In Bahaghari, Betong’s village in the eastern side of the enchanted Rainbowland, things were changing. Bats were eating up all the fruits from the trees, the monkeys were stealing more food from the people, and some alligators from the swamps were attacking the villagers and their animals. Strange creatures from the Enchanted Forest also threatened the village like the giant kapre which live in the huge balite or banyan trees, the baby-like tiyanak which was scaring many children, the winged half-woman manananggal which was flying about and snatching animals.

Lolo Isko was worried about all these strange developments, and for this reason he started a deep conversation with the bamboo dragons, pondering what to do in that situation. “Poor Betong,” he thought, “he has to face all these creatures on his way to the ancient Spring kingdom of Kasibulan.” The bamboo dragons thought of something to do so that Betong would not be defenseless before all these creatures that seemed so restless in these times. They offered Lolo Isko a very powerful gift – a magic bamboo flute – which Betong could use in times of great need.

As Betong embarked on his journey, he was accompanied by two of his animal friends. Of course, he brought along Monkoy, his dog, and Batik, his cat, who were both light-footed. Sipag, the carabao, and Wayway, the hen, would have liked to accompany him too but Sipag was too big and Wayway had too many chicks to take care of. The two animals were shedding tears as they wanted to go. Betong consoled them saying, “You will also be helping me even if you stay behind.” “Who will help father in the rice fields?” he pointed out to Sipag, his carabao, and to Wayway, the hen, he said, “And you have to help mother in the farm.” Moreover, he reminded them, “The goodness you do here will also help in bringing back the luster to the magic pearl and restoring it to the hands of Princess Dana.” So they understood why they had to stay. “Try to be good always, my dear animal friends, and take care of Nanay (Mom) and Tatay (Dad) while I’m away from home,” Betong admonished. Lolo Isko gave him the bamboo flute explaining to him how to use it as the magic pipe could play melodious music reminiscent of olden tales.

The first hurdle Betong had to overcome was the Enchanted Forest with its creepy creatures like the giant kapre living in the balite tree, the baby-like tiyanak, the winged half-woman manananggal and the tikbalang, a bizarre creature with a horse’s head and feet, but with a human torso. Unfriendly and scary in appearance, they were feared by everyone.

As Betong and his friends entered the Enchanted Forest, watchful eyes seemed to follow them everywhere. It got dark and soon they were faced with the prospect of having to spend the night in the forest which was quite risky. But Betong and his friends needed to rest and so they pitched tent in the middle of the forest.

Betong made a fire to cook some dried meat and rice for himself and his friends. The whole forest was suddenly filled with the delightful smell of their food and all the creatures came closer to the campfire. Hidden among the trees, they observed Betong, trying to figure out what kind of human he was. The horse creature tikbalang seemed to like him, the giant kapre also found him pleasant, and the baby-like tiyanak wanted to play with him. However the winged manananggal did not trust Betong. She cried out, “He’s just one of those humans who want to destroy our homes here in the forest.”

Betong and his friends were so tired that they fell into a deep slumber. The eerie creatures all gathered around their tent to frighten them. With horrifying sounds they tried to scare them making his dog bark and his cat hiss in defense. Then Betong fearlessly came out of his tent and said, “Dear sirs, why do you disturb us in our sleep?” The forest creatures were taken aback by his candor. The giant kapre, in a hoarse voice, tried to scare him with these words, “I can easily crush you with my bare hands!” The mananaggal menaced, “I’ll tear your flesh up in pieces!” The tiyanak gloated, “I’ll suck your blood to the last drop!” And the tikbalang warned, “I can trample you and your friends to death!” This scared Betong’s dog and cat as they hid behind him.

Betong replied, “Why do you scare us with all these threats? We mean you no harm. We just want to rest for we have a long way to go before we reach the Walled Kingdom to bring our lost dog-friend back to his owner.” “Are you not afraid of us?” the surprised creatures exclaimed in chorus. Betong answered, “Dear friends, your fear of humans makes you act in a hostile way towards us. Yet I can sense your quickened heartbeats as you fear for your homes here in the Enchanted Forest. We really mean you no harm. My friends and I are just passing through. We apologize for having lit a fire in the middle of the forest. I had to cook something for us for we were hungry.”

The giant kapre said, “Oooh, I see… I thought you were going to raze the forest to the ground, for there were humans in the past who came and destroyed the lives and homes of our fellow creatures.” “These past few days, some men were hunting me down as I was planting more seeds for new trees to grow so that there would be more homes for the animals, as this means more food for us,” the manananggal shouted angrily. Agreeing with her anger were the tiyanak and the tikbalang. Betong reasoned out, “I understand your concerns. I’ll try my best to tell people along the way not to destroy your homes. But can you help me too to bring balance back to nature by being good to all the creatures you’ll meet? The ancient tales say that when we do good to everyone, we can bring back the luster to the magic pearl and restore Kasibulan to its former glory.”

“Oooh,” the tikbalang brightened up, “so you’re the rumored warrior who’ll bring back the magic pearl to the hands of Princess Dana. This is bad news for Sakeem and his allies. That’s why they have been moving against us, wreaking more havoc on nature, and preventing all rebellion even in this faraway land.”

“I’m no warrior at all; I just want to bring my lost dog-friend back to his rightful owner and do good things to everyone so as to make the pearl shine again. You can help me in this endeavor for you can also try to be good to everyone. So please don’t threaten the people in my village anymore!” Betong pleaded. Shamefaced, all the creatures agreed.

Instead of a frightful night, a friendly dialogue took place in the Enchanted Forest. To befriend the forest creatures, Betong told more stories about the beauty of Rainbowland and his adventures with his animal friends. They all enjoyed the night together. They also shed many tears as they listened to songs and stories from olden times about the Enchanted Forest and their ancestors.

Then Betong played the magic bamboo flute for them. They were all enthralled by its enchanting melody. Instead of a bloody feast, the forest creatures were now laughing, dancing and singing. They had forgotten about the imminent battle that was about to take place. The much-feared creatures could now heave a sigh of relief because Betong was now going to protect their only home, the Enchanted Forest.

Yanong Liwanag

(to be continued)