BECHAY PECHAY

Maririnig ang kantyawan at hagikgikan sa malawak na hardin ni Mang

Kanor. Nagkukumpulan ang naglalakihang kalabasa, berdeng kangkong,
saluyot at malunggay, malulusog na talong at marami pang iba.

Sa gilid ng bahay-kubo ay may mga pechay ngunit ang isa ay tila iba sa
mga gulay. Ang kulay nito ay ube. Siya si Betchay Pechay. Siya ay
palaging malungkot dahil kakaiba ang kanyang kulay.

“Aba, tingnan ninyo mga kaibigan, lumalaki na pala si Betchay, ang

kakaibang gulay!” ang kutya ni Tong Talong. “Oo nga, kakaiba ang kulay
niya sa kanyang mga kauring pechay” wika ni Basya Kalabasa na kita na
ang ngalangala sa kakatawa.

“Sigurado ako na walang taong papansin sayo dahil pangit ang kulay
mo,” dagdag ni Minggay Malunggay na abot na ang langit sa taas ng
kanyang kilay.

Ang kawawang Bechay ay walang magawa kundi takpan ang kanyang

mukha habang pinagtatawanan ng ibang gulay.

Isang araw dumating ang mga magsasakang kaibigan ni Mang Kanor.

Nakatuon lahat ang kanilang pansin sa kakaibang gulay. Ang mga
magsasaka ay naaaliw sa kulay ni Bechay Pechay.

“Mga gulay, huwag ninyong pagtawanan si Betchay Pechay dahil siya ay

kakaiba. Hindi niyo ba alam, dahil sa kakaibang kulay niya kaya tayo
dinarayo ng mga ibang magsasaka” paliwanag ni Mang Kanor. “Si
Betchay, kakaiba man sa inyong paningin, dapat ninyong pahalagahan at
igalang.”

Napagtanto ng mga gulay na dapat bigyang halaga ang pagkakaiba ng

bawat isa. Simula noon, tinanggap ng mga gulay ang kakaibang kulay ni
Betchay Petchay.
 THE BOASTFUL BUTTERFLY
One pleasant sunny day, in a sparkling field of colorful flowers, a beautiful
butterfly named Betty was flying happily. Betty loved to fly under the bright
sun. It would make her wings glitter showing off its attractive color.

Betty had the most beautiful wings among all the butterflies in the meadow.
Her wings were wide and colorful. Every butterfly in the meadow loved Betty
for her beautiful wings. They wished their wings were as colorful as Betty’s
wings.

One fine morning, Betty woke up and saw the bright morning sun. She prepared
herself to go out. She strolled again in the meadow and kept on showing her
colorful wings to anyone she met.

Along the way, she met the Sunflower. “Look Sunflower, I am the most
beautiful butterfly in the whole world. Everybody wants to be like me and loves
to be my friend. You need to have many colors so you would also look beautiful!”
Betty said proudly.

“You look so lonely, and I think no one wants to be like you. Nobody wants to
have your color. Have you not wished to have other colors than yellow? What a
poor flower!” she added. Betty laughed and flew away, leaving the Sunflower
very sad.

Next, she met the cheerful Ladybug. “Look Ladybug, I am the most beautiful
butterfly in the whole world. Everybody wants to be like me and loves to be my
friend. You need to have colorful wings too so you would also look beautiful!”
Betty said.

“You look so lonely, and I think no one wants to be like you. Nobody wants to
have your color. Have you not wished to have other colors than black and red?
What a poor bug!” she added. Betty laughed wildly again and flew away, leaving
the Ladybug very sad.

Then, in the pond she met the joyful Frog. “Look Frog, I am the most beautiful
butterfly in the whole world. Everybody wants to be like me and loves to be my
friend. You need to have many colors so you would also look beautiful!” Betty
said.
“You look so lonely, and I think no one wants to be like you. Nobody wants your
color. Have you not wished to have other colors than green? What a poor Frog!”
she added. Betty laughed again and left the Frog very sad.

Betty continued wandering until she saw many children playing at the park. She
also wanted to show her wings to the children. She thought that they would also
love her beautiful wings just like her friends. So, she flew nearer so everybody
could see her.

Meanwhile, a little boy saw Betty. He got his net and slowly walked behind Betty
catching her. Suddenly, Betty cried, “Oh no! I am trapped! I want to get out
from here!” So, she flapped her wings many times to get out from the net.

After many tries, Betty had finally freed herself. She quickly flew away from
the park. She tried to fly higher but she could not do it anymore. She flapped
her wings as hard as she could but she could not fly faster. Her wings were torn
and broken. Betty was badly hurt.

Soon, Betty returned home and felt so ashamed about what happened to her.
She could not look at everyone she met. She thought nobody wanted to be her
friends anymore. Her used to be beautiful and colorful wings were badly torn.

One day, Sunflower, Ladybug and Frog saw Betty alone. They felt very sad
about what happened. And so, they approached Betty. “Don’t be sad Betty. We
can be your friends and we are here for you even without your beautiful and
colorful wings,” they said.

Betty was then very happy. She said sorry for what she did before. She
realized that a true friend does not care about how one looks. After some time,
Betty’s beautiful and colorful wings grew back. Yet, she stayed humble and kind.
The four of them became the best of friends