Filipino Popular Tales

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Once there lived a young prince who, after his father's death,
succeeded to the throne as the sole heir of a vast, rich kingdom. He
indulged himself in all worldly pleasures. He gave dances, and
all sorts of merry-making surrounded his court to attract the most
beautiful ladies of the kingdom. Meanwhile the royal treasury was
being drained, and his subjects were becoming disloyal to him; for,
his time being chiefly absorbed in personal cares, he often neglected
his duties as king. Disappointed by his conduct, his counsellors
plotted against him: they resolved to dismiss him from the realm. The
prince's mother, the widowed queen, learned of their plot. So, when
he returned to the palace from his evening walk one day, she said
to him, "My son, I wish you would turn from your foolish trifling,
and govern your people as you ought to do; for your advisers are
planning to dethrone you." The prince, who was not bad at heart,
followed his mother's sensible advice: he now began to devote himself
to the welfare of his subjects. His ministers, too, gave up their plan,
and aided the young king in his royal tasks.

One noon, when the prince was taking his siesta, he had a dream. A
ghost appeared to him, and spoke in this manner: "Your father left
a hidden treasure of gold and diamonds, which he forgot to mention
in his will. Should you care to have that treasure, go to the city
of Black. There you will find a Negro, the richest in that city,
who will tell you all about the treasure." On hearing these words,
the prince woke up, and hurriedly acquainted his mother with his
dream. "Undeceive yourself," she said. "Never believe in dreams. I
don't believe in them myself." In spite of his mother's words, he
decided to look for the Negro.

The next day, disguising himself as a poor traveller, the prince set
out for the city of Black. He arrived there at ten o'clock at night,
and the gate of the city was closed; for there was a law there, that,
after the bell had rung ten, no person could enter the city. So he had
to sleep outside the walls. Then the very same ghost that had spoken
to him in his palace appeared to him, and said, "Go back to your
palace, prince, and there in the cellar you will find the treasure
I spoke of." The moment he heard the voice, the prince got up and
returned to his own city. When his mother saw him, she said to him,
"Did you find what you were looking for?"--"Mother, the very same
ghost told me that the treasure is buried in the cellar of the palace."

"I have told you that dreams are never true," she said. "The ghost must
be joking you. You see, you have gone to a faraway land in vain. Banish
all thoughts of that treasure, and continue ruling your kingdom well,
and you will be very much better off."

At first the prince followed his mother's counsel, and tried to rid his
mind of the thought of the treasure; but the ghost haunted him in his
sleep, day and night, reminding him of the gold and diamonds. Early one
morning, without the knowledge of his mother, he took a pointed iron
bar and went down into the cellar of the palace. There he dug where
the treasure was supposed to be. He dug and dug to find the coveted
gold and diamonds. He remained there several hours, and had excavated
a hole some three metres deep, but had found no sign of the hidden
wealth. Just as he was about to give up, his bar struck something hard
which produced a metallic sound. He went on digging until finally he
uncovered an iron platform in the form of a square. It was locked with
a padlock, and the key was in the lock. He lifted the platform, and
to his great surprise and wonder found a low ladder made of diamond
bars, leading down into a small apartment all shining bright as if
it were day. Here he found two columns of diamond bars, each a foot
in thickness and a metre in height, whose brightness shot through all
the corners like sunbeams. This subterranean chamber immediately led
to another in which there was a big safe about five feet in height
and three feet wide. He opened the safe, and from out of it flowed
gold coins like water in torrents from a cliff. His eyes were dazzled
by their brightness; and he was so startled at the inexhaustible flow
of money, that he said to himself, "Are these gold coins and diamonds
real, or am I simply dreaming?" To assure himself, he filled his cap
with the gold coins and went up into the sunlight. He rubbed his eyes
and examined the coins: they were of pure gold. Greatly delighted
by his discovery, he hastened to his mother, and said, "I have found
the treasure, I have found the treasure!" When the queen saw the gold
glittering in her son's hand, she was very glad. Now both mother and
son hurried down to the cellar. There the prince continued his search
for the hidden treasure, while his mother contemplated in awe the
columns of diamonds she saw in those underground apartments. Now the
prince came to a third chamber, in which he found two more columns
of diamonds like those in the first room; and finally he came to a
fourth apartment, in which he saw a wide curtain of silk hanging on
the wall. Back of this wall was another apartment, but it was securely
locked. On the curtain were embroidered the following words in big
golden letters: "Inside this chamber is another column of diamonds
twice as large and twice as high as those in the other two; none can
unlock this apartment but the wealthiest Negro in the city of Black."

Anxious to have this last column of diamonds, the prince determined
to find the Negro. Disguising himself again as a poor traveller,
he set out for the city of Black. There he found the Negro, who
received him very kindly. In the course of their talk the prince
spoke of his dream, and told how he found the gold coins and the
diamond columns, and finally gave the reason for his coming there
as a poor traveller. Furthermore, the prince mentioned his father's
name. On hearing the prince's story, the Negro knelt down before him,
saying, "My prince, I was the most beloved servant of your father. I
acknowledge you as my master, and am disposed and ready to do anything
for your sake. As to the chamber you spoke of, I have not the power
to unlock it. There is but one man who can unlock it, who knows very
well your dead father, and who was his friend. He knows me, too,
very well. This man is the king of the demons. And to him we will go
together; but before we go, we should eat our dinner." Then the Negro
ordered all kinds of delicious dishes, and the two feasted together.

After they had dined, they set out on their journey to the palace
of the king of the demons. Soon they came to a river. There the
Negro instructed the prince not to say anything if he should see
any extraordinary sights, lest some terrible danger befall them. The
Negro waved his hand, and in a moment there came a sphinx paddling
a small banca towards them. They got into it, and the sphinx rowed
back to the other side. Then they walked on till they came to the
palace of the king of the demons, which was protected by two circular
walls. They knocked at the gate of the first. The moment they knocked,
it became dark all around them; lightnings flashed before their eyes,
and it thundered. Then the gate opened. After passing through the
first gate, they came to the second. "They knocked, and the gate flung
open. At once two lions ran out towards them with eyes glowing like
balls of fire, and were ready to spring upon them and devour them;
but on coming nearer the strangers, and recognizing the Negro, these
two kings of beasts wagged their tails as a sign of welcome.

The Negro and the prince were conducted to the king's throne. The
king of the demons asked them what they wanted. The prince spoke:
"King of the demons, I have found in the cellar of my palace a store
of gold coins and several diamond columns, my father's hidden treasure
which he forgot to mention in his will. The last column is locked
up in a separate apartment, and there is none who has the power to
unlock it but yourself."

"Young king," replied the king of the demons, "it is true that I am
the only one who can unlock it. I gave that diamond column to your
father as a gift which he might bequeath to his son; and if you are
his son, you shall have it. But, before giving it to you, I should
like to have you do me a favor in return for that rich gift. If you
will bring me a very beautiful woman to be my companion, one whose
heart is untainted by any worldly passion, I will unlock for you your
wished-for treasure, the diamond room."

At this request the young man stood speechless for some time. At
last, perplexed, he replied, "O king of the demons! it seems to me
impossible to fulfil your wish. I am not a man of superhuman power
to read into a woman's heart."

"Well," returned the king of the demons, taking out of his pocket a
small oval mirror, "if you see a beautiful woman, hold this mirror
before her face. If the surface of the mirror becomes clouded, leave
her; but if the surface of the mirror remains as clear as before,
bring her to me, for she is the one I want for my comfort."

The prince took the mirror, and with his Negro companion left the
palace to look for the desired girl for the king of the demons. They
visited cities and villages. In three days they had searched through
three cities and three villages, but every girl that looked on the
magic mirror clouded its surface. Then, discouraged by their failure,
the travellers decided to go back to the palace of the king of the
demons. On their return they felt very tired, and so stopped in a
small village to rest. There they found a most beautiful girl, the
daughter of a poor farmer. It was the very girl desired by the king of
the demons; for, after she had looked on the magic mirror, its surface
remained as clear as before. Then with joyful hearts the Negro and the
prince set out with the lady for the abode of the king of the demons.

On their way, the prince, fascinated by her beauty, fell in love with
the girl. He did not want to give her up to the king of the demons,
and so proposed to the Negro that they take her to his palace. But the
Negro would not consent, for the king of the demons knew all about
their doings, he said. So the prince gave up his plan on condition
that the girl's face be veiled.

When they arrived at the palace, the king of the demons gladly met
them, and said to the prince, "Now you have fulfilled my wish. You may
go back to your palace, and there you will find the diamond apartment
unlocked for you." The sorrowing prince turned his back and left the
palace with heavy heart; for he no longer thought of the treasure of
gold and diamonds, but had his whole soul centred in that beautiful
maiden that he had given up to the king of the demons. He reached
his own palace sad and dejected. Yet, to divert his mind from the
thought of her, he went to the subterranean apartment; and there he
found the last chamber unlocked.

After some hesitation, he went into the apartment. There he found
two veiled figures,--the one in the form of a king with his sceptre
and crown; the other, a maiden. He unveiled the one with the crown,
and was astounded to find the very same king of the demons. "Prince,
unveil that figure," said the king of the demons to him. The young
king did so, and to his great joy saw the beautiful maiden he had
lost his heart to. At once his sadness disappeared. Then the king
of the demons said to the prince, "Young king, since on your way to
my palace you fell in love with this maiden, I deem it fit that you
should have her for your companion; but do not expect the diamond
column any more." Then the king of the demons disappeared. The prince
at once embraced the maiden, and conducted her up to his palace. That
same day their marriage was celebrated with pomp and luxury.

Note.

Dr. Franz Boas informs me that this story is from the "Arabian Nights,"
"The Tale of Zayn Al-Asnam" (see Burton, Supplemental Nights," iii,
3-38; for Clouston's discussion of variants and analogues, ibid.,
553-563).

TALE 43

The Wicked Woman's Reward.

Narrated by Gregorio Frondoso, a Bicol from Camarines. The story was
told by a father to one of his sons.

Once there lived a certain king. He had concubines, five in number. Two
of them he loved more than the others, for they were to bear him
children. He said that the one who should give birth to a male baby
he would marry. Soon one of them bore a child, but it was a girl,
and shortly afterward the other bore a handsome boy. The one which
had given birth to the baby girl was restless: she wished that she
might have the boy. In order to satisfy her wish, she thought of an
ingenious plan whereby she might get possession of the boy.

One midnight, when all were sound asleep, she killed her own baby
and secretly buried it. Then she quietly crept to her rival's bed and
stole her boy, putting in his place a newborn cat. Early in the morning
the king went to the room of his concubine who had borne the boy, and
was surprised to find a cat by her side instead of a human child. He
was so enraged, that he immediately ordered her to be drowned in the
river. His order was at once executed. Then he went into the room of
the wicked woman. The moment he saw the boy baby, he was filled with
great joy, and he smothered the child with kisses. As he had promised,
he married the woman. After the marriage the king sent away all his
other concubines, and he harbored a deep love for his deceitful wife.

Soon afterwards there was a great confusion throughout the
kingdom. Everybody wondered why it was that the river smelled so
fragrant, and the people were very anxious to find out the cause of
the sweet odor. It was not many days before the townspeople along
the river-bank found the corpse of the drowned woman floating in
the water; and this was the source of the sweetness that was causing
their restlessness. It was full of many different kinds of flowers
which had been gathered by the birds. When the people attempted to
remove the corpse from the water, the birds pecked them, and would
not let the body be taken away.

At last the news of the miracle was brought to the ears of the
king. He himself went to the river to see the wonderful corpse. As
soon as he saw the figure of the drowned woman, he was tortured with
remorse. Then, to his great surprise and fear, the corpse suddenly
stood up out of the water, and said to him in sorrowful tones, "O
king! as you see, my body has been floating on the water. The birds
would have buried me, but I wanted you to know that you ordered me to
be killed without any investigation of my fault. Your wife stole my
boy, and, as you saw, she put a cat by my side." The ghost vanished,
and the king saw the body float away again down the river. The king
at once ordered the body of his favorite to be taken out of the water
and brought to the palace; and he himself was driven back to the town,
violent with rage and remorse. There he seized his treacherous wife
and hurled her out of the window of the palace, and he even ordered
her body to be hanged.

Having gotten rid of this evil woman, the king ordered the body of
the innocent woman to be buried among the noble dead. The corpse
was placed in a magnificent tomb, and was borne in a procession with
pompous funeral ceremonies. He himself dressed entirely in black as
a sign of his genuine grief for her; yet, in spite of his sorrow for
his true wife, he took comfort in her son, who grew to be a handsome
boy. As time went on, the prince developed into a brave youth,
who was able to perform the duties of his father the king: so, as
his father became old, no longer able to bear the responsibilities
of regal power, the prince succeeded to the throne, and ruled the
kingdom well. He proved himself to be the son of the good woman by
his wise and just rule over his subjects.

Note.

I know of no other versions of this story. The incident of the animal
substitution for child is a commonplace in folk-tales, though it is
usually ascribed to an envious step-mother rather than an envious
co-wife. For abstracts of Filipino stories containing this incident
see JAFL 29 : 226 et seq., 228, 229; 19 : 265-272.

TALE 44

The Magic Ring ("Ang Singsing Nga Tantanan").

Narrated by Encarnacion Gonzaga, a Visayan from Jaro, Iloilo. The
story, she says, is very popular among the Visayans.

In the town of X, not far from the kingdom of Don Fernando, there
lived an old religious woman named Carmen. She had a son named
Carlos. She had been a widow since Carlos was nine months old. She
was poor--poor even to raggedness. One day she said to her son,
"I have named you Carlos because I love you. For me, no name is
prettier than yours. Every letter in it means something." Carlos asked
his mother to tell him the meaning of his name; but she said to him,
"I'll tell it to you later. First go to the king's palace, and there
beg something for us to eat. O my son! if you only knew the miseries I
have had to endure to bring you up, you would not refuse this request
of your poor mother," she said, weeping.

Carlos pitied his mother very much, so he ran towards the king's
palace to beg some food; but when he reached the gate, he hesitated
to enter. He was ashamed to beg, so he went and stood silently under
the orange-tree which was not far from the princess's window. "If
I should obey my mother's request," he said to himself, "what would
the princess say? She would probably say to me, 'You are too young to
beg.' What a disgrace then would it be for me!" As Carlos was looking
at the declining sun with tears in his eyes, the princess raised her
window and unintentionally spit on his head. Carlos's eyes flashed. He
looked at the princess sternly, and said, "If the Goddess of the Sea,
who has a star on her forehead [92] and a moon on her throat, does
not dare to spit on me, how can you--you who are but the shadow of
her power and beauty?"

At these harsh words the princess fainted. When she came to herself,
she cried. Her tears were like drops of dew falling from the leaves
in the morning. Her father entered her room, and found her in her
sorrow. "Why do you weep, Florentina?" asked Don Fernando.

"O Father!" answered Florentina, "my heart is broken. I have been
disgraced."

"Why should you say so?" replied her father. "Who broke your heart,
and who disgraced you?"

"There's a man under the orange-tree," answered the princess, "who
said to me these words"--and she repeated what Carlos had said to her.

The king instantly ordered Carlos to be seized and brought into his
presence. Carlos stood fearless before him, and answered all his
questions. Don Fernando at last said, "If within a week you cannot
show me that what you said to my daughter is true, you'll be hanged
without mercy."

These words frightened Carlos. With tears in his eyes and with his
thoughts devoted to God, who alone could give him consolation, he
walked down the shore of the Golden River. He sat down to rest under
a pagatpat-tree [93]. An eagle which had a nest at the very top of
the tree saw him crying, and said to him, "Why do you weep, Carlos?"

"O Eagle, queen of the birds! I'd be very thankful to you if you'd
only tell me where the home of the Goddess of the Sea is," said Carlos.

"Why do you want her house?" asked the eagle. "Don't you know that
no human being is able to see her?"

"I didn't know that; but if I cannot see her, my life is lost,"
said Carlos sadly.

The eagle pitied Carlos very much: so she said, "Come, Carlos,
come! and I'll lead you to the right path." Carlos followed her
until they came to the mouth of the river. There they stopped. The
eagle shouted, "O king of the fishes! come and help me, for I am
in great need of assistance." The king of the fishes appeared, and
asked what the eagle needed. The eagle told him the story of Carlos,
and asked him if he could take Carlos to the home of the Goddess of
the Sea. As the fish could not refuse the request of the queen of the
birds, he said to Carlos, "Carlos, lie on my back and close your eyes:
within five minutes you'll be in the home of the goddess."

Carlos obeyed the fish. When he opened his eyes, he found that he was
in a very beautiful house. He was lying on a golden bed, and beside
him was standing a beautiful woman with a star on her forehead and
a moon on her throat. Carlos could not believe that the vision was
true. By and by he heard a sweet voice saying, "What has brought you
to this place?"

Carlos trembled, and answered, "I have come here to ask for your help."

"What help do you desire?" asked the goddess. Carlos related his
story. The goddess could not refuse help to one who had spoken so
well of her beauty, so she took her diamond ring off her finger
and gave it to Carlos, saying, "Take this ring with you. Whenever
you want or need my help, touch the ring thrice, and say, 'O God,
help me!' If the king wants my presence, touch the ring six times,
and I'll appear before you."

Carlos received the ring, and, humbly kneeling before the goddess,
said, "I can find no words in which to express to you my gratitude. I
thank you with all my heart."

The goddess then called to the king of the fishes, and ordered him
to take Carlos back to land. When Carlos arrived at the shore of the
river, he met the eagle, who showed him the way to the king's palace.

The king Don Fernando, on seeing Carlos once more before him, said,
"You wretch! one day more is all you have to live."

"To-morrow," replied Carlos, "I'll come before your Highness, and I'll
show to you that what I said to the princess is true." When morning
came the next day, Carlos was ordered into the king's presence. All
the lords and nobles of the kingdom were in the palace, anxious to
see the Goddess of the Sea. It was already eight o'clock, and the
goddess had not yet appeared. The king asked, "Where is she, Carlos?"

"She cannot come," replied Carlos; "but, if your Highness wants me to,
I'll give you a trunk filled with gold in exchange for my life."

"No," said the king angrily: "what we want is the Goddess of the
Sea. If you cannot show her to us, prepare to be hanged."

Carlos touched the ring six times, and the beautiful Goddess of the
Sea appeared. All were amazed to see a woman with curly hair, a star
on her forehead, a moon on her throat, and wearing a white dress
glistening with diamonds. "Carlos is an enchanter!" cried the king,
and he ran to embrace the goddess. In five minutes she disappeared,
and Carlos's life was saved.

Don Fernando now proposed to marry his daughter Florentina to
Carlos. At first the princess hesitated to say yes, but at last she
consented. Carlos was glad to marry the beautiful prineess; but,
before the marriage took place, he went to get his poor mother,
who was anxiously awaiting his return home.

Carlos with his diamond ring could now have everything he needed. In
fact, he made the chapel in which he was married all of gold. The
wedding-dress of the princess was adorned with diamonds. Immediately
after the wedding, poor Carmen died of happiness. Carlos continued
to live in the palace with his wife Florentina, but he never came to
know the meaning of his name.

Note.

I know of no variants of this story. The detail of the helpful animals
is common in Filipino Maerchen; here, however, the kindness of the
eagle and the fish lack the usual motivation.

TALE 45

Maria and the Golden Slipper.

Narrated by Dolores Zafra, a Tagalog from Pagsanjan, Laguna. She
says that this is a Tagalog story, and was told to her when she was
a little girl.

Once there lived a couple who had an only daughter, Maria. When Maria
was a little girl, her mother died. A few years later Maria's father
fell in love with a widow named Juana, who had two daughters. The
elder of these daughters was Rosa, and the younger was Damiana. When
Maria was grown to be a young woman, her father married the woman
Juana. Maria continued to live with her father and step-mother. But
Juana and her two daughters treated Maria as a servant. She had to do
all the work in the house,--cook the food, wash the clothes, clean the
floors. The only clothes she herself had to wear were ragged and dirty.

One day Prince Malecadel wanted to get married: so he gave a ball, to
which he invited all the ladies in his kingdom. He said that the most
beautiful of all was to be his wife. When Damiana and Rosa knew that
all the ladies were invited, they began to discuss what clothes they
would wear to the ball; but poor Maria was in the river, washing the
clothes. Maria was very sad and was weeping, for she had no clothes
at all in which she could appear at the prince's fete. While she
was washing, a crab approached her, and said, "Why are you crying,
Maria? Tell me the reason, for I am your mother."

Then Maria said to the crab, "I am treated by my aunt (sic!) and
sisters as a servant; and there will be a ball to-night, but I have
no clothes to wear." While she was talking to the crab, Juana came
up. The step-mother was very angry with Maria, and ordered her to
catch the crab and cook it for their dinner. Maria seized the crab
and carried it to the house. At first she did not want to cook it,
for she knew that it was her mother; but Juana whipped her so hard,
that at last she was forced to obey. Before it was put in the earthen
pot to be cooked, the crab said to Maria, "Maria, don't eat my flesh,
but collect all my shell after I am eaten, and bury the pieces in
the garden near the house. They will grow into a tree, and you can
have what you want if you will only ask the tree for it." After her
parents had eaten the flesh of the crab, Maria collected all its shell
and buried it in the garden. At twilight she saw a tree standing on
the very spot where she had buried the shell.