05 November 2012

Do Crabs Bite?

When Sophia started to learn to sing nursery rhymes & children's songs, it never occurred to me to teach her  the usual pinoy ones. Kasi nga pa-soshal ako. Gusto ko tunog nag-aaral siya sa international school. Kaya mga "Littah Petah Rwabbit" ang bet kong i-demo sa kanya. Pak! But now that she's a preschooler, araw-araw iba-iba! Medley pa! I was a momma-in-kilig when I first heard her sing Bahay Kubo. Her version sounded like that of a foreign kid attempting on her Tagalog --- "labanos, mustasas". Plural ang mustasa niya. 


One day she came home after school (tulad kanina), and she was humming this famous Tagalog nursery rhyme:

Tong tong tong tong pakitongkitong
Alimango sa dagat
Malaki at masarap
Mahirap hulihin
Sapagkat nangangagat
(repeat until insanity gives up on you)


I know this song; I used to sing this, too. But I suddenly realized something was wrong when LB asked me what "nangangagat" means. I said it's bite. Yun naman talaga translation niya di ba? Then Rhambo asked, "may ipin ba ang crab, wala naman di ba?" Good thing LB didn't mind us as we continue to converse about the song. I even thought too much of the English term of naninipit, which the crab really does & not biting. Hay naku, ka-stress pa naman mag-explain sa inquisitive preschooler. I deserve an apology from this song's writer. Chos.

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