The Carabao and the Shell
A Tinguian Folktale
And another shell lying by the river answered, “Here I am!”
Then the carabao, thinking that it was the same shell with which he was racing, ran on.
By and by he stopped again and called, “Shell!”
And another shell answered, “Here I am!”
The carabao was surprised that the shell could keep up with him. But he ran on and on, and every time he stopped to call, another shell answered him. But he was determined that the shell should not beat him, so he ran until he dropped dead.
Source: Mabel Cook Cole, Philippine Folk Tales (Chicago: A. C. McClurg, 1916)