THE
BOY WHO COULDN’T SAY NO
There
was once a little boy who wanted to please everyone.
You
would find him always nodding,
Always
smiling,
And
always saying “Yes.”
“Dodong,
does my Sarong go
well with my blouse?” asked their colorful neighbor Nana Pacing,
whose footsteps were always coupled with the jangle of bells on her
ankles.
And
the little boy would smile, nod and say yes.
(Even
if the psychedelic skirt and the neon green blouse hurt the eyes.)
“Ading, can
you please watch the Dinengdeng?
I’ll be back in 5 minutes,” asked their border, Ayat,
who never cooked without adding a small cup of pungent Bagoong.
Of
course, the little boy would smile, nod and say yes.
(Even
if she forgot about it and the little boy ended up cooking the
vegetable stew himself.)
“Boy, here’s your food. Make sure you eat everything I put there, ok?” said his aunt who followed him around all the time.
Still,
the little boy smiled his smile, nodded his nod and said yes.
(Even
if he hated pancit canton—instant noodles tastes much better!)
Because
of the little boy’s agreeable nature, he was always liked and
loved.
One
day, on the way to school, he stumbled over a grimy little cat
carrying a small red flag in its mouth.
“Oh,
I’m sorry little kitten,” he blurted out.
To
his surprise, the cat put down the flag and answered back, “I will
only accept your apology if you agree to carry this flag for me and
pitch it on the softest cloud in the sky before 9 o’clock in the
morning. That way, I will know which bed I will sleep on tonight.”
The
little boy, no doubt, smiled his smile, nodded his nod and said yes.
(Even
if he thought he might be late for school, even though he was
suspended in disbelief and even if what the gritty cat was asking for
was totally absurd!)
The
little boy, once again, headed for school thinking hard how he would
manage to do the grubby cat’s errand before the morning bell. Just
then, he felt a tug on his shirt. He looked around but saw no one
except a small red balloon tied to a tree exploding with yellow
blooms.
“Little one, can you remove this thing? My hand aches already and it’s ruining some of my jewelry,” the tree spoke.
The
little boy stared hard at the tree, scratched his head, nodded a nod
and said yes.
(Even
if he could not figure out how the tree is talking and why he chose
to answer at all and even if he believed he’s running late for
school already!)
As
soon as the boy untied the string from the branch, he felt a strong
tug upwards. His feet were slowly rising until they’re completely
off the ground! A strong wind blew his way and up he went with
the red balloon. The little boy looked down at the tree getting
smaller and
smaller,
the houses nearby transformed into miniature dollhouses his little
sister played with. Oh, what a sight! But he’s surely going to be
late for school now, the little boy thought.
An
airplane whizzed through a cloud. The boy remembered the errand he
promised to make for the little cat. He was at level with fluffy
clouds in every shape imaginable. He touched the huge one that looked
like their pet rabbit. It was squashy but wet. He reached for the one
shaped like a woven duyan they have at home. It was
spongy but too thin for a bed. He stroked the small cloud that looks
like a fish. It was smooth and soft. This will do, the little boy
muttered to himself as he let go of the balloon, landed on the fish
cloud and planted the flag in the middle of the white puff.
Of
course, now he’s really late for class! He squinted down and looked
for his school among the many roofs below him. He wondered how he
would be able to get down.
An
enormous eagle flew by. “Little boy, do you have some food with
you?” The little boy smiled, nodded and offered his merienda.
(Even if his baon for the day was his all-time
favorite: sweet potatoes cooked in brown sugar).
After
the eagle finished off his baon, he asked the boy if
it wanted a ride. The little boy grinned, nodded eagerly and climbed
on the back of the eagle.
The
eagle spread its massive wings and dived into the air! The little boy
held on to the great eagle’s feathers as they whooshed back to the
ground. In a little while, they landed on the school playground just
as the bell rang.
The
little boy shouted his thanks to the giant eagle as he sprinted off
to class. He froze in the air when a shrill voice came from the
ground he was about to step on. He looked down and noticed some ants
in a neat file going underground. A small red ant on top of a mound
asked in a high-pitched voice, “Would you like to see my home?”
The
little boy who couldn’t say no looked at his school only ten steps
away, looked back at the red ant and nodded hesitantly. As soon as he
said yes, the world above the ground disappeared!
Amazingly,
he fitted quite comfortably into the little ant holes. Right under
the moist soil softened by the morning drizzle, the boy zoomed
downwards with the ant. They passed sixteen pink earthworms eating
and pooping their way in and out of the soil. They made way through a
forest of plump and lanky roots. They went by a skeleton of
long-buried dog until PLOP! They landed on what appears to be the
main road of a little town of busy warrior ants. The street was
flanked on both sides by rows and rows of red, juicy watermelons cut
in triangular crescents. There must be hundreds of them! Inside these
hundreds of watermelons are thousands of ants pushing the watermelon
pits out of the red, juicy watermelon flesh. So this is where ants
live, the little boy thought, in watermelon apartments!
The
small red ant tugged at him, guiding him to one of the watermelon
dwellings. It excitedly clambered up the fourth floor and proudly
showed its home. The little boy bowed and with one eye, peeked at the
dainty apartment unit. The ant invited him in for some watermelon
juice.
The
little boy who couldn’t say no, thanked the ant, praised its home,
but slowly shook his head. “It is nice of you to invite me but I
have to go to school now,” the little boy said. “Not without
taking a picture!” the ant replied. The little boy smiled his smile
and nodded yes.
With
the flash of a camera, the little boy found himself standing in front
of his school building again. He looked around and started for his
classroom. On the hallway, he met a tiny ragged cat carrying a small
orange flag. He patted its scruffy little head, smiled, shook his
head and said “Maybe next time.”
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