The hawk and the hen

While the hawk was flying about in the sky one day, he decided that he would like to marry a hen whom he often saw on the farms below. He flew down and searched until he found her. He asked the hen to become his wife.

The hen said yes, on the condition that the hawk would wait until she could grow wings like his, so that they would fly high together. The hawk agreed. He gave the hen a ring as an engagement present, telling her to take good care of it. Then the hawk flew away.

The hen was very proud of the ring and placed it around her neck. The next day, however, as she was roaming around in the farms, she met the cock who looked at her in astonishment and said, “Where did you get that ring? Have you forgotten that you promised to be my wife? You must not wear the ring of anyone else. Throw it away!”

The hen did as she was told and threw away the beautiful ring.

Not long after, the hawk came down bringing a beautiful dress of colorful feathers for the hen. When the hen saw him coming, she was frightened and ran to hide behind the trunk of a big tree. The hawk called to her to come and see the beautiful dress he brought.

Attracted to the dress of feathers, the hen came out; and the hawk at once saw that the ring was missing from her neck.

“Where is the ring I gave you?” he asked. “Why do you not wear it?”

The hen was all the more frightened and ashamed to tell the truth. So she answered, “Oh, sir, yesterday when I was walking in the garden, I met a large snake and he frightened me so that I ran as fast as I could to the house. Then I discovered that I had lost the ring. I searched everywhere but could not find it.”

The hawk looked sharply at the hen. He had an inkling that she was lying to him. He said to her, “I did not believe that you could behave so badly. When you have found the ring I will come down again and make you my wife. But as a punishment for breaking your promise, you must always scratch the ground to look for the ring. And every chick of yours that I find, I shall snatch away.”

Then the hawk flew away. Since then, all the hens throughout the world have been scratching to find the hawk’s ring. And no chick has since been safe from being snatched by the hawk’s claws.

Fun, formative, and fantastic at five

The event’s highlights included a LEGO contest, a storytelling portion by TCC’s very own team of tutors, a Math Magic segment, in which the audience were treated to ten minutes of fun and exciting math tricks, a presentation by the Adopt-a-School Program, and as a finale, an energetic rap version of the classic nursery rhyme, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” by the TCC team.

Among the honored guests were Ms. Maribeth Santos, Coordinator for the Adopt-a-School Program in partnership with Dep-Ed, and Ms. Marides Lacson-Puyat, COO of Academic Solutions Incorporated, the master franchiser of Tutoring Club in the Philippines. 

The event was fun and insightful, reflective of what Tutoring Club Cebu has stood for all through the past five years: fun, formative and fantastic! TCC’s Facebook page is: Facebook.com/TutoringClubCebu; phone number: 238-3655.

Kiddie gears for the rainy days

The onset of the rainy days brings relief from the hot Philippine weather. But that’s only one side of the story. The rains also pose the threat of various illnesses, especially among little children.

While the kids are at school, they are on their own. Mama is not there to quickly bring an umbrella when it suddenly rains and her child is in the open playground. Or, even if an umbrella may be provided by the school staff, it may not be enough to shield the little kid from both rain and wind.

 A full-body coat is advisable. The piece shall have the basic features for good rain and wind protection, waterproof and windproof. It shall be made of lightweight materials. It shall be of a bright color – or, at least, have reflective stripes – in order to beat the haze that commonly occurs when it rains. The coat must be easy to spot in the playground or as the kids are on their way to the classroom, in the rain. Other practical features to have are an adjustable hood and glove security loops to help guard against frustrating loss of a glove.

For older kids, it’s nice if the coat has an inner storage pocket with cord opening for an MP3 player or ipod, or similar gadget. The type made of more durable materials – although may cost a little more – will prove economical in the long run, as the coat may then be passed on to a younger child.

For footwear, boots are recommended, since these keep the feet safe from getting soaked in flood waters and from possible water-borne diseases. The better choice is the type with reinforced heels and toes to avoid peeling off, and structured soles for a good grip on mud and wet surfaces.