniligan ito ng matanda. Makalipas ang ilang lingo ay nagkabunga ang halaman. Nang pitasin at balatan ang bunga, nakita ng mag-asawa na ito may butil-butil na kulay dilaw. Ang bunga ay may mga maninipis ding ginituang buhok na ubod ng dulas at ganda. Naluha ang mag-asawa ng makita ang magandang buhok. Naalala nila ang buhok ng anak nilang si Maita na ganoon na ganoon ding madulas at maganda.
Naisip nilang parehas na marahil ito na nga ang nawawalang anak. Simula noon, tinawag nilang mais ang halaman.
Legend of the Corn
A long time ago, there was a husband and wife whose livelihood was planting vegetables. They would sell their harvest and on other times would eat them if they were not able to sell it.
The couple was blessed with a beautiful baby girl. She was called Maita. The girl had a pretty, long, and smooth hair. Maita’s haire shone like gold whenever light would hit it. She loved to fix herself. She would comb her hair frequently to keep her hair smooth and tangle free.
Her father would usually remind Maita to stop combing her hair and help with the household chores. However, her mother would just let her be as she found her to be cute. Maita was still young, she thought, she would soon outgrow her vanity and help out.
However, her mother was wrong. Maita became even more vain and would not stop fussing about her hair. She would now spend hours combing her hair and trying on different hairstyles.
One day, Maita's father got sick. Her mother needed to go to the market. She needed to sell the vegetables in order for them to have money to buy medicine for her father.
Before going to the market, Maita was reminded be her mother to take care of the household chores. She told Maita to prepare their food as she would surely be late in going home. She was also to take care of her sick father and feed him. Their crops were also to be watered because the earth at their yard was arid. Maita grudgingly nodded with her mother's reminders. She assured her mother that she would do all of what she was asked of.
Maita was about to start her household chores when she happened to pass by their mirror and saw her hair's reflection. She stopped and took out her comb from her pocket and started going through her hair. She thought of spending a few minutes of combing her hair; it was still early she said. Maita did comb her hair however because she was so engrossed with it she didn't notice that hours had passed. She also didn't notice her father softly calling her asking for something to eat. She was too busy with her hair.
The sun had set and Maita's mother soon got home. Her mother noticed their crops wilting due to not being watered for the entire day. She looked for Maita and found her in front of the mirror combing her hair.
Maita was scolded by her mother for not doing any household chore. She got even more angry when she found out that Maita did not feed her sick father anything. She told the girl that she wished Maita's hair would be thinner so that she would not be spending time on it. Tomorrow, they would have Maita's hair cut shorter. Maita cried as she went out of the house. Her mother, however, did not follow her. She went straight to the kitchen to cook food for her sick husband.
When her anger had subsided, the mother went to look for Maita but the girl was nowhere to be found. She was not in their yard nor in the houses of her friends. Nobody knew where Maita had run to.
One day, while cleaning in their yard, the mother saw an unusual plant that grew on their lot. She watered it everyday. A few weeks had passed, the plant had a fruit. It had yellow grains. Furthermore, the fruit had thin golden hair that was smooth and soft to touch. The couple cried when they saw the fruit's hairs. It reminded them of their daughter's beautiful hair.
They both agreed that the plant was their missing daughter. The plant was soon called mais.
Researched and Rewritten by Lovedy on Google+
Translated and Formatted by Daniel Andrei Garcia
