The parable of the Noli Me Tangere
Byline: Juan M Flavier
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Her voice shrilled above the din of noise as though the question was meant to silence the pupils. "Who wrote Noli Me Tangere?" she asked sternly. "Pedro, answer the question."
Pedro was taken by surprise. He stiffened then slowly inched up to stand. Guilt spread over his face as he said, "I didnt do it, Maam."
The teacher glared. Noli Me Tangere is a book written by the national hero Jose Rizal and here was a smart aleck saying he didnt do it. The whole class laughed in great amusement.
"You are fooling and making fun of me," the teacher said with anger. "I should suspend you. But before I do that you must come tomorrow with your father so we can have a talk about your bad behavior."
The boy went home and informed his father of the teachers request for them to be in school together the following day.
Suspecting something amiss, the father inquired, "What is it this time, Pedro?"
The boy fidgeted and then decided to get over it. "The teacher suspected me of writing Noli Me Tangere. I told her I did not do it and she got angry. She wants to suspend me but wishes to talk with you first."
"Talaga bang hindi mo isinulat ang Noli Me Tangere (Is it really true that you didnt write Noli Me Tangere)?" the father wanted to be sure.
"Talagang hindi (really not)," Pedro assured his father with conviction.
"Dont worry, I will help explain to your teacher," said the father trying to make his worried son feel better.
The next day, father and son went to see the peeved teacher.
"Your son is misbehaving," complained the teacher directly. "I asked who wrote Noli Me Tangere and your son says he did not do it. I intend to suspend him. What do you say as the parent?"
The father tried to appear as contrite as possible. But he believed completely in the innocence of his son. "Naku Maestra," he said with a low and conciliatory voice, "si Pedro ay tinuruan naming huwag magsisinungaling. Kaya ho pag sinabi niyang hindi siya ang sumulat ng Noli Me Tangere ay talaga hong hindi niya ginawa ito. (Wow, teacher, we taught Pedro never to tell a lie. So if he says he did not write Noli Me Tangere it is really true, he did not do it)."
The teacher got even more angry. The son had made fun of her. Now here was the father doing likewise.
Father and son left knowing they had failed to convince the irate teacher. Without saying anything to each other, they walked home.
"What happened?" the mother asked.
"Well, I told Pedros teacher that the boy was reared by us under a strict code of truthfulness. Pinanindigan ko na hindi sinulat ni Pedro ang Noli Me Tangere (So I stood firm that Pedro did not write the Noli Me Tangere)."
The mother shook her head and said, "Hindi pala kayo marunong. Kung ba inamin ninyo na sinulat ni Pedro and Noli Me Tangere at nangako kayo na hindi na niya uulitin wala sanang kaso. (You are not smart enough. If you admitted that Pedro wrote the Noli Me Tangere and promised he would not repeat it then there would be no case)."
COPYRIGHT 2004 Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp.
COPYRIGHT 2009 Gale, Cengage Learning
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