The Story of the Tikgi

 

 

“Tikgi, tikgi, tikgi, we will come to work for you. Let us cut your rice.”

 

Ligi65 had gone to the field to look at his growing rice, but when he heard this sound he looked up and was surprised to see some birds circling above and calling to him.

 

“Why, you cannot cut rice,” said Ligi. “You are birds and know only how to fly.”

 

But the birds insisted that they knew how to cut rice; so finally he told them to come again when the grain was ripe, and they flew away.

 

No sooner had the birds gone than Ligi was filled with a great desire to see them again. As he went home he wished over and over that his rice were ready to cut. As soon as Ligi left the field the tikgi birds began using magic so that the rice grew rapidly¹, and five days later when he returned he found the birds there ready to cut the ripened² grain. Ligi showed them where to begin cutting, and then he left them.

 

When he was out of sight, the tikgi said to the rice cutters:

 

“Rice cutters, you cut the rice alone.” And to the [57]bands which were lying nearby they said: “Bands, you tie into bundles³ the rice which the cutters cut”

 

The talking jars

The talking jars

 

Playing the nose flute⁴

Playing the nose flute

 

And the rice cutters and the bands worked alone, doing as they were told.

 

When Ligi went again to the field in the afternoon, the tikgi said:

 

“Come, Ligi, and see what we have done, for we want to go home now.”

 

Ligi was amazed⁵, for he saw five hundred bundles of rice cut. And he said:

 

“Oh, Tikgi, take all the rice you wish in payment⁶, for I am very grateful⁷ to you.”

 

Then the tikgi each took one head of rice, saying it was all they could carry, and they flew away.

 

The next morning when Ligi reached the field, he found the birds already there and he said:

 

“Now, Tikgi, cut the rice as fast as you can, for when it is finished I will make a ceremony for the spirits, and you must come.”

 

“Yes,” replied the tikgi, “and now we shall begin the work, but you do not need to stay here.”

 

So Ligi went home and built a rice granary to hold his grain, and when he returned to the field the rice was all cut. Then the tikgi said: “We have cut all your rice, Ligi, so give us our pay, and when you go home the rice will all be in your granary.”

 

Ligi wondered at this, and when he reached home and saw that his granary was full of rice, he doubted if the tikgi could be real birds.

 

Not long after this Ligi invited all his relatives from [58]the different towns to help him make the ceremony for the spirits.66 As soon as the people arrived, the tikgi came also; and they flew over the people’s heads and made them drink basi until they were drunk⁸. Then they said to Ligi:

 

Tinguian potters at work

Tinguian potters at work

 

Seeding and combing cotton

Seeding and combing cotton

 

“We are going home now; it is not good for us to stay here, for we cannot sit among the people.”

 

When they started home Ligi followed them until they came to the bana-asi tree, and here he saw them take off their feathers and put them in the rice granary. Then suddenly they became one beautiful maiden⁹.

 

“Are you not the tikgi who came to cut my rice?” asked Ligi. “You look to me like a beautiful maiden.”

 

“Yes,” she replied; “I became tikgi and cut rice for you, for otherwise you would not have found me.” Ligi took her back to his house where the people were making the ceremony, and as soon as they saw her they began chewing¹⁰ the magic betel-nuts to find who she might be.

 

The quid67 of Ebang and her husband and that of the tikgi went together, so they knew that she was their daughter who had disappeared from their house one day long ago while they were in the fields. In answer to their many questions, she told them that she had [59]been in the bana-asi tree, where Kaboniyan68 had carried her, until the day that she changed herself into the tikgi birds and went to the field of Ligi.

 

Ligi was very fond of the beautiful girl and he asked her parents if he might marry her. They were very willing¹¹ and decided¹² on a price he should pay. After the wedding all the people remained at his house, feasting and dancing for three months.

1 rapidly   

adv.快地，迅速地

参考例句：

• The company has grown rapidly in the last five years.这家公司近五年来迅速地发展壮大。
• Ice changes into water rapidly on a hot day.天气炎热的时候，冰很快就化为水。

2 ripened   

v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They're collecting the ripened reddish berries. 他们正采集熟了的淡红草莓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The branches bent low with ripened fruits. 成熟的果实压弯了树枝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 Bundles   

n. 捆, 束, 一批, 一大笔钱 vt. 捆, 匆匆送走, 附赠 vi. 匆忙

参考例句：

• The goods are done up in bundles for shipment. 货物已打包以备装船。
• The books were tied up in bundles of twenty. 那些书被捆成20本一捆。

4 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

5 amazed   

adj.吃惊的，惊奇的v.使大为吃惊，使惊奇( amaze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Just the size of the place amazed her. 仅仅地方之大就使她十分惊奇。
• I was amazed at her knowledge of French literature. 她的法国文学知识之丰富使我大为惊奇。

6 payment   

n.付款，支付，偿还，偿还，报应

参考例句：

• I gave ten pounds in payment for the goods I bought.我买那些东西付了10英镑。
• This last payment will wipe out your debt to me.这最后一笔付款将了结你欠我的债务。

7 grateful   

adj.感谢的，感激的，受欢迎的，表示谢意的

参考例句：

• If you will help us, we shall be very grateful.如果你愿意帮助我们，我们会很感激你。
• He closed his letter with expression of grateful thanks.他在那封信的结尾表达了自己的感激之情。

8 drunk   

adj.醉酒的；(喻)陶醉的；n.酗酒者，醉汉

参考例句：

• People who drives when they are drunk should be heavily penalised.醉酒驾车的人应受重罚。
• She found him drunk when she came home at night.她晚上回家时，经常发现他醉醺醺的。

9 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

10 chewing   

v.咀嚼，咬( chew的现在分词 )；（因为紧张等）咬住，不停地啃，（为尝味道）不停地咀嚼

参考例句：

• She was admonished for chewing gum in class. 她在课堂上嚼口香糖，受到了告诫。
• cows chewing the cud 在咀嚼反刍食物的牛

11 willing   

adj.愿意的，自愿的，乐意的，心甘情愿的

参考例句：

• We never lack food and clothing if we're willing to work.如果我们愿意工作,就不会缺吃少穿。
• He's quite willing to pay the price I ask.他很愿意照我的要价付钱。

12 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。