The Flood Story

Filipino folktale

Once upon a time, when the world was flat and there were no mountains, there lived two brothers, sons
of Lumawig, the Great Spirit. The brothers were fond of hunting, and since no mountains had formed
there was no good place to catch wild pig and deer, and the older brother said:

“Let us cause water to flow over all the world and cover it, and then mountains will rise up.”

So they caused water to flow over all the earth, and when it was covered they took the head-basket of
the town and set it for a trap. The brothers were very much pleased when they went to look at their
trap, for they had caught not only many wild pigs and deer but also many people.

Now Lumawig looked down from his place in the sky and saw that his sons had flooded the earth and
that in all the world there was just one spot which was not covered. And he saw that all the people in
the world had been drowned except one brother and sister who lived in Pokis.

Then Lumawig descended, and he called to the boy and girl, saying:

“Oh, you are still alive.”

“Yes,” answered the boy, “we are still alive, but we are very cold.”

So Lumawig commanded his dog and deer to get fire for the boy and girl. The dog and the deer swam
quickly away, but though Lumawig waited a long time they did not return, and all the time the boy and
girl were growing colder.

Finally Lumawig himself went after the dog and the deer, and when he reached them he said:
“Why are you so long in bringing the fire to Pokis? Get ready and come quickly while I watch you, for the
boy and girl are very cold.”

Then the dog and the deer took the fire and started to swim through the flood, but when they had gone
only a little way the fire was put out.

Lumawig commanded them to get more fire and they did so, but they swam only a little way again when
that of the deer went out, and that of the dog would have been extinguished also had not Lumawig
gone quickly to him and taken it.

As soon as Lumawig reached Pokis he built a big fire which warmed the brother and sister; and the
water evaporated so that the world was as it was before, except that now there were mountains. The
brother and sister married and had children, and thus there came to be many people on the earth.

Once upon a time, there were a rich couple named Dondong and Iska. They had a 12 year old daughter
named Maria whom they love deeply.

Maria was a responsible daughter, hard working and kindhearted. Because of her traits, everybody
loved Maria.

Maria was also a shy young lady and because of her shyness, she was not fond of speaking with other
people. She would blush every time somebody would greet her and she would just nod her head and
wouldn’t utter a word. Because of this, she would often hide herself in her room so she wouldn’t have
any chance of mingling with other people.

Maria loved taking of her flowers. She had a beautiful flower garden that was popular in their town. She
took good care of the flowers in her garden. She loved it there; it’s in her garden that she found refuge
and happiness.
One day, the townspeople heard horrifying news. A group of bandits came to a nearby town and killed
all the people who tried to hide their money and other belongings from them. The next day, the group
of bandits had reached the town where the family of Dondong, Iska and their daughter Maria lived.
Dondong saw the group of bandits were heating towards them, so he decided to hide Maria in her
flower garden to protect her from being killed by the bandits as well.

Iska and Dondong hid inside their house, frightened and shaken. She heard the bandits crushed their
door and at that moment she silently prayed to protect them from whatever the bandits will do to
them.

Iska cried out, “Oh Lord, my Lord, please save my daughter Maria.” At this time, the bandits had already
broken down their door. They went in and hit Dondong on his head, he lost consciousness and fell down
on the floor. Iska, on the other hand, tried to run and escape but she too was hit on her head and fell
down and also lost consciousness.

The bandits knew they had a daughter and they searched the whole house to find the little girl but to no
avail they couldn’t find Maria. They took all their money and jewelries and they left.

When Dondong and Iska regained consciousness, the bandits had already fled. They immediately ran
towards the flower garden to find their young daughter Maria. Much to their surprise, Maria was gone!
They tried to look for her everywhere but still they did not find Maria. They went back to the flower
garden and searched on every corner but they didn’t find Maria.

“My daughter! They took away my daughter!” Iska was frantic and scared.

Suddenly, Dondong felt something pricked his foot. He was shocked with what he saw. He saw a small
plant that quickly closes its leaves. It was the first time they ever saw such a unique plant. He stooped
down to look at the plant more closely; Iska did the same thing too. They saw that the plant would open
up and will close its leaves again once touched. Because of this, they believed that the plant was Maria.
God made Maria into a plant to save her from those bandits.

Both Dondong and Iska couldn’t stop their tears from falling. As their tears dropped on the plant, they
became little flowers that looked like little roses.
From then on, Dondong and Iska took good care of the plant. They believed and they knew that the
plant was indeed their daughter Maria. Just like their daughter, the plant was also quite shy. Because of
that, they called the plant “makahiya”, because they believe the plant was as shy as Maria. And from
then on, the plant had been called “makahiya”.