THERE WAS ONCE a poor young man called Amparadang, who had only one buffalo.
Because he did nothing but tend his buffalo, he was known everywhere
as "Amparadang" or the buffaloherd. One day the old buffalo said
to her master, "In the Lomos Stream north of the meadow, seven
heavenly fairies are bathing. If you go there and steal one of
the fairy dresses, you can gain one of the fairies as a bride."
The young man did as he was told. All the fairies except one
quickly seized their dresses and flew up to heaven. The one who
was left behind was called the weaver. She was unable to flee
without her dress and because she could do nothing else, she followed
Amparadang and became his wife.
Shortly after, the old buffalo fell ill. Feeling its
end drawing nigh, it said to its master, "When I am dead, cut
off my skin and fill it with golden sand; then take the ring from
my nose and make it into a packet. Carry this always with you
on your shoulder, because one day when you are in trouble it will
help you." This time also, the man obeyed the cow's words.
During the next two or three years, the weaver bore Amparadang
a son and a daughter. She often asked him where he had hidden
her fairy dress. He would never tell her, until one day she asked
so cleverly that he eventually betrayed his secret. Then she
seized the dress, jumped onto a cloud, and flew away.
Amparadang seized his son and his daughter and flew up
to heaven by means of the magic buffalo hide on his back. The
weaver took a golden hairpin and drew a long line to cut off the
pursuit. This turned into a broad, raging river. Then Amparadang
poured the sand out of the hide into the river, and it formed
a big bank. The weaver seeing herself in danger, took her hairpin
and drew a long, celestial river, which successfully impeded Amparadang,
who had used up all his sand. He took the ring out of his pocket
and flung it at his wife, who flung her weaving shuttle in return.
Suddenly a white-bearded Kinoringan (God) appeared, bearing
with him an order from the ruler of heaven that they should make
peace. From then on, each of them had had to stand on opposite
sides of the Celestial River, meeting only once in the year on
the east bank of the stream on the seventh day of the seventh
month.
The two stars that are now visible beside the "Amparadang"
and the weaver are the ring and the shuttle.