Discover how the world and man came into existence as this story

takes you on a journey to the fascinating ancient time!

Adapted from the story of Rosario Bonto by Hazel Bocacao
Original photo on book cover featuring Atulayan Island in Sagnay,
Camarines Sur
Original illustration by
 DEDICATION
This reading booklet is dedicated to

my three children – Ian, Kylie, and Liam

and

to the young and promising generation of Bicolano learners.

Para Saimo Ini [SIDEBAR TITLE]
Dearest

Kumusta ka, Nonoy/Nene? Kumusta an saimong

pag-adal ngonyan na may pandemya? Sana
padagos sana an saimong pag-adal dawa yaon ka
sana sa harong.

Nagbabasa ka ba nin libro? Ano an paborito

mong mga istorya? Gusto mo man magbasa nin
mga alamat o istorya tungkol sa pinaghalean kan
tawo, mga lugar, bagay, o mga pangyayari?

May istorya sa librong ini na sana magustuhan

mo. Siguro nakabasa ka na kan mga makangalas
na istorya tungkol sa paglalang kan mga enot na
tawo. Sa istoryang ini, madidiskubre mo na igwa
man palan na Bikolnon na bersyon an istorya
kan pagmukha kan kinaban. Magayon aramon
dahil satuya ini!

Diskubrehon sa istorya an mga ugali kan mga

tawo asin an bunga kan saindang mga gibo. Arog
man sana sa satong sadiring pamilya, may mga
pig-aagihan na marhay asin maraot. Alagad may
mga bagay na dai na dapat gibohon kun aram na
sala ini. Gibohon an tama arog kan paggalang sa
mga gurang asin sa kapwa.

Sana bako sana ini an libro na babasahon mo.

Sana madagdagan pa asin sana magin paborito
mong gibohon an pagbasa. Sa pagbasa, dakul an
maaaraman mo. Garo ka man sana nakakaabot sa
mga lugar na dai mo pa naabutan o naranasan an
mga dai mo pa inagihan. Kaya dawa nasa harong
sana, dakul kang manunudan.

Mus na! Poonan ta na an pagbasa!

Julie & Hazel

4

A long, long time ago, there was
only the ocean and the sky above it ruled by
two great gods Tubigan and Languit.
2 Tubigan had a son named Paros,
the wind, who became the husband
of Dagat, the sea, who was the daughter of
Languit.
3 Dagat and Paros had four children,
three of whom were boys
called Daga, Aldao, and Bulan, and one girl Bitoon wonders when she noticed their ab-
called Bitoon. sence. She went out to look for them. But
4 When Paros died, Daga controlled
the winds. Soon after, their mother Dagat
died leaving her children under the care of
the grandparents Languit and Tubigan.
5 After assuming control of the
winds, Daga became arrogant and ambi-
tious.
6 “Ibahan nindo ako, lulusubon ta an
kahadean ni Languit,” Daga commands his
brothers.
5
7 At first, they refused but when
Daga got angry, they had no choice but to
obey him.
8 Daga let loose the winds in all di-
rections to destroy the gates of the sky. But
they were met by the enraged Languit who
set out three bolts of lightning that struck
all of them. The copper body of Bulan
melted into a ball; so was the golden body
of Aldao. Daga’s body fell into the sea and
became what is now the earth.
9 “Nagsaen daw an mga tugang ko?”
upon meeting the enraged god Languit,
Bitoon was also struck by another bolt of
lightning which broke her body into many
pieces.
10 Then Languit descended from the
sky and called Tubigan. “Pigtabangan mo an
mga magturugang para kalabanon ako!
11 Tubigan defends himself, “Mayo
akong aram sa mga plano ninda. Nasa ira-
rom ako kan dagat.”
 12 Tubigan succeeded in pacifying
17 Maisog’s body was blackened by
Languit and they regretted and wept over
the lightning and all his descendants are
the loss of their grandchildren.
black. But Maisog’s son was carried to the
north and became the parent of the white
13 “Dai ta na maibabalik an mga
people.
buhay ninda. Tawanan ta na sana sinda li-
wanag,” Languit says sadly.
18 His other children were brought
to the south where the sun was hot and it
14 Tubigan then planted a seed
scorched their bodies so that all their peo-
which grew into a bamboo tree. From one
ple were of brown color. The other people
of its branches came a man and a woman,
were carried to the east where they had to
who became the first parents of the human
feed on clay due to scarcity of food. Because
race. Three children were born to them.
of this diet, their descendants were of yel-
One called Maisog invented a fish trap.
low color.
15 One day he caught such a very big
and grotesque looking whale that he
19 In this way the earth came into
thought it was a god, so he ordered his peo-
being.
ple to worship it. The people gathered
around and began to pray; but no sooner
they had begun, when gods from the sky
appeared and commanded Maisog to throw
the whale to the water and worship no one
but the gods. But Maisog was not afraid and
defied the gods.

16 Languit, the king of the sky,

struck Maisog with lightning and stunned
him. “Poon ngonyan, ikakalat ko kamo sa
buong mundo. Iyan an padusa ko saindo!
shouts Languit. In this way the earth was
peopled.

6
 Vocabulary Comprehension
Meanings of words may vary accord- Directions: Read the questions carefully
ing to how they are used in the sentence. then choose the letter of the best answer.
Below are words found in the story which 11. Who is the main character of the
have a particular meaning. Choose the letter story?
that best defines the given word based on A. Daga
how it was used in the story. B. Languit
Refer to the paragraph number in- C. Bitoon
side the parentheses. D. All of the above
1-2. enraged (in paragraph 9)
12. Where did Languit carry Maisog’s
(a) calmed son who became the ancestor of the
(b) angered white people today?
A. East
(c) exposed
B. West
3-4. pacifying (in paragraph 12) C. North
D. All of the above
provoking
calming
13. What is the main cause of Languit’s
helping
punishment to Maisog?
5-6 regretted (in paragraph XXX) A. Maisog was humble and kind.
felt sorry B. Maisog was arrogant.
feared C. Maisog was caring.
grieved D. All of the above

7-8 grotesque (in paragraph xxx) 14. What happened when the enraged
beautiful god Languit met Bitoon?
weird A. He struck her with a bolt of light-
silent ning.
B. He hugged her.
9-10 scorched (in paragraph xxx) C. He apologized to her.
burnt D. All of the above
asked
made

7
15. How is Daga different from Maisog?
A. Daga was ambitious while Maisog
was humble.
B. Daga was humble while Maisog was
ambitious.
C. Both of them were ambitious and
arrogant.
D. All of the above
16. Why do you think it is important for
children/grandchildren to obey their
parents/grandparents?
A. Parents/grandparents deserve to be
respected and obeyed.
B. Children/grandchildren should not
care about their parents/grandparents.
C. Children can do anything they want.
D. All of the above
17. Do you agree with what Languit did to
Bitoon?
A. Yes, because Bitoon was the sister of
the rebellious brothers.
B. Yes, because Bitoon deserved a pun-
ishment, too.
C. No, because Bitoon was innocent.
D. All of the above
19. What could be another title for the
story?
A. The Story of Languit
B. How the World was Created
C. The Grandchildren of Languit and
Tubigan
D. All of the above
20. What could be an alternate ending
for the story?
A. Languit played blind and deaf to
the people’s follies.
B. Languit forgave the people and
did not mind them anymore.
C. Instead of having different skin
colors, the descendants of Mai-
sog could have same skin color
so as to avoid the racial discrim-
ination that we have now.
D. All of the above

18. What important moral value or lesson

in life that we can learn from the story?
A. Respect the elders.
B. Help other people in need.
C. Be kind.
D. All of the above

8
Word Play! Creative Integration:
Rearrange the letters to find the correct
Hands-on Activity!
answers.
Express how much you love and respect
your parents. Make a card made of any re-
Question CLUE Answer cycled or indigenous materials like old
The god of the ocean GIBATUN newspapers, dry leaves, twigs, shells, peb-
The ruler of the sky NUGILAT bles, or anything you like. Make it attrac-
The daughter of TOBION tive and colorful. Write a short note inside
Dagat and Paros saying how much they mean to you. Sur-
who later became prise them with your card and give them a
the stars tight hug.
The weapon of Lan- NIGHT-
guit ILNG
The big and gro- LAHWE
tesque animal
found by Maisog
The husband of ROSAP
Dagat
What became of RTHEA
Daga when he
was struck by
Languit’s light-
ning
The tree that grew BOOBAM
from the seed that
Tubigan planted
The food of those YALC
people who were
carried to the East
The color of Maisog’s CKABL
body after being
struck by Lan-
guit’s lightning

9
ANSWER SHEET
IN THE BEGINNING

YOUR NAME:________________________
NAME OF YOUR SCHOOL:____________
____________________________________
YOUR AGE: _________________________
YOUR ANSWERS IN THE WORD PLAY

YOUR ANSWERS IN THE

VOCABULARY TEST Question CLUE Answer
The god of the ocean GIBATUN
1-2. ___________
3-4. ___________ The ruler of the sky NUGILAT
6-6. ___________ The daughter of TOBION
7-8. ___________ Dagat and Paros
who later became
9-10. ___________ the stars
The weapon of Lan- NIGHT-
guit ILNG
YOUR ANSWERS IN THE The big and gro- LAHWE
COMPREHENSION TEST tesque animal
found by Maisog
11. ______ 16. _______ The husband of ROSAP
Dagat
12. ______ 17. _______ What became of RTHEA
13. ______ 18. _______ Daga when he
was struck by
14. ______ 19. _______ Languit’s light-
ning
15. ______ 16. _______ The tree that grew BOOBAM
from the seed that
Tubigan planted
The food of those YALC
people who were
carried to the East
The color of Maisog’s CKABL
body after being
struck by Lan-
guit’s lightning

10
Discover how the world and man came into existence as
this story takes you on a journey to the fascinating ancient
time!

Adapted from the story of Rosario Bonto by Hazel Bocacao

Original photo on book cover featuring Atulayan Island in Sagnay, Camarines Sur
Original illustration by

In the beginning
2020 Edition

Do you want a copy of this Reading Booklet? Email the editor at

**************@gmail.com to ask permission to obtain a copy or visit the

End