NARRATED BY PACIFICO BUENCONSEJO

ILLUSTRATED BY PEN PRESTADO

1 A long time ago, when the Bicols
had not yet been welded into one tribe, there
lived a couple in the mountains of Albay
who had a son, named Juan. Before the boy
was five years old, his father died. As Juan
grew up, he became very lazy: he did not
like to work, nor would he help his mother
earn their daily bread. Despite his laziness,
Juan was dearly loved by his mother. She
did not want him to work in the field under
the hot sun. Because of his mother’s
indulgence, he grew lazier and lazier.
2 Every afternoon Juan used to take a
walk while his mother was working. She
was a kind-hearted woman, and often told
her son to help anybody he met that needed
help. One afternoon, while he was walking
in a field, he saw two carabaos fighting. One
was gored by the other, and was about to
die. Juan, mindful of what his mother told
him, went between the two animals to help
the wounded one. Suddenly the two animals
gored him in the back, and he fell to the
ground. A man, passing by, found him, and
took him to his home. When Juan’s mother
learned why her son had been gored, she
was greatly distressed that her son was so
foolish.
3 Juan soon recovered, and one day he
invited his mother to go with him to look for
money. He insisted so hard, that finally she
agreed to accompany him. On their way they
found an axe, which Juan picked up and
took along with him. They had not gone
much farther, when they saw a long rope
stretching across the road. Juan’s mother did
not want him to take it, but he said that it
would be of some use to them later. By and
by they came to a river, on the bank of
which they found a large drum. Juan took
this with him, too.
4 When they had been travelling about
a week, they came upon a big house. Juan
said that he wanted to go see what was in the
house, but his mother told him that he
should not go. However, he kept urging and
urging, until at last his mother consented,
and went with him. When they reached the
hall, they found it well decorated with
flowers and leaves. They visited all the
apartments of the house; and when they
came to the dining-room, they saw a large
hole in the ceiling. Juan told his mother that
they had better hide in the ceiling until they
found out who the owner of the house was.
The mother thought that the plan was a wise
one; so they went to the ceiling, taking with
them the axe, the rope, and the drum.
5 They had not been hiding many
minutes, when the Buringcantada, a giant
with one eye in the middle of his forehead
and with two long tusks that projected from
the sides of his mouth, came in with his
friends and servants. When the dinner was
ready, the servant called his master and his
guests into the dining-room. While they
were eating, Juan said in a loud voice,—
“Tawi cami
Sa quisami
Qui masiram
Na ulaman.”
6 The Buringcantada was very angry
to hear the voice of a man in the ceiling, and
he said in a thundering voice, “If you are a
big man like me, let me see one of your
hairs!”
7 Juan showed the rope from the hole
in the ceiling.
8 Astonished at the size of the hair, the
Buringcantada said again, “Let me see one
of your teeth!” Juan showed the axe.
9 By this time Juan’s mother was
almost dead with fear, and she told her son
not to move.
10 After a few minutes, the
Buringcantada said again, “Beat your
stomach, and let me hear the sound of it!”
When Juan beat the drum, the
Buringcantada and all the guests and
servants ran away in fright, for they had
never heard such a sound before.
11 Then Juan and his mother came
down from the ceiling. In this house they
lived like a rich family, for they found much
money in one of the rooms. As for the
Buringcantada, he never came back to his
house after he left it.
Vocabulary
II. Below are meanings of words found in
the story. Identify the word being defined by
the following phrases in each item.
6. pleading (4)
7. permitted (4)
8. rooms to live in (4)
9. long, projecting tooth as of an elephant
(5)
10. filled with sudden surprise (8)
Comprehension
Directions: Read the questions carefully
then choose the letter of the best answer.

11. Where did the story happen?

I. Below are words found in the story.
a. Bicol
Choose the letter that best fits the given
b. Pampanga
word based on how it was used in the story.
c. Cebu
1. welded (1)
12. Which of the following items was not
a. united
found by Juan and his mother?
b. melted
a. carabao horn
c. bended
b. large drum
c. long rope
2. indulgence (1)
a. fame
13. Which did not happen in the story?
b. appetite
a. Juan found an axe, a rope and a
c. desire
drum.
b. His mother was gored by the two
3. gored (2)
carabaos.
a. pierced with a tusk
c. Juan and his mother went inside
b. gave something greater
the house.
width
c. tapered garment
14. Which of the following does not
describe Juan?
4. distressed (2)
a. lazy
a. damaged
b. adventurous
b. worried
c. respectful
c. offered for sale
15. What is a Buringcantada?
5. insisted (3)
a. a cursed monster living in the
a. accepted wholeheartedly
mountains
b. demanded strongly
b. a half-snake, half-woman creature
c. allowed automatically
 c. a giant with one eye and long
tusks in its mouth
16. Where did Juan and his mother hide?
a. inside the large hole of the ceiling
b. inside the room of the big house
c. under the table
17.Why did Juan and his mother hid inside
the house?
a. to taste the food that were served
on the table
b. to scare off the owner of the big
house
c. they want to find out the owner of
the big house
18. What is the message of the story?
a. Always do the right thing.
b. Share what you have with others.
c. Do not outsmart people.
19. What would have happened if
Buringcantada did not believe Juan?
a. He would still leave the house.
b. He would kill Juan and his
mother.
c. He would allow Juan and his
mother to stay in the house.
20. What could be another title of the story?
a. Outsmarting Buringcantada
b. How Juan Scared Off
Buringcantada
c. The Axe, the Rope and the Drum
Evaluation
Answer the following questions:
21. What human nature does the story
present?
22. Is it justifiable to be lazy when you
know that you are smart? Justify your
answer.
23. Is it right to take the house of someone
else? Explain.
24. If you were Buringcantada, would you
have easily believed Juan?
25. If you were Juan, would you have done
the same thing?
Language Builder Activity
The Simple Past Tense of the Verb – a
tense used to describe an action or a
condition which happened in the past.
Simple Past Tense
A. Action or condition that started and
completed at a definite time in the past
Example:
He played basketball yesterday.
B. Habitual or repeated action or event in
the past.
Example:
It rained almost every day the last
month.
C. An event which took place in the past
with the implication that it no longer
applies in the present.
Example:
The Philippines was once a colony of
Spain.
Exercise
Write the correct form of the verbs in their
simple past tense.
1. She (tell) _____ me about the news
the other day.
2. Gian and Michael (watch) _____ the
battle of the bands last night.
3. Jose Rizal (study) _____ Medicine in
Spain, France and Germany.
4. I (spend) _____ my summer in
Presentacion, a coastal town in
Partido.
5. Ateneo de Naga University (is)
______ exclusive for boys.
 6. Mrs. Gomez always (pay) ______ 9. She (dance) ______ gracefully
her bills on time. yesterday.
7-8. When he (live) ______ in Bulacan, 10. Mr. Clarkson (drive) ______ his car
we (go) ______ to church everyday. to meet his wife last Saturday.

Creative Comprehension

If you were Juan, what would you have done if you did not find the axe, the rope and the drum
that were used to scare off Buringcantada? Explain your answer by writing your answer inside
the bubble.

Lovingly prepared and donated by:

Keische Mae DC. Enciso

Miriam Victoria G. Ruivivar