Book: Filipino Popular Tales

D >> Dean S. Fansler >> Filipino Popular Tales




When all was ready, Suguid entered the purlon, taking with him all
the necessary provisions,--food, fine clothes, a poniard, and a
guitar. Every part of the purlon was so well joined, that no opening
whatever could be detected. Before going into the purlon, Suguid
told the merchant to take the goldsmiths home, and not to allow
them to leave the house for three days, lest they should reveal the
secret. Suguid then ordered five men to carry the purlon towards the
king's palace. In the mean time he was playing the sweetest piece of
music that mortal ears had ever heard. When the purlon was near the
palace, the king was so charmed by the melodious music, that he asked
the master of the carriers to halt for a moment. "Pray," he said,
"are you the owner of that thing?"

"No, sir! a certain man in our district owns it," said the carrier.

"Who gave him this divine gift?"

"Your Majesty, this purlon, as it is called, is of a rather mysterious
origin. The owner of this (pointing to the purlon) was a religious
man. He was formerly very wealthy; but because he gave much alms to
the poor and the needy, his riches soon came to an end. He is now
so poor, that his silken clothes have all been exchanged for ragged
cotton ones. Early one morning, when he was about to go to the church,
he was surprised to find this purlon at his door, giving out music
as you hear it now."

The king turned to the queen, who was sitting beside him, and said,
"Oh, how happy our daughter would be if she should hear this enchanting
piece of music!--Sir, if you will lend me this purlon, you may ask
of me as a compensation any favor that you may want."

"Your Majesty, I will lend it to you with all my heart, but on
condition that it be returned within two days, lest the owner scold
me for having given it up."

"Yes," answered the king, "I will give it back as soon as my daughter
has seen it." The king and queen then immediately ordered that the
purlon be carried before the princess. The princess's joy need not
be described if we only think how happy we should be if we were in
the same situation as she. She was so bewitched by the music, that
she told her father never to take it away from her.

"O daughter!" said the king, "we have just borrowed this purlon,
and we promised to return it as soon as you had seen it. However,
you may have it the whole night."

The king and the queen, convinced that their daughter was quite happy,
soon bade her good-by. Before leaving, the king said, "You must not
spend the whole night in listening to the sweet music."

"Have no fear, father! I will go to sleep early."

Suguid, who was inside the purlon, listened very carefully to the
retreating footsteps of the king and queen. As soon as he thought
they were too far away to hear their daughter in case she should cry
out, he came out from the purlon, poniard in hand. The princess,
of course, was very much frightened when she saw Suguid kneeling
before her, and saying, "Fair princess, let not my presence cause any
fear! In coming here, I had no other purpose than to reveal to you
a secret that I have long cherished in my heart. It is universally
acknowledged that you are the most beautiful, the most virtuous,
the most accomplished living mortal on earth, and as such you have
awakened in me an intense love. So, taking no heed of the danger
that I might encounter on the way, I ventured to search for you,
Lily of the Valley and Rose of the Town--to love you, to adore you as
a living saint. Your ring, my adored princess, will give me life or
death,--life, because I shall be spared from being beheaded; death,
for I have promised your father to present your ring to him within
three days as a token of your acceptance of my suit. Therefore, Queen
of Beauty, choose, your ring, or my death. I have my poniard ready,
and I prefer a hundred times to die--nay, die smiling--at your hands."

The princess was so moved by this passionate speech, that she was mute
for some time. After a difficult struggle within herself, she said,
"Seeing your intense love and devotion for me, I cannot but consent
to your proposal. Were not the matter pressing, however, I should not
give my consent in so short a time. Here is the ring, if pleasure it
will give you."

Suguid took the ring courteously, and said, "How can I paint in
words my pleasure and gratitude! As it were, you have snatched me
from the cold hands of Death. You have saved me from the fury of your
father. You have given me a heaven of joy. Oh, how shall I describe
it! I thank you very much. But now I must leave you and go into the
purlon,--the blessed purlon,--as it is almost morning. Your father
will soon come and take this purlon away. But I must let you know
this one fact: as soon as I have presented this ring to the king,
you will be taken away from here. You will be made my beloved wife."

"Yes, I have no objection to that," said the princess. Suguid, being
thus assured of his success, entered the purlon again.

Morning came, and the king and queen went to the princess's palace at
ten o'clock. They talked a while with their daughter, who assured them
of her great satisfaction with the purlon. Then they bade her good-by,
as there was important business to be transacted that day. They took
the purlon with them, and returned it to the agent.

On the appointed day Suguid appeared at the king's palace, carrying
with him the emblem of his victory,--the ring. On seeing Suguid
approaching so cheerfully, the king knew that he was lost. He therefore
swooned, but on recovering he realized that he had to abide by his
promise. He reluctantly caused the princess to be summoned from her
palace, and she and Suguid were married together; and it was not long
before the king and queen began to appreciate the talent of their
humble and lowly son-in-law. By Suguid's wise policy the kingdom
prospered, and for the first time learned what peace really meant.


Notes.

I have a variant of this story, "Juan the Poor," told more briefly,
narrated by Andrea Mariano, a Tagalog, who heard it from her little
brother. It runs thus in outline:--

Juan is the son of a beggar. The beggar dies, and the son sells himself
to a merchant for money to bury his father properly. After Juan has
been educated, he posts this sign in front of the merchant's house:
"I can trace everything that is lost.--Juan." The king sees the sign,
and requires the boy to discover his hidden daughter. Method: Golden
carriage with Juan playing music inside; old man hired to push it. The
king borrows the carriage and takes it to his daughter. When alone
with the princess, Juan declares his love, and she gives him her
ring. Next day the carriage is returned to the old man. Juan takes
the ring to the king, and is given the princess's hand in marriage
because he is so wise.

For another Tagalog variant see "The King, the Princess, and the
Poor Boy" (JAFL 20 : 307). This is almost identical with the variant
above, except that the hero is advised by two statues how to discover
where the princess is. Furthermore, the hero is discovered with
the princess after he has gained access to her by means of the gilt
carriage and music-box.

The fullest form of the story, however, is the Tagalog metrical romance
popularly known under the title "Juan Bachiller." The full title runs
as follows: "The Sad Life of a Father and of his Son named Juan, in
the Kingdom of Spain. The son sold himself to a merchant on condition
that he would bury the corpse of his father." My copy bears the date
1907, but this is merely a reprint of an older edition. Retana cites
an edition dated 1902 (No. 4337) and one before 1898 (No. 4156). The
poem is in 12-syllable lines, and contains 350 quatrains. It is still
very popular among the Tagalogs, but does not appear to have been
printed in any of the other Philippine languages. Inasmuch as there
is a close connection between our variants and the verse form of the
story, I give a prose paraphrase of the latter:--

There was once a poor beggar, Serbando, who had an only son named
Juan. They lived in the kingdom of Spain. They had a little hut outside
the city in which Serbando used to go to beg their living. One morning,
when Juan returned home from school and was playing around their
little hovel, he heard many kinds of birds speaking to him thus:
"Juan, be patient and toil in poverty. The time will come when God
will reward you." Then a large bird flew to him, and said, "Juan,
leave your little miserable hut; go and seek your fortune." When
his father returned home, Juan told him all about the advice of the
birds. Serbando did not believe that birds could talk, and doubted,
of course, the truth of what his son said.

Now, it happened that Serbando became sick, and after a short time
died, leaving his son alone in the world. Poor Juan wept bitterly over
the dead body. He did not know what to do. He covered the corpse of
his father, and then went crying out through the streets of the city,
"Who wants to buy a slave?" A merchant heard him. "I will serve you as
long as I live if you will only see to the burial of my dead father,"
said Juan to the merchant. Without hesitation the merchant assented,
and together they went to the little hut. The merchant ordered and paid
for a funeral; there was a procession, a mass, and after the burial a
banquet. Then the merchant took the boy to live with him in the city
where the king and queen lived. Moreover, this kind merchant sent Juan
to school, and treated him as a son. In time Juan took his bachelor's
degree, and was greatly admired and respected by his teachers.

One afternoon Juan put a notice on the door of the merchant's
house, which read thus: "If we use money, there is nothing we cannot
discover." It happened that on that same afternoon the king and queen
were driving through the streets of the city. The king chanced to
fix his eyes on the sign which Juan had put up. He did not believe
that the notice was true; and so, when he arrived at the palace,
he ordered the merchant to appear before him. The merchant was very
much frightened at the summons, so Juan himself went and presented
himself before the king.

"Is the notice on your door true?" asked the king.

"It is true, your Majesty," said Juan.

"Then go and find my daughter. If you can find her, she shall be
your wife; if not, you shall lose your head three days from now,"
said the king, who hid his daughter in a secret room in the palace.

Juan went home and called all the best goldsmiths in the kingdom. He
told them to make a little wagon of pure gold, with a secret cell
inside in which a man could sit with a musical instrument and play
it. The goldsmiths finished the wagon in two days and were paid
off. Then Juan called a man and told him to drag this little wagon
along the street toward the palace, and then to the plaza. After
entering the secret cell with his musical instrument, he told the
driver to do as he had been directed. The man began to drag the wagon
along the street toward the palace. Men, women, and children crowded
both sides of the street to see this wagon of pure gold, which gave
out such sweet music. When the wagon passed in front of the palace,
the queen was amazed at it. She asked the king to summon the driver
before him. So the king called the driver, and asked him to bring
the golden wagon into the hall where the queen was.

"How much will you sell this for?" asked the queen.

"I will not sell it," answered the driver.

"Can you not lend it to me until this afternoon?" said the king;
and at last the driver agreed to lend the wagon for a few hours.

The queen then dragged the wagon along the hall, and took it to her
daughter in the secret room. The princess was delighted. As she pushed
it forwards and backwards, sweet music charmed her ears. At last
Juan came out of the secret cell in the wagon and knelt before the
princess. He told her why he had been led to play this trick, and last
of all he told her that he would have lost his life on the morrow if he
had not been able to find her. He also began to express his love for
her. At first she hesitated to accept his protestations of affection;
but at last she accepted him, and gave him one of her rings as a sign
that she would marry him. Fearing that he might be caught in the room
by some one else, Juan now entered the secret cell of the wagon again.

At last the king came, and started to drag the wagon out of the palace
to the place where the driver was waiting. Juan suddenly opened the
door of the secret cell and stood before the king. "O king!" he said,
"now I have accomplished your command. I have found and seen your
daughter in the secret room, and she has given me this ring."

The king was amazed, and said to himself that, had he known that
the wagon contained any one inside, he would not have allowed it to
be brought to his hidden daughter. He said to Juan, "You have told
the truth, that anything can be discovered if money is used; but you
shall not marry my daughter."

"Remember your promise," said Juan.

"Wait, and I will ask the princess," said the king. "She might refuse."

"Whether she refuses or not, she is to be my wife, for I have seen
her and found her," replied Juan.

"Then you shall have her," said the king.

So Juan was married to the princess, and there was great rejoicing
in the kingdom. The king, however, was very sorry that his daughter
had married Juan, who had now the right to inherit the throne from
him. He could not endure the idea, so he pondered night and day how
to kill Juan under some pretext or other. Juan learned of the king's
plot, and decided to leave the city for a while. He asked his wife
for permission to go and visit the little hut in which he was born,
and at last she consented.

One day Juan left the palace and went to the country. While he was
walking in the woods near his old home, two birds flew to him. "Juan,
take this ring with you: it has magic power, and will furnish you
whatever you ask of it," said the male bird.

"Here, take this pen-point, and use it whenever the king asks you to
write for him," said the female bird. "Remember, Juan, you do not
need to have any ink; you can use your saliva," it continued. "Now
go back to the kingdom, and do not be afraid of the king's plots,"
said the two birds together. So Juan went back to the palace, and
lived there with his wife.

One day the king called Juan, and ordered him to write something. The
king thought that if Juan should make any mistakes in the writing,
he would order him to be executed. Juan used the pen-point which the
second bird had given him. The king furnished him only paper, but no
ink, so Juan used his saliva. "Write this, Juan," said the king:
"'It is not right that you should be heir to my crown, and successor
to the throne.'"

Juan wrote the words just as the king had given them, and they appeared
on the paper in letters of pure gold. The king was very much surprised
by this demonstration of Juan's ability.

Then the king continued, "Write this: 'You ought not to inherit the
crown, you who were born in a little village, and whose ancestors are
unknown.'" Juan wrote this dictation, and, as before, the letters
were of pure gold. Again the king said, "Write now what I shall say:
'You cannot cheat a king like me; you saw my daughter the princess
because you were hiding in the wagon of gold.'"

Juan wrote these words, and they were in pure gold too. The king was
now sad, for he could think of no other way in which to detect a fault
in Juan. So he dismissed his son-in-law, and showed the queen the
golden letters that Juan had written. Juan returned to his apartments.

When night came, Juan decided to ask his magic ring for a tower which
should stand beside the palace of the king. During the night the
tower was erected; it was garrisoned with field-marshals, colonels,
and soldiers. Early in the morning the king was surprised to see this
tall tower standing beside his palace. He said to himself, "I rule
the kingdom, and the kingdom is mine; this tower is in my kingdom,
therefore the tower is mine." So the king went out of the palace and
entered the tower. No one saluted him. Then he called Juan, and asked
him about the tower. Juan answered that its presence there was due to
the will and power of God. When Juan and the king together entered
the tower, all the soldiers lined up and saluted Juan, and music
was heard everywhere. Everything inside was made of solid silver and
gold. The king was astounded at the magic power of his son-in-law,
whom he was trying to kill.

"Juan," said the king, "wipe away this tower and erect at this moment
a palace in its place. If you can do this, you shall be the king of
the whole of Spain." By the magic power of the ring, Juan was able
to fulfil the command, and the tower was changed into a beautiful
palace. The council of the kingdom, at the order of the king, agreed
to crown Juan and his wife king and queen. There was great rejoicing
throughout the realm. The old king and his wife abandoned the palace,
and went to live in an abbey, where they died.

Juan now called the merchant, his former master, to the palace. The
merchant was afraid, for he feared that the king wished to do him
mischief; he did not know that Juan was now king. But Juan received
him affectionately, and from that time on the merchant, Juan, and
the beautiful princess lived together happily in the palace.


It will be noticed that the Tagalog poem differs from the three
oral versions, in that after Juan has won the first wager from
the king, his skill is subjected to further tests, which he comes
out of successfully through the aid of magic objects given him by
birds. In other words, the poem carries on the folk-tale by adding
some additional episodes. The fact that the folk-tales, both Pampango
and Tagalog, preserve the simple structure, while only the printed
Tagalog verse-form seeks to elaborate and extend the tale, suggests
that the simpler form is the older, and that the anonymous author of
the romance added to the oral material for mere purposes of length. As
it is, the poem is very short compared with the other popular metrical
stories, which average well over 2000 lines. The localization of the
events in Spain signifies nothing.

The story is known also in southern Europe: e.g., in Greece (Von Hahn,
No. 13), in Sicily (Gonzenbach, No. 68; Pitrè, Nos. 95, 96). In the
Greek version, after the hero has decided to risk his neck for the
hand of the hidden princess, he goes to a shepherd and has himself
covered with the hide of a lamb with golden fleece. In this disguise
he is taken to the princess. In the night he throws off his fleece
covering and makes love to the princess, who finally accepts him,
and tells him how he may be able to recognize her among her maidens,
all of whom, herself included, her father will change into ducks,
and then will require the youth to pick out the duck which is the
princess. He succeeds, and wins her hand in marriage. In Gonzenbach,
No. 68, the hero is one of three brothers who set out to seek
their fortunes. They each come in succession to the beautiful city
where the king has issued the proclamation that whoever can find his
hidden daughter within eight days shall receive her hand in marriage;
whoever tries and fails, loses his head. The first two brothers fail
and are killed. The youngest, arriving in the city and reading the
proclamation, determines to take the risk. He is advised by an old
beggar-woman how to find the princess. He has goldsmiths make a
golden lion with crystal eyes. The animal is so contrived that it
plays continually beautiful music. The hero hides inside, and the
old woman takes the lion to the king, to whom she lends it. Then
follow the discovery of the princess, her acceptance of the hero's
love, the token given to the hero, etc. The hero is obliged to pick
the princess out from among her eleven maids who look exactly like
her. In Pitrè, No. 95, we find practically the same incidents recorded:
two older sons of a merchant go off to seek their fortunes, and lose
their heads because they cannot discover the princess "within a year,
a month, and a day." The youngest comes in turn to the same country,
wagers his head, and searches a year and fifteen days in vain. On the
advice of an old woman, he has built a golden àcula (just what this
word means I have been unable to determine) large enough to contain
a person playing a musical instrument. Four men carry the àcula to
the palace; discovery of the princess follows. Second test: to pick
the princess out from twenty-four maidens dressed exactly alike.

In none of these three stories (nor in Pitrè, No. 96, which is a
shorter variant of No. 95) does the opening resemble our forms of the
tale. Nor in any of the three, either, does the hero bring the wager
on himself because of the announcement he makes that he who has gold
can discover anything. With this detail, however, compare the couplet
which the hero displays in Pitrè, No. 96:--


"Cu' havi dinari fa chiddu chi voli,
Cu' havi bon cavallu va unni voli."


The line "He who has gold can do whatever he wishes" is almost
identical with the corresponding line in the Tagalog verse story.

It is to be noted that the bride-wager incident in this group of
stories resembles closely the same episode in our No. 19. The opening
of our No. 21 has been influenced by the setting of the stories of
the Carancal group (No. 3).


TALE 22


The Reward of Kindness.

Narrated by Elisa Cordero, a Tagalog from Pagsanjan, La Laguna,
who heard the story from a Tagalog friend.

In a certain town there once lived a couple who had never had a
child. They had been married for nearly five years, and were very
anxious for a son. The name of the wife was Clara; and of the man,
Philip.

One cloudy night in December, while they were talking by the window
of their house, Clara said to her husband that she was going to pray
the novena, [70] so that Heaven would give them a child. "I would
even let my son serve the Devil, if he would but give us a son!" As
her husband was willing that she should pray the novena, Clara began
the next day her fervent devotions to the Virgin Mary. She went to
church every afternoon for nine days. She carried a small prayer-book
with her, and prayed until six o'clock every evening. At last she
finished her novenario; [71] but no child was born to them, and the
couple was disappointed.

A month had passed, when, to their great happiness, Clara gave birth to
a son. The child they nicknamed Idó. Idó was greatly cherished by his
parents, for he was their only child; but he did not care much to stay
at home. He early began to show a fondness for travelling abroad, and
was always to be found in the dense woods on the outskirts of the town.

One afternoon, when the family was gathered together around a small
table, talking, a knock was heard at the door. "Come in!" said Philip.

"No, I just want to talk with your wife," answered a hoarse voice
from without.

Clara, trembling, opened the door, and, to her great surprise,
she saw standing there a man who looked like a bear. "A devil, a
devil!" she exclaimed, but the Devil pacified her, and said, "Clara,
I have come here to get your son you promised me a long time ago. Now
that the day has come when your son can be of some service to me,
will you deny your promise?"

Clara could make no reply at first. She merely called her son; and
when he came, she said to the Devil, "Here is my son. Take him, since
he is yours." Idó, who was at this time about seventeen years old,
was not frightened by the Devil.

"Come," said the Devil, "and be my follower!" At first Idó refused;
but he finally consented to go, because of his mother's promise.

The Devil now took Idó to his cave, far away outside the town. He
tried in many ways to tempt Idó, but was unable to do so, because
Idó was a youth of strong character. Finally the Devil decided to
exchange clothes with him. Idó was obliged to put on the bear-like
clothes of the Devil and to give him his own soldier-suit. Then the
Devil produced a large bag full of money, and said to Idó, "Take this
money and go travelling about the world for seven years. If you live
to the end of that time, and spend this money only in doing good,
I will set you free. If, however, you spend the money extravagantly,
you will have to go to hell with me." When he had said these words,
he disappeared.

Idó now began his wanderings from town to town. Whenever people saw
him, they were afraid of him, and would refuse to give him shelter;
but Idó would give them money from his bag, and then they would gather
about him and be kind to him.

After many years he happened to come to a town where he saw an old
woman summoned before a court of justice. She was accused of owing
a sum of money, but was unable to pay her debt and the fine imposed
on her. When Idó paid her fine for her and thus released her from
prison, the woman could hardly express her gratitude. As most of the
other people about were afraid of Idó and he had no place to sleep,
this woman decided to take him home with her.

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