A Tale of Marinduque
A Tale of Marinduque
A Tale of Marinduque
Meanwhile, Maring was very unhappy. She prayed to the gods for
help. Bathala heard her prayers. On the appointed day, the sky
grew suddenly dark. The sea seethed turbulently and the winds
blew furiously, but the contest could not be put off for another
day. The three kings set forth bravely on their ships. Before they
were halfway to the goal, one of them hit a rock and soon vanished
from sight with his ship. The second vessel was able to move on a
little farther and then it was also devour by the angry sea. The last
ship met the same fate. The king and the spectators grieved over
the fate of the three royal suitors. Only Maring did not feel grieved
at the outcome of the race. When the sea calmed down, everyone
was surprised to see three islands at the places where the ship had
sunk. They were named Tres Reyes, or Three Kings, after the
unlucky trio. The father of Maring did not wish to sacrifice more
lives after that disaster. He gave his daughter freedom to choose
her husband. So she confessed to him her secret love. The king
consisted to the marriage. Seven days of feasting and
merrymaking followed. To mark the happy union of the two
young people, the island kingdom was named Marinduque, after
Maring and Duque.