ain the turtle answered him.

The monkey now said to his abdomen, "If you answer again when I don't
call you, stomach, I'll punish you." Once more he called the turtle;
and once more she said, "I am here!"

This was too much for the monkey. He seized a big stone, and began to
hit his belly with it. He injured himself so much, that he finally
died.

The Monkey and the Turtle.

Narrated by Jose M. Katigbak of Batangas, Batangas. This is a genuine
Tagalog story, he says, which he heard from his friend Angel Reyes.

Once upon a time there was a turtle who was very kind and patient. He
had many friends. Among them was a monkey, who was very selfish. He
always wanted to have the best part of everything.

One day the monkey went to visit the turtle. The monkey asked his
friend to accompany him on a journey to the next village. The turtle
agreed, and they started early the next morning. The monkey did not
take much food with him, because he did not like to carry a heavy
load. The turtle, on the contrary, took a big supply. He advised the
monkey to take more, but the monkey only laughed at him. After they
had been travelling five days, the monkey's food was all gone, so the
turtle had to give him some. The monkey was greedy, and kept asking
for more all the time. "Give me some more, friend turtle!" he said.

"Wait a little while," said the turtle. "We have just finished eating."

As the monkey made no reply, they travelled on. After a few minutes
the monkey stopped, and said, "Can't you travel a little faster?"

"I can't, for I have a very heavy load," said the turtle.

"Give me the load, and then we shall get along more rapidly," said
the monkey. The turtle handed over all his food to the monkey, who
ran away as fast as he could, leaving the turtle far behind.

"Wait for me!" said the turtle, doing his best to catch his friend;
but the monkey only shouted, "Come on!" and scampered out of sight. The
turtle was soon very tired and much out of breath, but he kept on. The
monkey climbed a tree by the roadside, and looked back. When he saw
his friend very far in the rear, he ate some of the food. At last
the turtle came up. He was very hungry, and asked the monkey for
something to eat.

"Come on a little farther," said the selfish monkey. "We will eat
near a place where we can get water." The turtle did not say anything,
but kept plodding on. The monkey ran ahead and did the same thing as
before, but this time he ate