Nida and the Wishing Coconut
by Dianne de Las Casas
1994 All Rights Reserved
Nida lived on the island of Marinduque, one of the thousands of small islands in the Philippine archipelago. The glittering, blue green sea caressed the sparkling, white sands of the beach. The fronds of the tall palm trees danced in the breeze and the warm sun smiled upon the small island. This lovely tropical paradise is what Nida called home.
Nida lived in a nipa hut with her mother and father. Although her father was a fisherman by trade, they also had a small chicken farm behind the hut. Every morning, it was Nida's chore to feed the chickens and to search for any eggs that had been laid. Lately, the chickens had not been laying any eggs and Nida’s mother seemed very upset about it.
"Nida, come inside," her mother called, "Your father brought us some coconut."
Nida responded, "I'm coming, Mother." Her father had climbed the coconut tree and cut down three coconuts for them to eat. They were young, green coconuts, full of sweet milk and soft, with tender meat inside.
Nida's father cut a small hole into the first two coconuts and drained the milk. He then cut them open. Nida's mother cut out the soft meat inside the coconut. He tried to cut open a hole into the third coconut. He could not do it. It was so hard that the knife he was using did not even make a mark on it. He tried to chop it open with a machete but he still could not open the coconut. Frustrated, he threw the coconut aside.
Nida enjoyed the sweet milk and the tender meat of the coconut. It was one of her favorite treats. After she helped her mother clean up, Nida was given permission to go to the beach. On her way to the beach, Nida saw the coconut her father threw aside. She picked it up and brought it with her.
Nida sat in the sand and examined the coconut in her hands. It was smooth and green. There was not a mark on the coconut. The coconut was perfect. She held it in her hands and thought about her mother and wish for more chickens. Nida’s mother wanted more chickens because the ones they had were not laying any eggs. The hens were getting old. Nida quietly wished that her mother could have the chickens she wanted.
Moments later, she heard a loud noise. "Boom!" It sound came from the direction of her home.
Nida ran to the hut and left the coconut on the beach. When she arrived, she stared in wide-eyed surprise at what she saw. Everywhere she looked, there were chickens. They were running around in back of the nipa hut, they were on the roof, and they were even inside! Her father stared at the spectacle, bewildered. "Where did all these chickens come from?" he asked. No one answered.
Nida ran back to the beach and searched for her coconut. It was lying right where she left it. She picked it up and whispered, "So you're a wishing coconut." She held it tightly in her hands and ran home.
That night Nida heard her father talking to her mother. He said, "If only we had a cow, we could drink fresh milk every day. I would not have to take the long journey to the village to get milk for us."
Nida's mother said, "Do not worry. Sometimes things are best left the way they are."
Nida lay on the grass mat where she slept. Her mother and father had fallen asleep but Nida was wide awake. She thought about what her father wanted. She picked up the coconut and wished they had three cows. That way, she reasoned, they could have three times as much milk! Then she fell asleep.
Nida awoke the next morning to her father yelling. She went outside to see what the commotion was about. She saw three cows in the back yard. They were running around like wild animals and had knocked the chickens out of their coops. Again, chickens were everywhere. The cows were scaring them into a frenzy and, in turn, the crazed chickens frightened the cows as well. One of the cows ran into the nipa hut and broke two of the stilts that held it up. In a thundering collapse, the hut fell to the ground. Luckily, everyone was outside and no one was hurt. Nida looked around. Animals were scattered everywhere and now, the hut was destroyed.
A few days later, a new nipa hut had been built and the animals were sent to the village to be sold. Nida went to the beach with her coconut. Nearby, she could hear her father talking to another fisherman. They were worried because they had not caught any fish the past few days and the other fishermen were getting nervous too. She heard her father say, "I hope we catch some fish today."
Nida thought to herself, now I must be very careful with how I wish this time. She held her coconut tightly and closed her eyes. She wished that her father and the other fishermen would have a bountiful catch. She decided to go swimming and left her coconut on the beach.
Suddenly, she heard the fishermen yelling. She looked at the bangka boats in the distance and could see that the fishermen were struggling with their nets. Her father and another fisherman were in the same boat, pulling up a net when the boat unexpectedly flipped over.
When Nida's father came ashore, Nida asked him what happened. He answered with a great sigh, "We took out the bangka boats out into the water to fish. At first, we just sat there waiting, then all of a sudden, fish just seemed to jump inside our nets. We tried to haul our nets up but there were so many fish, hundreds of them! It was our most bountiful catch ever! But there were too many fish and our strength seemed to fail us. Finally, we all tried to pull in the nets together, but they were so heavy with fish that we capsized. We lost all the fish and the nets too. I have never seen anything like it before."
He shook his head, puzzled, and walked back to the hut. Nida stared at her coconut and then followed him home. When she arrived at the hut, she kissed her father on the cheek and she said, "Everything is going to be all right."
Nida ran back to the beach with her wishing coconut. "Mother was right," she said, "some things are best left the way they are."
She walked to the water's edge and, with all her strength, heaved the coconut into the ocean. It made a big splash and sank deep into the water.
From that time forward, Nida and her family lived happily with the things they had at hand.
NOTE FROM DIANNE: This original story is set in Marinduque (Ma-reen-DOO-key), the beautiful island where my mother was born. It is just as described in the story. Nida and the Wishing Coconut was inspired by my visit to Marinduque when I was 12 years old. I lived in a nipa hut, played on the beach, and drank milk straight from the coconut. It was a magical time and there were many shiny coconuts around...