Filipino Popular Tales Part 15

I have a Bicol variant, "Juan and his Six Friends," narrated by Maximina Navarro, which is much like the story of "The Seven Crazy Fellows."

In the Bicol form, Juan and his six crazy companions go bathing in the river. Episode of the miscounting. On the way home, the seven, sad because of the loss of one of their number, meet another sad young man, who says that his mother is dying and that he is on his way to fetch a priest. He begs the seven to hurry to his home and stay with his mother until he returns. They go and sit by her. Juan mistakes a large mole on her forehead for a fly, and tries in vain to brush it away. Finally he "kills it" with a big piece of bamboo. The son, returning and finding his mother dead, asks the seven to take her and bury her. They wrap the body in a mat, but on the way to the cemetery the body falls out. They return to look for the corpse, but take the wrong road. They see an old woman cutting ferns; and, thinking that she is the first old woman trying to deceive them, they throw stones at her. The story ends with the burial of this second old woman, whom the seven admonish, as they put her into the ground, "never to deceive any one again."

These two noodle stories are obviously drawn from a common source. The main incidents to be found in them are (1) the miscounting of the swimmers and the subsequent correct reckoning by a stranger (this second part lacking in the Bicol variant); (2) the killing of the fly on the old woman's face; (3) the loss of the corpse and the burial of the old f.a.got-gathering woman by mistake.

(1) The incident of not counting one's self is found in a number of Eastern stories (see Clouston 1, 28-33; Grimm, 2 : 441). For a Kashmir droll recording a similar situation, where a townsman finds ten peasants weeping because they cannot account for the loss of one of their companions, see Knowles, 322-323.

(2) Killing of fly on face is a very old incident, and a.s.sumes various forms. In a Buddhist birth-story (Jataka, 44), a mosquito lights on a man's head. The foolish son attempts to kill it with an axe. In another (Jataka, 45) the son uses a pestle. Italian stories containing this episode will be found in Crane, 293-294 (see also Crane, 380, notes 13-15). In a Bicol fable relating a war between the monkeys and the dragon-flies, the dragon-flies easily defeat the monkeys, who kill one another in their attempts to slay their enemies, that have, at the order of their king, alighted on the monkeys' heads (see No. 57). Full bibliography for this incident may be found in Bolte-Polivka, 1 : 519.

(3) The killing of a living person thought to be a corpse come to life occurs in "The Three Humpbacks" (see No. 33 and notes).

Our story as a whole seems to owe nothing to European forms, though it has some faint general resemblances to the "Seven Swabians" (Grimm, No. 119). All three incidents of our story are found separately in India. Their combination may have taken place in the Islands, or even before the Malay migration.

TALE 10

JUAN Ma.n.a.lAKSAN.

Narrated by Anicio Pascual of Arayat, Pampanga, who heard the story from an old Pampangan woman.

Once upon a time there lived in a certain village a brave and powerful datu who had only one son. The son was called Pedro. In the same place lived a poor wood-cutter whose name was Juan Ma.n.a.laksan. Pedro was rich, and had no work to do. He often diverted himself by hunting deer and wild boars in the forests and mountains. Juan got his living by cutting trees in the forests.

One day the datu and his son went to the mountain to hunt. They took with them many dogs and guns. They did not take any food, however, for they felt sure of catching something to eat for their dinner. When they reached the mountain, Pedro killed a deer. By noon they had become tired and hungry, so they went to a shady place to cook their game. While he was eating, Pedro choked on a piece of meat. The father cried out loudly, for he did not know what to do for his dying son. Juan, who was cutting wood near by, heard the shout. He ran quickly to help Pedro, and by pulling the piece of meat out of his throat he saved Pedro's life. Pedro was grateful, and said to Juan, "To-morrow come to my palace, and I will give you a reward for helping me."

The next morning Juan set out for the palace. On his way he met an old woman, who asked him where he was going.

"I am going to Pedro's house to get my reward," said Juan. "Do not accept any reward of money or wealth," said the old woman, "but ask Pedro to give you the gla.s.s which he keeps in his right armpit. The gla.s.s is magical. It is as large as a peso, and has a small hole in the centre. If you push a small stick through the hole, giants who can give you anything you want will surround you." Then the old woman left Juan, and went on her way.

As soon as Juan reached the palace, Pedro said to him, "Go to that room and get all the money you want."

But Juan answered, "I do not want you to give me any money. All I want is the gla.s.s which you keep in your right armpit."

"Very well," said Pedro, "here it is." When Juan had received the gla.s.s, he hurried back home.

Juan reached his hut in the woods, and found his mother starving. He quickly thought of his magic gla.s.s, and, punching a small stick through the hole in the gla.s.s, he found himself surrounded by giants.

"Be quick, and get me some food for my mother!" he said to them. For a few minutes the giants were gone, but soon they came again with their hands full of food. Juan took it and gave it to his mother; but she ate so much, that she became sick, and died.

In a neighboring village ruled another powerful datu, who had a beautiful daughter. One day the datu fell very ill. As no doctor could cure him, he sent his soldiers around the country to say that the man who could cure him should have his daughter for a wife. Juan heard the news, and, relying on his charm, went to cure the datu. On his way, he asked the giants for medicine to cure the sick ruler. When he reached the palace, the datu said to him, "If I am not cured, you shall be killed." Juan agreed to the conditions, and told the datu to swallow the medicine which he gave him. The datu did so, and at once became well again.

The next morning Juan was married to the datu's daughter. Juan took his wife to live with him in his small hut in the woods.

One day he went to the forest to cut trees, leaving his wife and magic gla.s.s at home. While Juan was away in the forest, Pedro ordered some of his soldiers to go get the wood-cutter's wife and magic gla.s.s. When Juan returned in the evening, he found wife and gla.s.s gone. One of his neighbors told him that his wife had been taken away by some soldiers. Juan was very angry, but he could not avenge himself without his magical gla.s.s.

At last he decided to go to his father-in-law and tell him all that had happened to his wife. On his way there, he met an old mankukulam, [34] who asked him where he was going. Juan did not tell her, but related to her all that had happened to his wife and gla.s.s while he was in the forest cutting trees. The mankukulam said that she could help him. She told him to go to a certain tree and catch the king of the cats. She furthermore advised him, "Always keep the cat with you." Juan followed her advice.

One day Pedro's father commanded his soldiers to cut off the ears of all the men in the village, and said that if any one refused to have his ears cut off, he should be placed in a room full of rats. The soldiers did as they were ordered, and in time came to Juan's house; but, as Juan was unwilling to lose his ears, he was seized and placed in a room full of rats. But he had his cat with him all the time. As soon as he was shut up in the room, he turned his cat loose. When the rats saw that they would all be killed, they said to Juan, "If you will tie your cat up there in the corner, we will help you get whatever you want."

Juan tied his cat up, and then said to the rats, "Bring me all the gla.s.ses in this village." The rats immediately scampered away to obey him. Soon each of them returned with a gla.s.s in its mouth. One of them was carrying the magical gla.s.s. When Juan had his charm in his hands again, he pushed a small stick through the hole in the gla.s.s, and ordered the giants to kill Pedro and his father, and bring him his wife again.

Thus Juan got his wife back. They lived happily together till they died.

Juan the Poor, Who became Juan the King.

Narrated by Amando Clemente, a Tagalog, who heard the story from his aunt.

Once upon a time there lived in a small hut at the edge of a forest a father and son. The poverty of that family gave the son his name,--Juan the Poor. As the father was old and feeble, Juan had to take care of the household affairs; but there were times when he did not want to work.

One day, while Juan was lying behind their fireplace, his father called him, and told him to go to the forest and get some fire-wood.

"Very well," said Juan, but he did not move from his place.

After a while the father came to see if his son had gone, but he found him still lying on the floor. "When will you go get that fire-wood, Juan?"

"Right now, father," answered the boy. The old man returned to his room. As he wanted to make sure, however, whether his son had gone or not, he again went to see. When he found Juan in the same position as before, he became very angry, and said,--

"Juan, if I come out again and find you still here, I shall surely give you a whipping." Juan knew well that his father would punish him if he did not go; so he rose up suddenly, took his axe, and went to the forest.

When he came to the forest, he marked every tree that he thought would be good for fuel, and then he began cutting. While he was chopping at one of the trees, he saw that it had a hole in the trunk, and in the hole he saw something glistening. Thinking that there might be gold inside the hole, he hastened to cut the tree down; but a monster came out of the hole as soon as the tree fell.

When Juan saw the unexpected being, he raised his axe to kill the monster. Before giving the blow, he exclaimed, "Aha! Now is the time for you to die."

The monster moved backward when it saw the blow ready to fall, and said,--

"Good sir, forbear, And my life spare, If you wish a happy life And, besides, a pretty wife."

Juan lowered his axe, and said, "Oho! is that so?"

"Yes, I swear," answered the monster.

"But what is it, and where is it?" said Juan, raising his axe, and feigning to be angry, for he was anxious to get what the monster promised him. The monster told Juan to take from the middle of his tongue a white oval stone. From it he could ask for and get whatever he wanted to have. Juan opened the monster's mouth and took the valuable stone. Immediately the monster disappeared.

The young man then tested the virtues of his charm by asking it for some men to help him work. As soon as he had spoken the last word of his command, there appeared many persons, some of whom cut down trees, while others carried the wood to his house. When Juan was sure that his house was surrounded by piles of fire-wood, he dismissed the men, hurried home, and lay down again behind the fireplace. He had not been there long, when his father came to see if he had done his work. When the old man saw his son stretched out on the floor, he said, "Juan have we fire-wood now?"

"Just look out of the window and see, father!" said Juan. Great was the surprise of the old man when he saw the large piles of wood about his house.

The next day Juan, remembering the pretty wife of which the monster had spoken, went to the king's palace, and told the king that he wanted to marry his daughter. The king smiled scornfully when he saw the rustic appearance of the suitor, and said, "If you will do what I shall ask you to do, I will let you marry my daughter."

"What are your Majesty's commands for me?" said Juan. "Build me a castle in the middle of the bay; but know, that, if it is not finished in three days' time, you lose your head," said the king sternly. Juan promised to do the work.