rhaps they had flown away and had been attacked by the pestilence, he
determined to make another trip through his kingdom and look for them.

He had not walked a mile, when, approaching a number of dead animals,
he saw the pair feasting on the decaying flesh. When they saw their
master, they bowed their heads in shame. Had not Sinukuan restrained
himself, he might have killed them that very moment; but he thought
of a better way to punish them. "Now," he said, as he cursed them,
"from this time on, you shall be very ugly black birds; you shall
lose your beautiful voice, and shall be able to make only a harsh cry."

From that time on, those birds were black, and their offspring are
the crows of to-day.

The Dove and the Crow.

Narrated by Restituto D. Carpio, a Zambal from Cabangan, Zambales.

A few days after the inundation of the world, God sent a crow down
to earth to see how deep the water was on the land. When the crow
flew down to earth, he was surprised to see so many dead animals
everywhere. It came to his mind that perhaps they would taste good,
so he alighted on one of them and began to eat. He was so very much
pleased with the abundance of food about him, that he forgot all
about the command God had given him, and he remained on the earth.

On the third day, since the crow had not returned, God sent a dove
down to earth to find out the depth of the water, and to make other
observations of the things that had taken place on the earth. As
the dove was a faithful creature, she did not forget what God told
her. When she reached the earth, she did not alight on any dead animal,
but alighted directly in the water. Now, the water was red from the
blood of so many creatures that had been slain. When the dove stood
in the bloody water, she found that it was only an inch deep. She at
once flew back to heaven, where, in the presence of God, she related
what she had seen on earth, while the crimson color on her feet was
evidence of the depth of the water.

After a short time the crow returned. He came before God, who spoke
to him thus: "What made you so long? Why did you not return sooner
from the earth?" As the crow had no good reason to give for his delay,
he said nothing: he simply bent his head.

God punished the crow by putting a chain on his legs. So that to-day
the crow cannot walk: all he can do is to hop from place to place. The
dove, which was faithful to God, is now the favorite pet bird the
world ov