A little girl, eager to eat raw rice, is refused by her mother, who insists it must be cooked. While the mother fetches water, the girl sneaks a handful but accidentally falls into the rice basket. Upon returning, the mother finds a small bird calling, “Goodbye, Mother,” as it flies away—symbolizing the girl’s transformation into a rice bird for her disobedience.
Source
Philippine Folk Tales
compiled and annotated by
Mabel Cook Cole
A.C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1916
► Themes of the story
Transformation: The girl’s metamorphosis into a rice bird highlights the theme of physical change as a consequence of her actions.
Family Dynamics: The interaction between the mother and daughter emphasizes familial relationships and the significance of adhering to parental advice.
Cultural Heroes: While not a hero in the traditional sense, the girl’s story serves as a cultural lesson, embodying values and warnings pertinent to the community.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about Philippines peoples
One day when a mother was pounding out rice to cook for supper, her little girl ran up to her and cried: “Oh, Mother, give me some of the raw rice to eat.” – “No,” said the mother, “it is not good for you to eat until it is cooked. Wait for supper.” But the little girl persisted until the mother, out of patience, cried: “Be still. It is not good for you to talk so much!” When she had finished pounding the rice, the woman poured it into a rice winnower and tossed it many times into the air. As soon as the chaff was removed she emptied the rice into her basket and covered it with the winnower. Then she took the jar upon her head, and started for the spring to get water.
► Continue reading…
Now the little girl was fond of going to the spring with her mother, for she loved to play in the cool water while her mother filled the jars. But this time she did not go, and as soon as the woman was out of sight, she ran to the basket of rice. She reached down to take a handful of the grain. The cover slipped so that she fell, and was covered up in the basket.
When the mother returned to the house, she heard a bird crying, “King, king, nik! nik! nik!” She listened carefully, and as the sound seemed to come from the basket, she removed the cover. To her surprise, out hopped a little brown rice bird, and as it flew away it kept calling back:
“Goodbye, Mother; goodbye, Mother. You would not give me any rice to eat.”
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