In this Philippine (Kalingga) folktale, a mother revives a rotting corpse to punish her only son for not sharing a meal. Not only is the punishment rather extreme, but when the poor lad is no more she regrets the decision… not because she loved the boy, but because she is lonely and has nobody else to help around the house. So, off to the river with some of his blood, a few magic words, and presto! He is back, having learned an important lesson about sharing. Unfortunately, there is no punishment for the mother’s cruelty and heartlessness!
Greed is a common motif in folklore. The story also includes several other themes often used in oral tradition to get a moral lesson across: superstition, the supernatural/magic, and cruel and unusual punishment.
Our source for the story was a book called Folktales Told Around the World by Richard M. Dorson. Some readers may be confused with the reference to pulling up and putting back a “ladder” at the start of the story. This refers to the ladder-like entry steps common in Asian raised houses of the time, as shown in the picture above. In pulling up the ladder, Agkon forces his mother to wait below so that he can eat the chicken undisturbed.
Original Text / PDF (973 words)