Filipino Popular Tales, by Dean S. Fansler

The Rich and the Poor

Narrated by Jose L. Gomez, a Tagalog from Rizal province.

Once upon a time there lived in the town of Pasig two honest men who

were intimate friends. They were called Mayaman and Mahirap,

because one was much richer than the other.

One pleasant afternoon these two men made up their minds to take a

long walk into the neighboring woods. Here, while they were talking

happily about their respective fortunes, they saw in the distance

a poor wood-cutter, who was very busy cutting and collecting fagots

for sale. This wood-cutter lived in a mean cottage on the outskirts

of a little town on the opposite shore of the lake, and he maintained

his family by selling pieces of wood gathered from this forest.

When they saw the poor man, Mayaman said to his friend, "Now, which

one of us can make that wood-cutter rich?"

"Well, even though I am much poorer than you," said Mahirap, "I can

make him rich with just the few cents I have in my pocket."

They agreed, however, that Mayaman should be the first to try to make

the poor man rich. So Mayaman called out to the wood-cutter, and said,

"Do you want to be rich, my good man?"

"Certainly, master, I should like to be rich, so that my family might

not want anything," said the wood-cutter.

Pointing to his large house in the distance, Mayaman said, "All

right. Come to my house this evening on your way home, and I will

give you four bags of my money. If you don't become rich on them,

come back, and I will give you some more."

The wood-cutter was overjoyed at his good luck, and in the evening

went to Mayaman's house, where he received the money. He placed

the bags in the bottom of his banca, and sailed home. When he

reached his little cottage, he spread out all the gold and silver

money on the floor. He was delighted at possessing such wealth, and

determined first of all to buy household articles with it; but some

dishonest neighbors, soon finding out that the wood-cutter had much

money in the house, secretly stole the bags.

Then the wood-cutter, remembering the rich man's promise, hastily

prepared his banca and sailed across to Pasig. When Mayaman saw the

wood-cutter, he said, "Are you rich now, my good man?"

"O kind master!" said the wood-cutter, "I am not yet rich, for some

one stole my bags of money."

"Well, here are four more bags. See that you take better care of them."

The wood-cutter reached home safely with this new wealth; but

unfortunately it was stolen, too, during the night.

Three more times he went to Mayaman, and every time received four

bags of money; but every time was it stolen from him by his neighbors.

Finally, on his sixth application, Mayaman did not give the wood-cutter

money, but presented him with a beautiful ring. "This ring will

preserve you from harm," he said, "and will give you everything

you ask for. With it you can become the richest man in town; but be

careful not to lose it!"

While the wood-cutter was sailing home that evening, he thought he

would try the ring by asking it for some food. So he said, "Beautiful

ring, give me food! for I am hungry." In an instant twelve different

kinds of food appeared in his banca, and he ate heartily. But after he

had eaten, the wind calmed down: so he said to the ring, "O beautiful

ring! blow my banca very hard, so that I may reach home quickly." He

had no sooner spoken than the wind rose suddenly. The sail and mast of

his little boat were blown away, and the banca itself sank. Forgetting

all about his ring, the unfortunate man had to swim for his life. He

reached the shore safely, but was greatly distressed to find that he

had lost his valuable ring. So he decided to go back to Mayaman and

tell him all about his loss.

The next day he borrowed a banca and sailed to Pasig; but when Mayaman

had heard his story, he said, "My good man, I have nothing more to

give you." Then Mayaman turned to his friend Mahirap, and said, "It

is your turn now, Mahirap. See what you can do for this poor man to

enrich him." Mahirap gave the poor wood-cutter five centavos,--all

he had in his pocket,--and told him to go to the market and buy a

fish with it for his supper.

The wood-cutter was disappointed at receiving so small an amount,

and sailed homeward in a very downcast mood; but when he arrived at

his town, he went straight to the market. As he was walking around the

fish-stalls, he saw a very fine fat fish. So he said to the tendera,

 "How much must I pay for that fat fish?"

"Well, five centavos is all I'll ask you for it," said she.

"Oh, I have only five centavos; and if I give them all to you, I

shall have no money to buy rice with. So please let me have the fish

for three!" said the wood-cutter. But the tendera refused to sell the

fish for three centavos; and the wood-cutter was obliged to give all

his money for it, for the fish was so fine and fat that he could not

leave it.

When he went home and opened the fish to clean it, what do you suppose

he found inside? Why, no other thing than the precious ring he had

lost in the lake! He was so rejoiced at getting back his treasure,

that he walked up and down the streets, talking out loud to his ring:--

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!

I have found you now;

You are here, and nowhere else."

When his neighbors who had stolen his bags of money from him heard

these words, they thought that the wood-cutter had found out that they

were the thieves, and was addressing these words to them. They ran up

to him with all the bags of money, and said, "O wood-cutter! pardon

us for our misdoings! Here are all the bags of money that we stole

from you."

With his money and the ring, the wood-cutter soon became the richest

man in his town. He lived happily with his wife the rest of his days,

and left a large heritage to his children.

So Mahirap, with five centavos only, succeeded in making the

wood-cutter rich.