Juan and the Buringcantada.

 Narrated by Pacifico Buenconsejo, a Bicol, who heard the story from his grandmother.

 

A long time ago, when the Bicols had not yet been welded¹ into one tribe², there lived a couple in the mountains of Albay who had one son, named Juan. Before the boy was five years [48]old, his father died. As Juan grew up, he became very lazy: he did not like to work, nor would he help his mother earn their daily bread. Despite his laziness, Juan was dearly loved by his mother. She did not want him to work in the field under the hot sun. Because of his mother’s indulgence, he grew lazier and lazier.

 

Every afternoon Juan used to take a walk while his mother was working. She was a kind-hearted³ woman, and often told her son to help anybody he met that needed help. One afternoon, while he was walking in a field, he saw two carabaos fighting. One was gored⁴ by the other, and was about to die. Juan, mindful of what his mother told him, went between the two animals to help the wounded⁵ one. Suddenly the two animals gored him in the back, and he fell to the ground. A man, passing by, found him, and took him to his home. When Juan’s mother learned⁶ why her son had been gored, she was greatly distressed⁷ that her son was so foolish.

 

Juan soon recovered, and one day he invited his mother to go with him to look for money. He insisted so hard, that finally she agreed to accompany him. On their way they found an axe⁸, which Juan picked up and took along with him. They had not gone much farther⁹, when they saw a long rope stretching across the road. Juan’s mother did not want him to take it, but he said that it would be of some use to them later. By and by they came to a river, on the bank of which they found a large drum. Juan took this with him, too.

 

When they had been travelling about a week, they came upon a big house. Juan said that he wanted to go see what was in the house, but his mother told him that he should not go. However, he kept urging¹⁰ and urging, until at last his mother consented¹¹, and went with him. When they reached the hall, they found it well decorated with flowers and leaves. They visited all the apartments of the house; and when they came to the dining-room, they saw a large hole in the ceiling¹². Juan told his mother that they had better hide in the ceiling until they found out who the owner of the house was. The mother thought that the plan was a wise one; so they went to the ceiling, taking with them the axe, the rope, and the drum.

 

They had not been hiding many minutes, when the Buringcantada, a giant with one eye in the middle of his forehead and with two long tusks¹³ that projected from the sides of his mouth, [49]came in with his friends and servants. When the dinner was ready, the servant called his master and his guests into the dining-room. While they were eating, Juan said in a loud voice,—

 

“Tawi cami

Sa quisami

Qui masiram

Na ulaman.”6

The Buringcantada was very angry to hear the voice of a man in the ceiling, and he said in a thundering voice, “If you are a big man like me, let me see one of your hairs!”

 

Juan showed the rope from the hole in the ceiling.

 

Astonished¹⁴ at the size of the hair, the Buringcantada said again, “Let me see one of your teeth!” Juan showed the axe.

 

By this time Juan’s mother was almost dead with fear, and she told her son not to move.

 

After a few minutes the Buringcantada said again, “Beat your stomach, and let me hear the sound of it!” When Juan beat the drum, the Buringcantada and all the guests and servants ran away in fright¹⁵, for they had never heard such a sound before.

 

Then Juan and his mother came down from the ceiling. In this house they lived like a rich family, for they found much money in one of the rooms. As for the Buringcantada, he never came back to his house after he left it.

1 welded   

v.焊接( weld的过去式和过去分词 )；熔接；锻接；使紧密结合

参考例句：

• The parts welded together perfectly. 这些零件完好地焊在一起了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We were welded into a fighting collective. 我们结成一个战斗集体。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 tribe   

n.部落，种族，一伙人

参考例句：

• This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
• Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

3 kind-hearted   

adj.好心的

参考例句：

• She is one of the most kind-hearted girls that I saw.她是我看到的姑娘中最善良的一个。
• Mike is a very kind-hearted boy.迈克是一好心肠的小伙子。

4 gored   

v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破( gore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was gored by a bull. 他被公牛顶伤。
• The bull gored the farmer to death. 公牛用角把农夫抵死了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 wounded   

adj.受伤的；n.伤员

参考例句：

• The wounded man let out a cry of pain.伤员发出一阵痛苦的叫喊声。
• She attended on the wounded soldier day and night.她日夜护理着负伤的战士。

6 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

7 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

8 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

9 farther   

adj.更远的，进一步的；adv.更远的，此外；far的比较级

参考例句：

• I can throw the ball farther than you can.这个球我能比你扔得远。
• The farther hill is five kilometres away.那座更远的小山在五公里以外。

10 urging   

v.力劝( urge的现在分词 )；强烈要求；推进；驱策

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement urging the public to cooperate in this inquiry. 政府发表声明要公众对这项调查给予合作。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• President Kao, what are you urging him to'speak up' for? 高校长，你有何必来助兴呢？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

11 consented   

v.同意( consent的过去式和过去分词 )；赞成；允许；顺从

参考例句：

• My parents have consented. 我父母已经同意了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her father reluctantly consented to the marriage. 她父亲勉强地答应了这桩婚姻。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 ceiling   

n.天花板；(规定价格、工资等的)最高限额

参考例句：

• It took more or less a whole day to paint the ceiling.粉刷天花板用了将近一整天的时间。
• A fly is on the ceiling.一只苍蝇在天花板上。

13 tusks   

n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头

参考例句：

• The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
• Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

14 astonished   

adj.惊讶的

参考例句：

• The news astonished everyone. 这消息使大家十分惊讶。
• He was astonished to learn he'd won the competition. 他听说他比赛赢了，感到很惊讶。

15 fright   

n.惊骇；吃惊

参考例句：

• A tree fell on the house and gave him a fright.一棵树倒在房子上，吓了他一大跳。
• She turned pale with fright.她吓得面色刷白。