The Legend of Bittergourd

In the old times, in the place called “Sariwa” where fruit bearing vegetables of different kinds have
grown and all possesses this natural beauty.   

Squash who had this good taste of being sweet, tomato with a sour taste and very smooth skin, ginger
with taste of hot, radish with too much whiteness, eggplant with purple skin, mustard with green check,
turnip with great crispiness, union that has thin skin and gourd with pretty roughness.   

But then there is this one fruit bearing vegetable who possess this unpleasant smell, his name is bitter
gourd with a very very pale color and its unexplainable taste.   

Every day, bitter gourd did nothing but to compare his looks and taste to the other vegetables and
because of it, she planned to do something wrong for them.   When the night comes, bitter gourd took
away all the beautiful treats of the vegetables and put them all to himself.   

Bitter gourd was very happy because previously no one would notice him but now, due to the stolen
features, he became a star. But then, as always, no secrets can be hidden for a long.    

The other vegetables conducted a forum and agreed to follow the vegetables that has strange color at
home and they were surprised of what they found. The strange vegetable are taking off one by one all
its reserve traits and features, all their eyes are widened to know that it was bitter gourd who took away
all their traits.    

All the vegetables are very angry and they brought the incident to the Goddess of the land and they
reported what bitter gourd did to them. The Goddess were very angry because he stole all the beautiful
traits and features of the vegetables.   

Bitter gourd was very happy because he never received punishment from the Goddess instead it only
shows angriness and dismayed. But after a few moments, his looks started to change.   

His skin started to have wrinkle because the smoothness and roughness of squash and tomato are
fighting inside his body and also the different tastes of the other vegetables produced an unpleasant
taste to him, he become bitter in taste and his color turned dark.   

This is the story how bitter gourd obtain its current traits and features. The story was basically based on
the creative minds of the Filipinos.