What Is the Legend of the Pineapple?
The legend of the pineapple involves a spoiled little girl named Pina who did not do what her mother asked and ended up getting cursed by her mother and turned into the fruit with “a dozen eyes.” In memory of her daughter, the mother planted seeds from this fruit. When she had enough of the fruit, she gave them away to everyone.
This story is an example of Philippine folklore. There are two stories around the legend of the pineapple. Both of them involve the little girl Pina and her mother, and they both end the same.
In one story, the mother asks Pina to get shoes from under the hut. When Pina goes to get them, she finds a doll and starts to play with it. When Pina does not come back for a while, the mother yells at her, and Pina says that she cannot find the shoes. This is when the mother yells back that she hopes she grows a dozen eyes to help her find things better.
In the second story, Pina’s mother is sick in bed. When the mother asks Pina to go to the kitchen to cook some rice for her, Pina says that she is unable to find the utensil to cook with. The mother yells back that she hopes her daughter grows a dozen eyes.
