Why Pineapples Have Many Eyes

A long time ago, there was a woman who lived with her daughter, Piña, in a small village. The mother worked hard, day and night, to make ends meet. But no matter how hard she worked, Piña never helped.

Piña was lazy and loved to play with her friends in the backyard. Whenever her mother asked for help, she could never seem to find the object she needed to help out. If her mother needed help sweeping the house, she would say she could not find the broom. Eventually, her mother would just do all the work herself.

 

One day, her mother because very sick. She called out to Piña to ask her to make her some porridge.

 

"Piña! Come here, anak! Can you cook me some porridge? I am too weak now."

 

Piña ignored her mother and kept playing in the yard.

 

"Piña! Halika na!" Her voice was hoarse calling out for her.

 

Finally, Piña came inside, pouting. "What do you want? I can't make porridge, it's too hard!"

 

Her mother sighed, "Piña, just put rice in the pot and add water. When it's boiling, stir it so it can thicken. It's not hard, anak. Just go to the kitchen, you'll see everything you need."

 

Piña went to the kitchen, banging and clanging through the drawers and cabinets. "I can't find the ladle to stir the porridge!"

 

Her mother lost her temper, "You lazy girl! What am I gonna do with you? I wish you had one thousand eyes so you can find what you're looking for!"

 

Silence followed. Her mother thought she had sneaked back outside to play. After a while, she got up to cook herself. When she looked out of the window, she did not see Piña at all. She shook her head and continued cooking. She thought Piña had run off to a friend's house to continue avoiding housework.

Once she finished, she wearily went to bed, too tired to worry for her daughter. Hours went by, and when she awoke, Piña was still not home. Days went by, and as she recovered, she started asking the villagers if they had seen Piña.  Eventually, months passed, and she thought she would never see Piña again.

One day, when she was weeding the yard, she saw a strange plant growing where Piña liked to play. She inspected the plant, looking at the leaves and finally the fruit. This yellow fruit resembled a child's head and had many eyes.

 

Suddenly, she remembered her last words to her daughter. She realized that in her anger, she had cursed Piña, turning her into this plant.

 

To honor her, she named the fruit Piña, taking care of it as it bloomed and bore more fruits. The fruit became very popular in the village and around the country.

And that's why pineapples have so many eyes.