Ibong Adarna (Excerpt)
Once upon a time, there was a kingdom named, Berbania. It was ruled by
King Fernando and Queen Valeriana who had three sons – Don Pedro (first born),
Don Diego (second) and Don Juan (the youngest).
One night, King Fernando had a bad dream. He saw that his youngest
Prince and his favorite, Don Juan was thrown away in a creepy deep well. The
King started to get weak for some unknown reasons. It seemed that nothing could
bring back his healthy condition. His medical advisors told him that the only
cure to his unexplained sickness is a lullaby sung by the Adarna bird.
So King Fernando tasked his three sons to hunt the magical bird. Don
Pedro went first but he wasn’t successful. He may have reached Mount Tabor and
the tree of Piedras Platas where the Adarna bird nested but the prince fell
asleep after hearing the bird’s song. Worse he turned into a stone when the
lovely bird pooped on him. The second prince, Don Diego went to hunt next.
Unfortunately, he had the same bitter chance like his older brother. The
kingdom was counting on Don Juan, so he went next.
The youngest prince has climbed through Mount Tabor. He met a very old
sick man who gave him tips about the magical tree of Piedras Platas and
catching the Adarna bird. Don Juan successfully caught the bird and helped his
two brothers to be human again. Because of envy and greed of power, the two
joined forces to beat Don Juan to death and throw him in a deep well. The two
then returned home with the Adarna. However, the king’s illness went worse
because the bird never sang a single song.
Luckily, Don Juan’s strength returned. He has been healed by the poor
old man he helped in the mountain. He came back to the Kingdom of Berbania.
King Fernando has known the truth when the bird started singing after seeing
Don Juan. The King went well and stronger than ever. He wanted to punish his
two sons but Don Juan asked his father to just forgive them. The King granted
his request and they lived happily ever after.
Writing Activity (Comment)
Think back to the story of the "Ibong Adarna". Write on the comment box a new ending for the story in a five-sentence-paragraph. Based the ending on the situations cited. Begin at the point where the king said to seize the two prince and throw them into prison.
