There was one a single servant named Amihan living on large banana plantation. Despite being a solid worker, he was often sad because he was alone. One day his master saw his worker's somber mood and asked why he was sad. Amihan responded by telling his master of his problems. The master, taken aback by his servant's despair, decided to remedy Amihan's problems by finding him a wife. Yet, after doing so, Amihan still was not satisfied. He quickly realized that having a wife would solve all of his problems; he needed money to take care of one. Once again he approached his master to solve his problems. The master, known foe his kind heart throughout Manila, did not hesitate again and gave him one thousand Philippine pesos. Amihan was amazed by his master's kindness and immediately grabbed the money and took it back to his wife. His wife, Angel, was also shocked by the master's kindness. They did not know what to do with the money, but they decided to spend all of their money on clothes and other luxuries. However, their reckless spending soon depleted all of the money they had received, and they were back to their original situation. Amihan and Angel were distraught; how would they ever obtain that money again? Thus, the two decided to come up with a clever plan. Amihan would go back to the master and pretend to be taking care of his sick mother. The master, due to his kind heart, would undoubtedly give him money to help with the costs. Amihan began his trek back to the plantation and met his master, hoping to trick him. He began his deceiving plan, over exaggerating the state of his mother. Again, his master's kindness shone through, and he gave him another thousand pesos to help with the care. Amihan snatched the money and returned back to his wife happily. As he was heading home, the master began to question Amihan. A thousand pesos was a lot of money, and he had just recently given him pesos to help with his transition. He wondered where the original money had went. Sneakily, he followed Amihan to his wife and spied on the two through a window. He heard Amihan and Angel discussing what they would buy with the master's money and was shocked by what he was hearing. The master, who could not bear the shocking revelations no more, entered the home and berated Amihan. The kindness he was known for quickly dissipated as the master could not hold in his anger. The master could not think of any other way to deal with the situation other than to fire Amihan and take back his money. As he left the house with is money, Amihan and Angel were left with less than what they originally had.
Author's Note: My retelling follows the basic plot of the story, but I added a punishment to the servant and his wife which was not seen in the original story. I also changed the name of the servant to Amihan which is a more traditional Filipino name. Angel as well is a traditional Filipino name. The master's profession was changed from a doctor to a banana plantation owner as bananas are popular to the Philippines. Additionally, the setting was set in Manila, the capitol of the Philippines.
Bibliography: Filipino Popular Tales by Dean S. Fansler (1921).
Wikimedia: Banana plantation in the Philippines
Neal, I like the story you have chosen. It has a bit of trickery and is somewhat different than what you would normally expect. Usually, masters are not so generous to give so much to help others. It was interesting how they spoke of the wife like she was a pet in the beginning. As if she would solve all of his problems. I am glad you changed the story to have Angel and Amihan be punished for what they did. There were a few simple mistakes in your story but I think they could be easily remedied with some proofreading.
ReplyDeleteHey Neal! Loved reading your story. Taking advantage of someone's kindness is always hard to read about, so this was a great story. In one of my favorite books, they say that a wise man should fear three things, one of the them being the anger of a gentle man so it was cool to see that concept come into play here! Loved reading your story!
ReplyDeleteHi Neal!
ReplyDeleteI loved how you incorporated aspects of the Philippines into your story! I made it authentic and reflective of the Philippines! The story was full of trickery and twist and turns and ultimately ended with a punishment. I liked how you added a punishment to showcase a potential consequence of lying and deceit. Can't wait to read more from you!
Hello Neal!
ReplyDeleteYour story was interesting to read! I like how you incorporated details of the Philippines! I think you have a couple of errors in the story. After Amihan gets a wife, your story says "he quickly realized having a wife would solve all his problems." From the context I think you meant to write "would not solve all" because he then goes to tell his master of his financial problems. Other than that it was a great story!
Hi Neal!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how you told the story in a different setting that is still authentic to the Philippines. I also really liked your addition of the punishment. At the beginning of your story, I was confused because it appears the Amihan gets a wife and seems to be unsatisfied but then it goes on to say "he realized a wife would solve all his problems." At first I didn't know if this was just a typo or if the "he" was referring to the master instead. There seemed to be a few other grammatical errors and I think fixing these would leave you with a really great story!