Filipino Popular Tales, by Dean S. Fansler

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.

Two days had gone by, yet Juan had not yet commenced his work. For

that reason the king believed that Juan did not object to losing his

life; but at midnight of the third day, Juan bade his stone build a

fort in the middle of the bay.

The next morning, while the king was taking his bath, cannon-shots

were heard. After a while Juan appeared before the palace, dressed

like a prince. When he saw the king, he said, "The fort is ready for

your inspection."

"If that is true, you shall be my son-in-law," said the king. After

breakfast the king, with his daughter, visited the fort, which pleased

them very much. The following day the ceremonies of Juan's marriage

with the princess Maria were held with much pomp and solemnity.

Shortly after Juan's wedding a war broke out. Juan led the army of the

king his father-in-law to the battlefield, and with the help of his

magical stone he conquered his mighty enemy. The defeated general

went home full of sorrow. As he had never been defeated before,

he thought that Juan must possess some supernatural power. When he

reached home, therefore, he issued a proclamation which stated that

any one who could get Juan's power for him should have one-half of

his property as a reward.

A certain witch, who knew of Juan's secret, heard of the

proclamation. She flew to the general, and told him that she could

do what he wanted done. On his agreeing, she flew to Juan's house

one hot afternoon, where she found Maria alone, for Juan had gone

out hunting. The old woman smiled when she saw Maria, and said,

"Do you not recognize me, pretty Maria? I am the one who nursed you

when you were a baby."

The princess was surprised at what the witch said, for she thought

that the old woman was a beggar. Nevertheless she believed what the

witch told her, treated the repulsive woman kindly, and offered her

cake and wine; but the witch told Maria not to go to any trouble,

and ordered her to rest. So Maria lay down to take a siesta. With

great show of kindness, the witch fanned the princess till she fell

asleep. While Maria was sleeping, the old woman took from underneath

the pillow the magical stone, which Juan had forgotten to take along

with him. Then she flew to the general, and gave the charm to him. He,

in turn, rewarded the old woman with one-half his riches.

Meanwhile, as Juan was enjoying his hunt in the forest, a huge bird

swooped down on him and seized his horse and clothes. When the bird

flew away, his inner garments were changed back again into his old

wood-cutter's clothes. Full of anxiety at this ill omen, and fearing

that some misfortune had befallen his wife, he hastened home on foot

as best he could. When he reached his house, he found it vacant. Then

he went to the king's palace, but that too he found deserted. For his

stone he did not know where to look. After a few minutes of reflection,

he came to the conclusion that all his troubles were caused by the

general whom he had defeated in battle. He also suspected that the

officer had somehow or other got possession of his magical stone.

Poor Juan then began walking toward the country where the general

lived. Before he could reach that country, he had to cross three

mountains. While he was crossing the first mountain, a cat came

running after him, and knocked him down. He was so angry at the

animal, that he ran after it, seized it, and dashed its life out

against a rock. When he was crossing the second mountain, the same

cat appeared and knocked him down a second time. Again Juan seized the

animal and killed it, as before; but the same cat that he had killed

twice before tumbled him down a third time while he was crossing the

third mountain. Filled with curiosity, Juan caught the animal again:

but, instead of killing it this time, he put it inside the bag he

was carrying, and took it along with him.

After many hours of tiresome walking, Juan arrived at the castle of

the general, and knocked at the door. The general asked him what he

wanted. Juan answered, "I am a poor beggar, who will be thankful if I

can have only a mouthful of rice." The general, however, recognized

Juan. He called his servants, and said, "Take this wretched fellow

to the cell of rats."

The cell in which Juan was imprisoned was very dark; and as soon as

the door was closed, the rats began to bite him. But Juan did not

suffer much from them; for, remembering his cat, he let it loose. The

cat killed all the rats except their king, which came out of the hole

last of all. When the cat saw the king of the rats, it spoke thus:

"Now you shall die if you do not promise to get for Juan his magical

stone, which your master has stolen."

"Spare my life, and you shall have the stone!" said the king of

the rats.

"Go and get it, then!" said the cat. The king of the rats ran

quickly to the room of the general, and took Juan's magical stone

from the table.

As soon as Juan had obtained his stone, and after he had thanked the

king of the rats, he said to his stone, "Pretty stone, destroy this

house with the general and his subjects, and release my father-in-law

and wife from their prison."

Suddenly the earth trembled and a big noise was heard. Not long

afterwards Juan saw the castle destroyed, the general and his subjects

dead, and his wife and his father-in-law free.

Taking with him the cat and the king of the rats, Juan went home

happily with Maria his wife and the king his father-in-law. After the

death of the king, Juan ascended to the throne, and ruled wisely. He

lived long happily with his lovely wife.