Children of the sea

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Part of The Young Citizen: The Magazine for Young People

Title: Children of the sea
Year: 1935
Rights
Fulltext: April J.935 THE YOUNG CITIZEN 59 CtttLDREn OF qttE SEA By Elisabeth Latsch V ERY eal'ly one Sunday on one of those many thousands of islands of the Philippines, two little boys came down to the seashore with their fathe1· and mother. Along the coast were huge 1·ocks. There they scmmbled up almost tumbling down on the othe1· side. The ocean waves came rolling and swishing towards the boys-one whitecapped wave after another. It seemed the waves we1·e running to meet them. Indeed, the waves were greeting the children and they were inviting them to play in the beautiful bay. The bright rays of the sun could not yet be seen, and the wa1·mth could not yet be felt upon the big water. Both boys took off their clothes. Slowly into the water they stepped. They were really just a little timid. Ve1·y soon, however, Juan who was the elde1· of the two, was much in advance. "Come here, come here," he called out to his little brother Wilfredo. But to his surprize he heard a thin little voice cry, "No, the water tickles my legs and the wind makes me shiver." Juan laughed at Wilfredo. Then Juan thought of speaking wisely. "Wilfredo," he said, "boys must not mind such things. Anyway, it isn't cold at all after you a1·e really under the water." In the meantime their father and mother had gone out quite far. The water reached to their waistline. Both of them stood very still. Mother had kept on her bright 1·ed skirt and her pink bodice. She had raised he1· skirt to he1· knees. Much of it was bundled a1·ound her waist and the ends were firmly tucked in at the belt. She stood there with he1· arms folded. Between her Ii ps she held a cigarillo. But father, too, had kept his clothes on. His black trousers were rnlled above the knees. He wore a white wmisa-thino. His head was covered with a lai·ge grass hat, a ba/w1go_t. A deep nanow basket was hanging upon his left ami. Juan was having a wonderful time swimming -: about. But imagine! Wilfredo was still standing in the same place. Finally, his mother came over to him. As she app1'oached him she splashed Wilfredo's head. Then he felt the water splashing over his shoulders and down his back. Soon his mother was splashing and splashing him all ove1» How Wilfredo laughed! He tl'ied rubbing the wate1· from his eyelashes, but the1·e, splash-another fresh shower came clown upon him. What fun it was having mother play with him like that! Really the wate1· wasn't cold after all. And when he stayed unde1· it entirely the wind could not blow against him. When mother stopped playing with him, Wilfredo began to splash about and he. began to feel around in the bottom fo1· shells and for many other sea toys. Wilfredo's mother had gone back to the place where fathe1· stood. Father had just dropped something into the long basket. Wilfredo womle1·ed. Both his father and mother seemed to be standing- veq still again. There, mother's ·foot peeped out of the wate1» Wasn't there something between her toes? Why, it was a clam! So that was what they were really doing. They we1·e feeling and digging around with their toes until they found the little clams. Certainly the water was not clear 60 THE YOUNG CITIZEN April t93J enough to see down to the sandy bottom. Mother took the clams which she found over to father and dropped them into the narrow basket. "Let me have the matches, please," he heard his mother say. "The fire in my cigarillo went out while I was splashing Wilfredo." Father raised his hand and carefully reached under his balangot bringing out a box of matches. Surely, the matches could not get wet on his head covered by that large grass hat. When they had been in the water about two hours, their basket was quite full. "Juan and Wilfredo, we are going home now," called their mother. So they all walked back towards the rocks and stepped out of the water. The two boys dressed. They had hidden their clothes in a sheltered place between and under some rocks. But father and mother kept their wet clothing on. A long walk in the sunshine was yet ahead of them; and when they arrived at their pretty little nipa hut their clothes were quite dry. By this time Juan and Wilfredo were very, very hungry. So mothe1· cooked the dinner right away. After they had all eaten the little fresh clams and many, many helpings of the nice white rice, mothe1· fetched some of the short Ii ttle bananas that grew in their own yard. And then all of them felt quite happy and contented. But they were just a wee bit tired and sleepy. So father went to the corner of the room and brought out a large buri mat, made from the fiber of the palm. Then mother helped him unfold it and together they spread it upon the bamboo ·floor~ There the whole family stretched out for a nice long afternoon nap. Juan had a wonderful dream. He found himself a grown man, a great fisherman, the owner of a panandawan. And Wilfredo dreamed again and again that his mother was still splashing him all over with the cool salty sea water. DO YOU KNOW? Some birds suffer from diseases as those suffered by human beings. Parrots are subject to asthma. Tuberculosis is a disease of pheasants and doves. And do you know that canaries become bald~headed? Conversation of chickens is said to be unde·rstandable by humans. Scientists have discovered that there are 23 different notes made by chicks and their parents; and ten of these notes can be understood by one who cares for them. Domestic cats are believed to be descended from Egyptian and European wildcats tamed centuries before· Christ. Chinese have fighting crickets. Do you know what a cricket is? A champion fighting crieket is worth as much as 'flOO in Hong Kong. The Siamese have fighting fish. Have you seen one? The Philippines prnduces more cop·ra than any otfier country in the world. The ships which sailed between the Philippines and Mexico 250 years ago \Vere called galleons and were mostly built in the Philippines. Only 50 Filipino laborers can enter the United States every year. Next year or next December when the Philippine Commonwealth will be established the name of this country will be The Philippines. It will not be called The Philippine Islands anymore. The new king of Siam is a young boy 11 years old. The king of Yugoslavia is also a young boy. The king Of Siam is called King Ananda; and that of Yugoslavia, King Peter.