The Legend of the Horse (Original translation of Filipino fiction)

Once upon a time, there's a couple living happily and peacefully even without any children. The couple names were Ayong and Karing.

They are both satisfied with each other until one day, an amazing surprise came upon them. 

Karing is pregnant!

The couple give thanks to God because finally they are blessed to have a child.

"I promise I will do everything in order to provide everything for our soon to be child," Ayong swears.

A few months have passed and Karing finally gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

The couple made all the necessary effort, since they only have one child, to give the boy all the joy and happiness in life.

Unfortunately, they made too much effort and as a result, the child grows with ill manners. 

He always talks back and doesn't want to be lectured upon. He also immediately runs away if he gets scolded.

One time, Ayong got fed up with the way their child talks back to his wife Karing so he gives a lecture to his son. On that same day, their child runs away and went to the mountain foothill.

An elderly man living in the foot of the mountain was kind enough so he lends the child his place as shelter.

When the old man found out that the boy left home, he gave him some guidance.

"Go home and apologize to your parents. It's not ideal to instill hate to your father and your mother," told the old man.

The young man was displeased about what he heard. He became angry and kicked the chair where the old man is seated.

"You don't have the right to meddle with my life, more importantly, you do not have the right to scold me" cuss the young man.

The boy unleashed a lot of hurtful words while his feet are continually kicking anything in his path.

What the boy did not know is that the old man is actually a fairy in disguise. Witnessing the child's bad behavior, he turned him into an animal with four legs that will not stop kicking.

The time came and the boy got exhausted and started crying but it was a high pitch sound, a neigh that came out of his mouth.

He repents for his wickedness but it was already too late, the fairy's spell cannot be undone. He did not have any other option so he was forced to go home.

The couple was naturally kind, so they decided to adopt the animal since the morning it arrived and don't want to leave their yard.

They took care of the animal like its a man. It became a great assistance to Ayong. His work became lighter and the animal also accelerated their progress.

The couple gave the animal a name. From their own name, Karing and Ayong, they called it Kayong, the origin of the word "Kabayo" or "horse in English".

This story was translated to English from our local Filipino language.  

Image Reference: [1] [2]

Tagalog Folklore Reference: [1]

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