The first monster was called Kurita. It had many legs and lived half in the sea and half on land. The second monster was called Tarabusaw and looked like an ugly giant. It ate all the people it caught. The third monster was a bird called Paa. This creature was so large that when it was flying, the sun was eclipsed and the land grew dark. Its eggs were as large as people’s houses. The fourth monster was also a giant bird, with seven heads and many eyes.

Entire villages were devoured by the four monsters. Soon the only people left alive were those hiding in caves among the rocks. Many starved to death, afraid to venture out into the day. But a meager few escaped overseas. These refugees told such tales of the four terrible monsters that even the great king Indarapatara in Sunset-land heard of it. The king sent his son Selima to the islands of Mindanao, saying: “I want you to go and liberate those people from the monsters that devour them. Here is a sword and a ring. I will plant a sapling that will tell me whether you are prospering or dying; if it wilts, I will know you are in danger.”

Selima immediately flew to the Four Mountains. He landed first on Mount Rattan where Kurita, the first monster, lived. Selima saw no living beings, only empty villages. But while he was looking around, the monster stalked him from behind and seized him in its big claws. Unafraid, Selima drew his sword and slew the horrible beast with one blow.

From there Selima flew to Mount Matutun. As soon as he alighted on the earth he saw even more terrible devastation. Suddenly, he heard a movement in the forests and then Tarabusaw, with a thunderous roaring, leaped at him. After a long battle in which the monster uprooted whole trees, the courageous Selima slew the creature with his father’s sword. In victory, he cut off the monster’s head.

Selima then flew off and landed on Mount Bita. All the villages were in ruins, and all the people were dead. While Selima was looking about him, the sky was darkened by the shadow cast by the giant bird Paa.