DR. DO-DIDDILY AND THE DEE-DOT'S

THE SUN AND THE MOON      

Thousands of years ago there was no land nor sun nor moon nor stars, and the world was only a great sea of water, above which stretched the sky. The water was the kingdom of the god Maguayan, and the sky was ruled by the great god Captan.

Maguayan had a daughter called Lidagat, the sea, and Captan had a son known as Lihangin, the wind. The gods agreed to the marriage of their children, so the sea became the bride of the wind.

Three sons and a daughter were born to them. The sons were called Licalibutan, Liadlao, and Libulan; and the daughter received the name of Lisuga.

Licalibutan had a body of rock and was strong and brave; Liadlao was formed of gold and was always happy; Libulan was made of copper and was weak and timid; and the beautiful Lisuga had a body of pure silver and was sweet and gentle. Their parents were very fond of them, and nothing was wanting to make them happy.

After a time Lihangin died and left the control of the winds to his eldest son Licalibutan. The faithful wife Lidagat soon followed her husband, and the children, now grown up, were left without father or mother. However, their grandfathers, Captan and Maguayan, took care of them and guarded them from all evil.

After a time, Licalibutan, proud of his power over the winds, resolved to gain more power, and asked his brothers to join him in an attack on Captan in the sky above. At first they refused; but when Licalibutan became angry with them, the amiable Liadlao, not wishing to offend his brother, agreed to help. Then together they induced the timid Libulan to join in the plan.

When all was ready the three brothers rushed at the sky, but they could not beat down the gates of steel that guarded the entrance. Then Licalibutan let loose the strongest winds and blew the bars in every direction. The brothers rushed into the opening, but were met by the angry god Captan. So terrible did he look that they turned and ran in terror; but Captan, furious at the destruction of his gates, sent three bolts of lightning after them.

The first struck the copper Libulan and melted him into a ball. The second struck the golden Liadlao, and he too was melted. The third bolt struck Licalibutan, and his rocky body broke into many pieces and fell into the sea. So huge was he that parts of his body stuck out above the water and became what is known as land.

In the meantime the gentle Lisuga had missed her brothers and started to look for them. She went toward the sky, but as she approached the broken gates, Captan, blind with anger, struck her too with lightning, and her silver body broke into thousands of pieces.

Captan then came down from the sky and tore the sea apart, calling on Maguayan to come to him and accusing him of ordering the attack on the sky. Soon Maguayan appeared and answered that he knew nothing of the plot as he had been asleep far down in the sea.

After a time he succeeded in calming the angry Captan. Together they wept at the loss of their grandchildren, especially the gentle and beautiful Lisuga; but with all their power they could not restore the dead to life. However, they gave to each body a beautiful light that will shine forever.

And so it was that golden Liadlao became the sun, and copper Libulan the moon, while the thousands of pieces of silver Lisuga shine as the stars of heaven. To wicked Licalibutan the gods gave no light, but resolved to make his body support a new race of people. So Captan gave Maguayan a seed, and he planted it on the land, which, as you will remember, was part of Licalibutan's huge body.

Soon a bamboo tree grew up, and from the hollow of one of its branches a man and a woman came out. The man's name was Sicalac, and the woman was called Sicabay. They were the parents of the human race. Their first child was a son whom they called Libo; afterwards they had a daughter who was known as Saman. Pandaguan was a younger son and he had a son called Arion.

Pandaguan was very clever and invented a trap to catch fish. The very first thing he caught was a huge shark. When he brought it to land, it looked so great and fierce that he thought it was surely a god, and he at once ordered his people to worship it. Soon all gathered around and began to sing and pray to the shark. Suddenly the sky and sea opened, and the gods came out and ordered Pandaguan to throw the shark back into the sea and to worship none but them.

All were afraid except Pandaguan. He grew very bold and answered that the shark was as big as the gods, and that since he had been able to overpower it he would also be able to conquer the gods. Then Captan, hearing this, struck Pandaguan with a small thunderbolt, for he did not wish to kill him but merely to teach him a lesson. Then he and Maguayan decided to punish these people by scattering them over the earth, so they carried some to one land and some to another. Many children were afterwards born, and thus the earth became inhabited in all parts.

Pandaguan did not die. After lying on the ground for thirty days he regained his strength, but his body was blackened from the lightning, and all his descendants ever since that day have been black.

His first son, Arion, was taken north, but as he had been born before his father's punishment he did not lose his color, and all his people therefore are white.

Libo and Saman were carried south, where the hot sun scorched their bodies and caused all their descendants to be of a brown color.

A son of Saman and a daughter of Sicalac were carried east, where the land at first was so lacking in food that they were compelled to eat clay. On this account their children and their children's children have always been yellow in color.

DR. DOO-DIDDILY AND THE DEE - DOT'S

When you get older, you just might want to take up pot-holing. This is where you go into huge caves that are inside the earth's crust. Usually they open into big canyons all underneath the rocks and many have wonderful rivers and streams , well loads of thing. I will see if I can find some more pictures here on the net.  But while I go looking I will show you these that were found in Vietnam. Diddily and the dee dot's used to go pot-holing here in Wales, some of them used to be so narrow I often wonder how I climbed down into them. I couldn't  do it now, much to big. You must remember though my lovelies.
If you do take up this wond erful past-times, always go with a group, with a few adults and do everything that you are told. I can tell you now the first rule is..... Don't fool around, or you could have a bad accident, even a fateful one.
      Have fun but take care at all times.

Sung Sot

Halong Bay Cave

Vietnam

Sung Sot Cave (Cave of Surprises) is the largest and arguably the most beautiful

cave in Halong Bay, Vietnam. The cave is located at the Bo Hon Island and got its name (grotte des surprises) from a French admiral who was surprised at how huge and majestic the cave was when he discovered it.

The limestone cave is now heavily developed for tourism, with granite pavements and coloured-lighting beautifying the cave. The nature elements of the cave seems pretty well preserved though, hopefully the in-flock of tourists won’t cause too much harm.           

The Bamboo with a Hundred Knots

There was a man as rich as he was evil. He would leave no stone unturned to exploit his servants. He had thus amassed the largest fortune in the region.

His youngest child was not yet married.

Khoai, one of his servants, without family, had worked for him since childhood. He was almost eighteen years old. He was a tireless worker. Believing that he would not leave him, the master called him and said:

"If you do not spare your effort and work from morning to night, I will give you the hand of my youngest daughter."

Khoai, as naive as his master was crafty, started to work eagerly, and for three years busied himself with all the household tasks.
Ut, the master's daughter, had grown very beautiful. A very rich district chief asked for her hand in marriage for his son. Her father, forgetting a promise which he never meant to keep, agreed.
The ceremony was immediately prepared. Finding himself victim of a hoax, Khoai went to find his master and reproached him for breaking his word. The master felt inclined to reply to his servant by giving him a good thrashing, but he changed his mind. He thought:

"Khoai can still be of some use to me", and once again he thought of a ruse.

"It's true. I am preparing Ut's wedding, but if you want it to become a reality for you, go into the forest and bring me back a bamboo with a hundred knots. We will make from it the most beautiful chopsticks in the world. Then you will become Ut's husband."

Khoai, who never meant any harm, believed him and left for the forest. He looked and looked, but where could he find a bamboo with a hundred knots? Discouraged, he fell down at the foot of a tree and started to cry. Suddenly a venerable old man appeared before him:

"Why are you crying, my child?" he asked.  And Khoai told him his story.

"Go and cut down bamboo! Count a hundred knots and bring them to me!"

Khoai went away, brandished his axe and soon returned with the hundred knots requested.
The old man bent down and murmured in a low voice:

"Come in at once, come in at once."

Scarcely had he uttered these words when the hundred bamboo stumps. left haphazardly on the ground, rolled towards each other and joined together, forming a huge bamboo with a hundred knots.
Khoai wanted to throw himself at the old man's feet to thank him, but the Buddha, for that was who he was, had already disappeared. Then he put the bamboo on his shoulder to carry it. But how could he carry such a long bamboo across the thickly wooded country. He sat down and cried like a youngster. Through his tears the old man appeared again.

"Why are you crying?"

And Khoai told him his troubles a second time. Spreading his hand over the bamboo, the old man repeated very softly:

"Come out at once. come out at once."

And the bamboo broke up into a hundred stumps which Khoai immediately made into two bundles. He found the two families in the middle of a wedding feast. Plates of food and mats covered with dishes and presents awaited the bride in the courtyard. Red with justified anger Khoai sprang towards his master. But the latter scornfully reproached him:

"I did not ask you for a bamboo with a hundred separate knots, but one bamboo with a hundred knots.

A Vietnamese Cake

To Make an easy Khoai Mi, which is cooked a lot in Vietnam.

16 oz        grated khoai mì

6oz           sugar 

2tblsp     condensed milk

2 cups     coconut milk

One egg (1)

A small amount  ¼teasp Vanilla Essence, (good)

Beat the egg well.

Mix together all the other ingredients and add the egg, stir well

Poured the mixture into 8in greased cake tin and bake for 180°  C or 350° F for about one hour or till set.

The History of the Philippines
As taken from Wikipeadia

 The History of the Philippines is believed to have begun with the arrival of the first humans via land bridges at least 30,000 years ago. The first recorded visit from the West is the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan on Homonhon Island, southeast of Samar on March 16, 1521. Prior to Magellan's arrival, there were several established kingdoms and sultanates present in the Philippines, such as the Buddhist Kingdom of Butuan, the indianized kingdoms of Tondo and Maysapan, as well as the Muslim Sultanates of Sulu, Manila, Maguindanao, and Lanao, some of which flourished from as early as the 10th century AD.[citation needed] Despite these kingdoms attaining complex political and social orders, as well as enjoying trade with China, India, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and Java, none had come to encompass the w

How the Philippines Began

The Bird told the Sky that the Sea wanted to drown him with her mighty waves. Then the Bird told the Sea that the Sky wanted to hit her with stones. The Sea reacted by throwing waves of water towards the Sky.

The Sky moved even higher, but when he saw the Sea's waves rising some more, he then threw soil towards the sea. The soil quieted the Sea and also made the Sky lighter. The soil turned into 7,000 islands and that is how the Philippines came to be.

But I wonder "Are there really 7,000 Islands? "

http://folktales.webmanila.com/folktales/animals/?butterflies