1 Before the Spanish occupation there
were in the Philippines many petty
kingdoms headed by native princes
known as datus. Luzon, the scene of
countless ravages and hard fights of
warlike tribes, was the home of Datu
Nebucheba. His kingdom—at first only
a few square miles—was greatly
extended by the labor of his young
brave warrior, Tomarind. Tomarind had
a very beautiful wife, with whom Datu
Nebucheba fell in love; but the ruler
kept his vile desire secret in his heart for
many years. Many times he thought of
getting rid of his warrior Tomarind, and
thus getting possession of his beautiful
wife.
2 One day Tomarind was sent on a
dangerous errand. He was ordered to
get an enchanted marble ball from one
of the caves in a certain mountain. Two
monsters of terrible aspect, whose joy
was the burning of villages, and whose
delight was the killing of human beings,
guarded the entrance of that cave. Many
persons had entered the door of that
death chamber, but nobody had come
from it alive. Suspicious of the coming
danger, Tomarind did not go directly to
the cave. He sought the famous witch of
Tipuca, and told her about his situation.
Immediately the witch performed a sort
of diabolical ceremony, gave Tomarind
a magic cane, and sent him away. When
he reached the cave, those that guarded
the cave received Tomarind very kindly,
and they delivered the enchanted
marble ball to him.
3 “Tomorrow,” said Nebucheba to
himself, “the wife of Tomarind will be
mine.” Alas for him! Very early the next
morning, Tomarind presented the
marble ball to Datu Nebucheba. “How
quickly he executed my orders!”
exclaimed Nebucheba. “What shall I do
to destroy this brave man? The next
time he will not escape the danger. I will
ask him to take a letter to my parents,
who are living under ground, in the
realm of the spirits,” he said to himself.
4 The datu caused a well to be dug, and
big stones to be piled near the mouth of
it. When everything was ready, he
summoned the brave warrior. He gave
him the letter, and told him to start the
next morning. Tomarind went again to
the witch of Tipuca. “This is a very great
task,” said the witch; “but never mind!
You will get even with Datu
Nebucheba.” That night the witch, with
the help of unseen spirits, made a
subterranean passage connecting the
bottom of the datu’s well with that of
Tomarind’s. “Nebucheba,” the witch
said to Tomarind, “will ask you to go
down into his well; and as soon as you
are at the bottom, he will order that the
pile of stones be thrown on you. Lose no
time, but go in to the subterranean
passage that I have prepared for you.”
When morning came, Tomarind went to
execute the orders of the datu.
5 Now, Nebucheba firmly believed that 1. execute (4)
Tomarind was dead. There was great a. to do a task
rejoicing in the datu’s house. In the b. to murder
evening, while the revelry was going on, c. to sign (a will)
Tomarind appeared with the pretended
2. ravages (4)
answer from Nebucheba’s parents. The a. repair
letter read, “We wish you to come and b. destroy
see us here. We have a very beautiful c. build
girl for you.” Nebucheba was greatly
surprised. He made up his mind to go 3. successor (5)
down into the well the next day. He a. a person who achieves his
dreams
gathered all his subjects together, and
b. a person who came before
said to them, “I am going to see my
another
parents. If the place there is better than c. a person next in line a position
the place here, I shall not come back.
Tomarind will be my successor.” 4. suspicious (2)
a. trusty
6 In the morning Nebucheba’s subjects b. doubtful
took him to the well and lowered him c. sure
slowly into it. When he reached the
bottom, Tomarind threw big stones 5. subterranean (4)
a. found underground
down on him, and Nebucheba
b. operating secretly
was crushed to death. The people never c. found aboveground
saw him again. Tomarind became datu,
and he ruled his subjects with justice
and equity for many years. B. Below are meanings of words found
in the story. Identify the word being
I. Vocabulary defined by the following phrases in
each item.
A. Meanings of words may vary
according to how they are used in the The paragraph number where the
sentence. word can be found is inside the
parentheses.
Below are words found in the story.
Choose the letter that best fits the 6. celebration (5)
meaning of the word as used in the 7. kingdom; royal place (3)
story. 8. evil; bad (1)
Refer to the paragraph number inside 9. a room in a palace (2)
the parentheses. 10. to call or gather (4)
II. Comprehension
Read the questions carefully and circle
the letter which contains the best
answer.
11. Who was the main character in the
story?
a. witch of Tipuka
b. Datu Nebucheba
c. Tomarind
12. Where did the story happen?
a. a kingdom in Luzon, in early
Spanish period
b. a tribe in Luzon in pre-
Hispanic era
c. a kingdom in Luzon in post-
Spanish era
13. Who was also in love with the main
character’s wife?
a. Datu Nebucheba
b. a guardsman
c. witch of Tipuka
14. Why did the Datu want Tomarind to
disappear?
a. to make sure that no one
would take over his position
b. to get Tomarind’s beautiful
wife
c. to get rid of a prospect
competitor
15. What was the first plan of the Datu
to drive Tomarind away?
a. to get an enchanted marble ball
b. to get a magic ring from a cave
c. to send letter to his parents
16. Why did the monsters of the cave
welcomed Tomarind very kindly?
a. they thought of Tomarind as a
friend
b. they were under the spell of
the magic cane
c. they were scared off by
Tomarind
17. What was the second task given by
the Datu?
to get an enchanted marble ball
b. to get a magic ring from a cave
c. to send letter to his parents
18. Why do you think did the witch
agree to help Tomarind?
a. because she does not like the
Datu’s evil plans
b. because Tomarind asked him in
return for gold
c. because the witch wanted to
have the Datu’s kingdom
19. What made the Datu decide to go to
the well?
a. he wanted to see for himself if
the beautiful princess exists
b. he wanted to see if why
Tomarind did not die there
c. he wanted to travel for leisure
20. Why do you think did Tomarind
decide to cover the well with stones
after the Datu entered it?
a. to stop the Datu from doing
more evil plans
b. to get the kingdom for himself
c. to make the witch the Queen
III. Evaluation The small boat foundered on
the wine dark sea.
21. Have you experienced getting
yourself into a dangerous situation The coal mines
because someone asked you to? Share are dark and dank.
some experiences.

22. If someone wants to drive you away

from someone you love, what would
you do?
23. Is it right to risk others just to get
what you want? Why or why not?
Exercise:
Based on the story, find adjectives that
describe each of the character.

24. What do you think would happen if

all people would be selfish or self-
centered?


Datu 
25. If you were to tell the Datu Nebucheba 


something, what would it be? Why? 

Tamarind
IV. Language Skill and the 

Tomarind 
Wicked 


What Is An Adjective? Datu 

An adjective modifies a noun or Witch of




a pronoun by describing, identifying, or Tipuca


quantifying words. An adjective usually 


precedes the noun or the pronoun

which it modifies.

In the following examples,

the highlighted words are adjectives:

The truck-shaped balloon floated

over the treetops.

Mrs. Morrison papered

her kitchen walls
with hideous wall paper.
V. Creative Application

Place yourself in the shoes of Tomarind.

Would you follow the Datu’s orders or
not? Create a dialogue between
Tomarind and Datu Nebucheba
showing your answer. Use cloud
callouts.

e.g.

Prepared and donated by:

Keische Mae DC. Enciso
Miriam Victoria G. Ruivivar