Senior High School Within Manatangale E.S.

The Legend of Mount Kanlaon There once lived on the island of Negros a princess named Anina who lived a very sheltered life. One day, Anina overheard her father talking to the kingdom’s chief priestess. The priestess was frantic about a report that they could not find a single maiden who was unblemished. Later, Anina asked her father what it was all about, and the king finally broke down. There had long been a seven-headed dragon threatening the kingdom, and the monster could only be appeased if an unblemished maiden was sacrificed to it. In fear, all the women in the kingdom had cut themselves to disqualify themselves from the sacrifice. Parents cut their own baby girls so as to spare the infants from the sacrifice. But the king and the queen couldn’t bring themselves to mar their daughter’s beauty, and so Anina was the only remaining unscarred female in the kingdom. Anina did not weep. Instead, she willingly offered herself for the sacrifice. Fortuitously, on the day she ...

Switzerland – William Tell William Tell, who originally came from Bürglen, was known as a strong man, mountain climber, and an expert shot with the crossbow. In his time, the Habsburg emperors of Austria were seeking to dominate Uri. Albrecht (or Hermann) Gessler, the newly appointed Austrian Vogt of Altdorf, raised a pole in the village’s central square, hung his hat on top of it, and demanded that all the townsfolk bow before the hat. On 18 November 1307, Tell visited Altdorf with his young son and passed by the hat, publicly refusing to bow to it, and so was arrested. Gessler—intrigued by Tell’s famed marksmanship, yet resentful of his defiance—devised a cruel punishment: Tell and his son would be executed, but he could redeem his life by shooting an apple off the head of his son, Walter, in a single attempt. Tell split the apple with a bolt from his crossbow. But Gessler noticed that Tell had removed two crossbow bolts from his quiver, not one. Before releasing Tell, ...

Germany – The Lorelei Above Coblentz, where the Rhine flows through hills covered with vineyards,
there is a steep rock, around which many a legend has been woven — the Lorelei Rock.
The boatman gazes up at its gigantic summit with awful reverence 
when his boat glides over the waters at twilight. Like chattering children the restless waves whisper round the rock,
telling wonderful tales of its doings. 
Above on its gray head, the legend relates that a beautiful but false nymph,
clothed in white with a wreath of stars in her flowing hair,
used to sit and sing sweet songs, until a sad tragedy drove her forever away. Long, long ago, when night in her dark garment descended from the hills, 
and her silent comrade, the pale moon,
cast a silver bridge over the deep green steam, the soft voice of a woman was heard from the rock,
and a creature of divine beauty was seen on its summit.
Her copper locks flowed like a queenly mantle from her graceful shoulders, 
covering her snow w...

Luxemburg – Melusina Melusina is said to have been the wife of the founder of Luxembourg, Count Siegfried. When they married, she had one particular request, namely that Siegfried must leave her alone for one full day and night every month, and that he should not ask or try to find out what she was doing. Of course, Melusina was such a beautiful girl, that Siegfried could not refuse her this one small wish, and all went well for years and years, when on the first Wednesday of the month, Melusina would retire into her chambers in the “Casemates,” a network of caverns underneath the city, not to be seen again until early light on Thursday. But one day, Siegfried’s curiosity got the better of him. Wondering what on earth she might be doing alone all the time, he peeped through the keyhole, and was shocked to see that Melusina was lying in the bathtub, with a fishtail hanging over the rim. As you all know, mermaids like Melusina, have a very keen sixth sense, which tells them insta...

Belgium – Manneken Pis There are several legends behind this statue : In 1142, the troops of this two-year-old lord were battling against the troops of the Berthouts, the lords of Grimbergen, in Ransbeke (now Neder-Over-Heembeek). The troops put the infant lord in a basket and hung the basket in a tree to encourage them. From there, the boy urinated on the troops of the Berthouts, who eventually lost the battle. Another legend states that in the 14th century, Brussels was under siege by a foreign power. The city had held its ground for some time, so the attackers conceived of a plan to place explosive charges at the city walls. A little boy named Julianske happened to be spying on them as they were preparing. He urinated on the burning fuse and thus saved the city. Another story tells of a wealthy merchant who, during a visit to the city with his family, had his beloved young son go missing. The merchant hastily formed a search party that scoured all corners of the...

The Netherlands – Flying Dutchman In 1795, sailors told a story of a Dutch ship that got lost at sea during a horrendous storm. The same ship later wrecked other ships in bouts of ghastly fog. This was the result of captain Bernard Fokke’s behaviour: he was known for the “devilish” speed on his trips from Holland to Java. Some said that Fokke was aided by the Devil… Another version of the legend starts in 1641 when a Dutch ship sank off the coast of the Cape of Good Hope. The trip to the Far East had been successful and the ship was on its way back home to Holland, so captain Van der Decken was pleased… and failed to notice the dark clouds looming. Only when he heard the lookout scream in terror, he did realise they sailed straight into a heavy storm. Van der Decken and his crew battled for hours to get out of the storm, but then they heard a sickening crunch: the ship had hit a rock and began to sink. As the ship plunged downwards and the captain knew death was approaching...

Denmark – King Dan The story is told that, in olden days, there were three brothers: Dan, Nor and Østen. They were the sons of King Ypper, who lived in Uppsala in Sweden, which was named for him. The brothers went their separate ways, settling each in a different country. Dan went to Denmark, Nor to Norway, and Østen stayed in Sweden, in the countries to the East. At that time, the realm of Denmark did not yet exist. Dan ruled only over the island of Zealand and the lesser isles. Jutland, Funen and Scania were each separate kingdoms. The Jutes were, at that time, at war with the German king. They built up earthworks and a palisade along their southern border, in that place where Queen Thyra later caused Dannevirke to be built. They named this wall Kovirke. But, when the German king came with a mighty host, they sent messengers to King Dan asking for his help. Dan went to war with the Germans, and a great battle was fought before the wall. Most of the enemy fell, “biting...