The Culeto and the Crow.

 Narrated by Leopoldo Uichanco, a Tagalog from Calamba, La Laguna. He says, “This tradition is a favorite one among Tagalog children. I have often heard the story told by old men while I was waiting my turn at barber-shops in my province.”

 

The culeto is a fine singer, but it is bald-headed. The natives often capture it and train it to talk. Formerly¹ this little black bird was not so bald as it is to-day: its head, in fact, was covered with a thick growth of feathers. And the crow, too: it was not black once, but its feathers were as white as starch².

 

Once upon a time, shortly after the Deluge³, the crow was merrily crowing on the branch of a tree when the culeto came by. The voice of the crow was so harsh, that the culeto made fun of it. “Good-morning, Mr. Crow!” said the culeto, “I am very glad to hear you sing. Your voice is so fine, that I cannot help closing my ears.”

 

[408]“Pray, think first of yourself!” answered the crow. “What do I care for a good voice, so long as I have a strong body? Why don’t you laugh at yourself? See how weak and tiny you are!”

 

“Weak!” said the culeto. “Do you call me weak? I would fly a race even with an eagle.”

 

“Ha, ha, ha!” laughed the crow. “The idea of racing⁴ the eagle when you do not even dare race me!”

 

“Race with you! Why, you would only disgrace yourself,” retorted the culeto.

 

“Wait!” answered the crow. “Eat some more rice, drink some more water, fill your body with more air! And wait till you grow bigger before you venture to race with me!”

 

“The strength of a person,” said the culeto, nettled⁵, “is not to be judged by his size. Don’t you know that it is the smallest pepper that is the hottest?”

 

“Well, then,” replied the crow, “if you wish to race me now at your own risk, let us begin!”

 

“One, two, three!” counted the culeto, and up they flew. During their flight the two birds became separated from each other by a dense⁶ cloud. The culeto flew at full speed so high upward, that he knocked his head very hard against the door of the sky,—so hard, in fact, that a large piece of skin was scraped from his scalp. The crow, having lost his way, flew so near the sun, that his feathers were burned black.

 

It is on account of this bet between the culeto and the crow that all the descendants of the former have been bald-headed, while all the descendants of the crow have black feathers to-day.

1 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

2 starch   

n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews.玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。
• I think there's too much starch in their diet.我看是他们的饮食里淀粉太多了。

3 deluge   

n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥

参考例句：

• This little stream can become a deluge when it rains heavily.雨大的时候，这条小溪能变作洪流。
• I got caught in the deluge on the way home.我在回家的路上遇到倾盆大雨。

4 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

5 nettled   

v.拿荨麻打，拿荨麻刺（nettle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• My remarks clearly nettled her. 我的话显然惹恼了她。
• He had been growing nettled before, but now he pulled himself together. 他刚才有些来火，但现在又恢复了常态。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

6 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。