Notes.
That this story was not imported from the Occident is pretty clearly established by the existence in North Borneo of a tale almost identical with it. The Borneo fable, which is told as a “just-so” story, and is entitled “The Kandowei [rice-bird] and the Kerbau [carabao],” may be found in Evans (pp. 423–424). It runs about as follows:—
The bird said to the buffalo, “If I were to drink the water of a stream, I could drink it all.”—“I also,” said the buffalo, “could finish it; for I am very big, while you are very small.”—“Very well,” said the bird, “tomorrow we will drink.” In the morning, when the water was coming down in flood, the bird told the buffalo to drink first. The buffalo drank and drank; but the water only came down the faster, and at length he was forced to stop. So the buffalo said to the bird, “You can take my place and try, for I cannot finish.” Now, the bird waited till the flood had gone down; and when it had done so, he put his beak into the water and pretended to drink. Then he waited till all the water had run away out of the stream, and said to the buffalo, “See, I have finished it!” And since the bird outwitted the buffalo in this manner, the buffalo has become his slave, and the bird rides on his back.
I know of no other Philippine versions, but I dare say that many exist between Luzon and Mindanao.