Mariang Makiling: Goddess of the Forest

(Summary)
Maria was sought for and wooed by many suitors, three of whom were the Captain Lara, a Spanish
soldier; Joselito, a Spanish mestizo studying in Manila; and Juan who was but a common farmer. Despite his
lowly status, Juan was chosen by Maria Makiling.
Spurned, Joselito and Captain Lara conspired to frame Juan for setting fire to the cuartel of the
Spanish. Juan was shot as the enemy of the Spaniards. Before he died, he cried Maria’s name out loud.
The diwata quickly came down from her mountain while Captain Lara and Joselito fled to Manila
in fear of Maria’s wrath. When she learned what happened, she cursed the two, along with all other men who
cannot accept failure in love.
Soon, the curse took effect. Joselito suddenly contracted an incurable illness. The revolutionary
Filipinos killed Captain Lara.
Some people say that they could here Maria’s voice somewhere in the forest, calling out the name of
her lover, “Juan… Juan…”

Why the Moon Shines at Night

A long time ago, when the universe was still young, the sun and the moon were married to each
other. One day, the moon asked her husband, the sun, to keep watch over their sleeping children, since she
had to gather food for the family. The moon, reminded her husband not to go near the young ones, for they
would get burned by his intense noon day heat.
The sun, however, couldn’t keep from bending over to kiss the little ones – but as his wife had
feared, the children slowly started to melt. Although the sun wanted to hide from his wife, his brightness
always gave him away. His wife, the moon, became cold to him and endlessly blamed him for deforming
their children. She often harped about his self-centeredness and feelings of self-importance, just because the
entire universe revolved around him.
This occurred until one day, the sun's fiery temper got the better of him – he struck his wife's face
to stop her endless nagging. Again, he felt sorry for having done so, since his action had left the moon with
scars and pockmarks on her face.
Since then, the moon and the sun became estranged, and the former took her children with her as
far as she could, to get away from the sun. She and the children showed up only during the night when
everyone was asleep, so they wouldn’t notice the pockmarks on her surface or the imperfection of her children,
the little twinkling stars.