The Ape and the Firefly(Visayan edited version)

One evening, a firefly went to visit a friend. As he flew quite along, carrying his little lamp and
minding his own affairs, he met an ape. The ape asked, “Ho,ho,Mr. Firefly, why do you always carry a
light?” “I carry a light so that I can see the mosquitoes and keep out of their way,” answered the firefly.
“Keep out of the way of the mosquitoes!” cried the ape. “You are a coward! You’re afraid of the
mosquitoes!” The firefly replied, “I go my way and mind my own affairs, and I leave the mosquitoes
alone to go their way.” But the ape insisted that the firefly was afraid, and the next day, he told all his
ape friends that the firefly carried a lamp because he was a coward. All the apes laughed. Soon, the
firefly heard what Mr. Ape had said and how all the apes were laughing at him. He resolved to teach
them a lesson. He hurried off at once to Mr. Ape’s house and, finding him asleep flashed his lamp on his
face and woke him up. “Why did you tell everyone that I was a coward?” he demanded. “Tomorrow,
come to the plaza and there, in the sight of everyone, we will prove whether I am a coward!” “Ho, ho,
ho!” laughed the ape, “so you are offering to fight with me? Well, who are you going to bring to help
you fight against such a powerful creature as I am?” “I shall come alone,” said the firefly. “Come alone?
That’s good! I shall bring a whole company of apes – each one as big as myself! Then we shall see what
will happen to you if you dare to come alone!” Then Mr. Ape ordered each of his friends to get a club
and meet him at the plaza. They came in a crowd but found only one small firefly waiting there alone.
Mr. Ape drew his company up in line and put himself at their head, and then he fiercely gave the order
to go forward against the firefly. The firefly swiftly flew over and settled on the great ape’s nose. The
ape, who stood next in line, struck savage at the firefly, but the firefly darted nimbly out of reach so the
club missed him altogether instead fell square on the great ape’s nose. Mr. Ape fell flat on the ground!
Then the firefly hurried to the second ape’s nose. The third ape struck at his foe, but the firefly dodged
out the way just as he had done before, and the blow also fell precisely on the second ape’s nose. He
too fell flat on the ground. So it went on, all the way down line of apes. Each ape aimed his club at the
firefly on his neighbor’s nose; each ape missed the firefly and knocked his neighbor flat. Over and over
they bowled, one after another, just like row of nine-pins. A lat the firefly emerged victorious over every
one of his foes, “Who now can say that a firefly is a coward?” he cried.The apes cowered, shamefaced,
on the ground with never a word to say. The firefly flew quietly away to mind his own affairs as before.