Flies are abundant in tropical countries like the Philippines that locals are sometimes wondering how the creature came to be. This folklore seems to say it all.
The folklore goes that once there was a resident fly of the tiny coconut kingdom of Agama Niyog (coconut). This was no ordinary fly that we see around today. The foklore says this fly was God’s favorite. It didn’t fly around working to seek food. All it did was wish (or pray?) for something and God would give it that.
For a long time the fly enjoyed God’s uncommon favor, the myth folklore says. But one day, while idly flying around, it inadvertently entered a mysterious palace. There was the palace sultan surrounded by his wives and mistresses. Envious, the fly asked God to be a sultan. The fly’s wish was granted immediately, the folklore says.
Just like other sultans, the fly had several wives and concubines. But, the folklore says, it got fed up of its families. It sullenly asked the Archangel Gabriel to ask God to make him a prophetinstead, the folklore says. So the Archangel begged God, saying, “Oh God! This special fly desires to be a prophet.” Behold, it became so.
But prophesying was no easy job, the fly discovered. According to the folklore, it had to travel from one place to another talking to people about faith and love—which nobody wanted to listen to, coming from a fly. The folklore says people started to hate it. One day, the folklore continues, the fly really got tired of everything and called the Archangel Gabriel again. “Please tell God I’m tired of being a prophet, too.”
“So, what now?” Archangel Gabriel asked.
“I think being a god is what’s really exciting,” The fly said. “Perhaps I’d be satisfied when I become one.” However, the folklore says Archangel Gabriel thought this was too much. Just the same, he begged God and said: “Oh God, now it wants to become a god! Is this possible?”
The folklore says that when God heard this he promptly changed the fly to its original form. So today, one would notice that a fly keeps on rubbing its front and hind legs together. It’s the punishment for wanting (or praying?) to become a god.
This folklore teaches that wishy-washy thinking never really pays. And it’s always wise to be realistic in one’s ambitions.
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