In the last episode of Betong’s adventure, while he welcomed the New Lunar Year, he met and saved a dog from some drunks. Now, he took this dog home and fondly took care for him. But one day, Betong saw that the dog had become silent and was not eating, so he tried to ask him what was bothering him. He learned that the dog missed his former masters who lived in a faraway village. But Betong was so attached to his new friend that he didn’t want to lose him. He tried to win the dog’s affection so it would stay with him. The dog stayed with Betong and his family. Affectionately they called him Monkoy, and he became very protective of the family. The dog chased away the animals that attacked the farmlands, like the monkeys that were stealing bananas from Betong’s garden. Betong loved Monkoy so much that the dog became a part of Betong’s family to the envy of his other animal friends who started to talk among themselves against Betong.

The carabao said, “I think we better stop obeying whatever Betong and his family order us because he seems to be so absorbed in playing with his new dog friend.” The hen also said, “I will stop laying eggs,” and they spread the news to the other farm animals like the ducks, the cats, the cows and the sheep.” The cat even added, “Betong even gave him an endearing name ‘Monkoy’ which he never did for any one of us.”

One day, when Betong greeted his animal friends, he felt ignored by them. His carabao did not go to work, and the hen, with other chickens, didn’t greet him as he approached them. The ducks were always quarreling and for Betong the situation was becoming intolerable. He cried one night in his bamboo bed because of the indifference of his animal friends. Not even his bamboo dragon friends could console him. But the consequence of their actions made the farmland look so ugly. The grass grew taller and the children and people in the village who used to buy eggs and milk from Betong’s family started complaining because they were hungry owing to the shortage of eggs and milk. He tried to speak to his animal friends, but they just ignored him and he became sadder by the day.

So one day, Lolo Isko, the old wise man of the village, visited him in his nipa hut as he lay dejected on his bamboo bed. With a red handkerchief around his head, Lolo Isko called on Betong and his animal friends. Since most of the animals loved Lolo Isko as he was a respected man in the village, they immediately gathered around him. “My dear friends,” Lolo Isko spoke, “I have a story to tell you,” and all the animals and Betong were wide-eyed as they listened to him.

“This is a true story from our ancestors. So listen very carefully. There was a very good king, named King Diwa and his wife named Queen Dalisay of the Spring Kingdom of Kasibulan. They were the guardians of a very precious pearl believed to be so powerful that it is the source of life of the oceans and rivers, as their waters flow from this precious pearl. In the beautiful kingdom of Kasibulan, every plant with sweet-scented flowers and each fruit-bearing tree grew. Brightly colored birds and animals lived in the kingdom in peace and harmony. But all this would soon come to an end. Sakeem, a well-known prince had asked the king and queen for the hand of Princess Dana in marriage. According to the news that reached the kingdom, Sakeem had been able to defeat the monsters who threatened the peaceful kingdom: the crocodile-man Yabangwak and Buwitrik, the vulture-man. Unknown to the people, however, Prince Sakeem had made a secret deal with the two beasts to make it appear that he had defeated them, and in return, he promised that the two would be his accomplices when he would become the ruler of the kingdom. But of course they were no match for the power of the magic pearl guarded by the good king and queen. So they planned to steal it on a certain day during the yearly Spring Festival procession when the king and queen would allow the people to see the magic pearl, displaying it on top of the palace tower for all the kingdom to behold.

The day came for all to venerate the magic pearl. Prince Sakeem connived with Yabangwak and Bwitrik to snatch the magic pearl from the king’s hands when he would raise it during the procession and veneration. Indeed, that day, the pearl was so beautiful and shone ever so magnificently. King Diwa, Queen Dalisay, Princess Dana and Prince Sakeem were all on top of the palace tower to display the magic pearl. But suddenly, the vulture-man, who the king thought had already been defeated by Sakeem, swooped down to snatch it, followed by the attacks of the crocodile-men all over the palace. It was a coup! The king, the queen and the princess were all captured. Prince Sakeem did not spare anyone and ordered that they be all executed. The royal family felt so sad about the loss of the pearl, more so about the betrayal by a trusted person whom they already considered their son. Before the execution of the royal family, some faithful servants—the good fairies and dwarves of the kingdom—found a way to sneak into the prison cell. They freed the royal family and everybody went out to a secret escape route. But some guards managed to discover them. They sounded the alarm, and the whole battalion of Sakeem’s guards gave chase. As they neared the secret passageway, the royal family was almost trapped, but the good king and queen, with their remaining powers, transported their daughter Dana to another place and time, where the evil Sakeem could not reach her. The good couple, however, perished in the battle with Sakeem and his guards. Until now, nobody knows where the princess has been transported. The whole kingdom fell into the hands of Sakeem. Yet today, the hopes of the fallen kingdom are kept alive by the belief that Princess Dana will one day recover the magic pearl. Nobody knows when that day will come. Nobody knows where Princess Dana is now. The kingdom deteriorated, the rivers turned black, people and creatures became like monsters as they destroyed one another. The land lost its beauty as Sakeem and his evil accomplices ruled the land. “

“So when will Dana reacquire the magic pearl?” the carabao asked. Lolo Isko answered, “Is there a way for us to help and restore the magic pearl to Princess Dana?” “How?” the hen asked? Lolo Isko explained, “The secret is to make the pearl shine again, for it has been darkened by many unkind hearts of people, and animals too. Betong asked, “How can we make the magic pearl shine again?” “By our acts of compassion and kindness to one another, the pearl will shine anew and find its way into the hands of Princess Dana,” replied the good old wise man.

After this, Betong and all the animals fell silent. Betong was the first to apologize to his animal friends for neglecting them and for reserving his affection only for his new-found dog friend. The carabao, the cat, and the hen also expressed their regret, saying that they would work on the farm. As for Monkoy, Betong’s well-loved dog, he spoke up too, and asked pardon from the other animal friends. Then he shared what was in his heart: “I am really thankful to all of you for welcoming me to your home, dear friends. But this is not my real home. I have to return to my masters who are surely looking for me and worried about me.” Betong felt sad about what he heard, for it meant he had to give up his new friend. But remembering the story of the magic pearl that shines brightly when we do an act of kindness for one another and which will recover the kingdom from the hands of the wicked Sakeem, he said, “Okay, I‘ll bring you back to your masters.” The carabao said, “I’ll come with you and help you, Betong,” while the hen expressed her eagerness to join them. “And don’t forget me too,” the cat said. “But will you give us new names too,” the cat asked Betong, “just as you did for Monkoy?” “Sorry, dear friends, I have not even given you dear names and I have been calling you by your family names. Okay, from now on, dear cat, I’ll call you “Batik” like the cloth’s beautiful colors which are in harmony. O dear hen, I’ll call you “Wayway” to symbolize the hope of a new dawn, and as for you, my dear carabao, “I’ll call you “Sipag” for you are such an industrious fellow.”

All the animals were happy because they had received dear names from Betong. And Lolo Isko was pleased for they took to heart his story to make the magic pearl shine again by their love for one another. And so off they went to search for the masters of their dog-friend Monkoy, to bring back the luster of the magic pearl which was still in the hands of the evil Sakeem, as they all vowed to restore it to the good Princess Dana through their acts of kindness for one another.

Yanong Liwanag