The Three Friends,—The Monkey, the Dog, and the Carabao.

 Narrated by José M. Hilario, a Tagalog from Batangas, Batangas.

 

Once there lived three friends,—a monkey, a dog, and a carabao. They were getting tired of city life, so they decided¹ to go to the country to hunt. They took along with them rice, meat, and some kitchen utensils².

 

The first day the carabao was left at home to cook the food, so that his two companions might have something to eat when they returned from the hunt. After the monkey and the dog had departed, the carabao began to fry the meat. Unfortunately the noise of the frying was heard by the Bu?gis?gis in the forest. Seeing this chance to fill his stomach, the Bu?gis?gis went up to the carabao, and said, “Well, friend, I see that you have prepared food for me.”

 

For an answer, the carabao made a furious attack on him. The Bu?gis?gis was angered by the carabao’s lack of hospitality, [32]and, seizing him by the horn, threw him knee-deep into the earth. Then the Bu?gis?gis ate up all the food and disappeared.

 

When the monkey and the dog came home, they saw that everything was in disorder³, and found their friend sunk knee-deep in the ground. The carabao informed them that a big strong man had come and beaten him in a fight. The three then cooked their food. The Bu?gis?gis saw them cooking, but he did not dare attack all three of them at once, for in union there is strength.

 

The next day the dog was left behind as cook. As soon as the food was ready, the Bu?gis?gis came and spoke⁴ to him in the same way he had spoken to the carabao. The dog began to snarl⁵; and the Bu?gis?gis, taking offence, threw him down. The dog could not cry to his companions for help; for, if he did, the Bu?gis?gis would certainly kill him. So he retired⁶ to a corner of the room and watched his unwelcome guest eat all of the food. Soon after the Bu?gis?gis’s departure, the monkey and the carabao returned. They were angry to learn that the Bu?gis?gis had been there again.

 

The next day the monkey was cook; but, before cooking, he made a pitfall⁷ in front of the stove. After putting away enough food for his companions and himself, he put the rice on the stove. When the Bu?gis?gis came, the monkey said very politely, “Sir, you have come just in time. The food is ready, and I hope you’ll compliment me by accepting it.”

 

The Bu?gis?gis gladly accepted the offer, and, after sitting down in a chair, began to devour⁸ the food. The monkey took hold of a leg of the chair, gave a jerk, and sent his guest tumbling into the pit. He then filled the pit with earth, so that the Bu?gis?gis was buried with no solemnity.

 

When the monkey’s companions arrived, they asked about the Bu?gis?gis. At first the monkey was not inclined to tell them what had happened; but, on being urged and urged by them, he finally said that the Bu?gis?gis was buried “there in front of the stove.” His foolish companions, curious, began to dig up the grave. Unfortunately the Bu?gis?gis was still alive. He jumped out, and killed the dog and lamed⁹ the carabao; but the monkey climbed up a tree, and so escaped.

 

One day while the monkey was wandering in the forest, he saw a beehive on top of a vine.

 

“Now I’ll certainly kill you,” said some one coming towards the monkey.

 

[33]Turning around, the monkey saw the Bu?gis?gis. “Spare me,” he said, “and I will give up my place to you. The king has appointed me to ring each hour of the day that bell up there,” pointing to the top of the vine.

 

“All right! I accept the position,” said the Bu?gis?gis. “Stay here while I find out what time it is,” said the monkey. The monkey had been gone a long time, and the Bu?gis?gis, becoming impatient, pulled the vine. The bees immediately buzzed about him, and punished him for his curiosity.

 

Maddened with pain, the Bu?gis?gis went in search of the monkey, and found him playing with a boa-constrictor. “You villain¹⁰! I’ll not hear any excuses from you. You shall certainly die,” he said.

 

“Don’t kill me, and I will give you this belt which the king has given me,” pleaded the monkey.

 

Now, the Bu?gis?gis was pleased with the beautiful colors of the belt, and wanted to possess it: so he said to the monkey, “Put the belt around me, then, and we shall be friends.”

 

The monkey placed the boa-constrictor around the body of the Bu?gis?gis. Then he pinched the boa, which soon made an end of his enemy.

 

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 utensils   

器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物

参考例句：

• Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

3 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 snarl   

v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮

参考例句：

• At the seaside we could hear the snarl of the waves.在海边我们可以听见波涛的咆哮。
• The traffic was all in a snarl near the accident.事故发生处附近交通一片混乱。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 pitfall   

n.隐患，易犯的错误；陷阱，圈套

参考例句：

• The wolf was caught in a pitfall.那只狼是利用陷阱捉到的。
• The biggest potential pitfall may not be technical but budgetary.最大的潜在陷阱可能不是技术问题，而是预算。

8 devour   

v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷

参考例句：

• Larger fish devour the smaller ones.大鱼吃小鱼。
• Beauty is but a flower which wrinkle will devour.美只不过是一朵，终会被皱纹所吞噬。

9 lamed   

希伯莱语第十二个字母

参考例句：

• He was lamed in the earthquake when he was a little boy. 他还是小孩子时在地震中就变跛了。
• The school was lamed by losses of staff. 学校因教职人员流失而开不了课。

10 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。