Kids Essence International School

2nd Floor, Rosarian Bldg., Brgy. Talolong Lopez, Quezon

Nature’s Revenge

Palanas is a small fishing community on the western coast of Samar. Its houses
are basically made up of nipa and bamboo. Fishing nets are seen hanging in the
yards to dry. They are considered the most precious possessions of each family
because most of the men of the village are fishermen.
At dawn, the fishermen readied themselves in their bangkas to go fishing. Out at
sea, the men made sure that they threw their nets in places where fishes were
easily caught.
After quite sometime of fishing, the men headed straight for home. On the
seashore, women and children were eagerly waiting to see if the fishermen had a
good catch. One of them was Manong Isko, the only man in the village who disliked
fishing. He owned the only store in Palanas where people could avail themselves of
rice, salt, clothes, and kerosene to light their lamps at night. But since they earn
little money from fishing, they paid Manong Isko with fishes. This is the reason why
Manong Isko was there on the shore.
“Kardo”, he said to one fisherman. “I will take half of your catch as payment for
the rice you got from me.”
Manong Isko after collecting the fishes, brought them home. He kept the fishes
in ice to make sure they would not spoil. He sold them the following day to an owner
of a market stall in a big town.
One late afternoon, while the men were sitting on the benches in front of the
store, Manong Isko asked them, “Would you like to earn more from fishing?”.
“Of course”, Peping replied, one of the best fishermen. “But, it is almost
impossible to catch more than what we have been getting. We can only cast our
nets a few times each day.”
“There is a way by which you can catch the whole school of fish without doing
much effort”, said Manong Isko.
“You couldn’t be meaning to say Dynamite! You know fully well that is against
the law. Not only it is dangerous, it kills both big and small fishes. This will
eventually affect our livelihood and thereby the future of our children and
grandchildren as well.”
The fishermen stood silent for a while. Manong Isko tried to convince Peping,
“There are millions of fishes in the sea. Do not think about tomorrow. You will earn a
huge amount of money if you use dynamite.”
The following day, Manong Isko distributed to each one of them the dynamite
sticks. Out at the sea where the fishes abound, they lighted the sticks and threw
them into the sea. The sticks weighed down by heavy stones, sank, and exploded.
The explosion killed countless fish.
The fishermen came home happy that evening. Their fishing were full to the
brim with fish. They rejoiced at the thought of the huge revenues they will get from
the sale of their catch. He told himself, “They are like greedy children who take in
more food than they can swallow.”
The fishermen were used to doing that for months. One day, while Peping was
lighting the sticks, an accident occurred. The dynamite suddenly exploded before he
could even throw it into the sea. The explosion blew off his whole arm. He was
immediately rushed to the nearest hospital. He could have died but the doctors
were able to stop the bleeding.
“Where Learning Makes Sense”
 The accident was brought to the attention of the village people. They got
frightened and were made aware of how dangerous dynamites are. Nevertheless,
Manong Isko told them, “Accidents happen when you least expect it. Had Peping
been more careful, he would not have met that accident.”
The incident did not stop the fishermen from using dynamites. They were out
fishing again one day but this time, they complained that they were not catching
enough fish. That prompted Manong Isko to give them more dynamites.
The following day, while the fishermen were out at sea, they heard a loud
explosion. They could see a huge column of smoke rise into the sky.
“It is coming from Palanas!”, they cried in panic. They rowed their boats as fast
as they could, heading back to the shore. As soon as they reached the shore, they
ran toward their homes. Their wives and children were in sorrow. They were so
terrified.
“What was the explosion about?” they asked.
“It’s Manong Isko’s house, it exploded and just flew into the air,” the women
replied.
The people were shocked at the sight of what remained of Manong Isko’s house.
It was totally ruined and Manong Isko couldn’t believe his eyes.

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
Read the following sentences and try to interpret the meaning of each of the underlined
words or phrases by looking at the other words or phrases in the sentences. Encircle the letter
of the correct answer.

1. A huge amount of smoke came out of the mouth of the angry volcano.
a. a dark cloud of smoke
b. a unhealthful combination of smoke and fog
c. a vertical formation of smoke

2. The net was full and heavy. It was teeming with live fish.
a. occupied
b. supplied
c. filled

3. Toys of various kinds and sizes were exhibited at the market stall.
a. a place where goods are sold at low price
b. a booth, stand, or counter at which things for sale are displayed
c. a place for buying and selling

4. The sea teemed with fish. How the fishermen wished to catch the school of fish!
a. one kind of a fish
b. abundant fishes
c. A bowl of fish

5. It takes many hands to haul a net filled with live fish.

a. mend
b. swing
c. pull

“Where Learning Makes Sense”

COMPREHENSION CHECK
1. In which village did the fishermen live?
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2. At what time of the day did the fishermen leave for the sea?
____________________________________________________________________________
3. Why did Manong Isko collect fish from the fishermen?
____________________________________________________________________________
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4. How did the fishermen know about the explosion that happened in Palanas?
____________________________________________________________________________
5. What lesson did the fishermen learn from using dynamite?
____________________________________________________________________________
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Why should we protect nature? As citizen of the world, what can we do to improve
our surroundings? Write a composition entitled, “To My Future”.

“Where Learning Makes Sense”