At about four o’clock he heard a heavy step upon the floor of the bridge, and by the moonlight he could see that the new-comer was a huge giant with a long club.

A little later another giant came, and Tanag, full of fear, heard the following dialogue:—­

“Did you kill many people?”

“Yes, I put my poison on the food, and in a short time those who ate of it were attacked by the cholera and died.  And how are you getting along yourself?”

“At first I killed many people with my poison, but now I am disappointed, because they have found out the antidote for it.”

“What is that?”

“The root of the balingay tree boiled in water.  It is a powerful antidote against the poison I use.  And what is the antidote against yours?”

“Simply the root of the alibutbut tree boiled in water.  Luckily, no one has discovered this antidote, and so many people will die.”

In the morning Tanag saw the giants going to the shore, where many people were fishing with their nets.  The giants flung their poison on the fish, and then disappeared from Tanag’s sight.

Tanag believed that the cholera was caused by the two giants, who poisoned the food and water by sprinkling poison on them, and he did not doubt that the roots of the balingay and alibutbut trees would prove to be the antidotes to the poison.  So he gathered the roots and cooked them and advertised himself as a doctor.

In fact he cured many people and earned so much money that he soon became rich.

CHAPTER 19

Masoy and the Ape. [6]

Masoy was a poor man who lived on a farm some miles from the town.  His clothing was very poor, and his little garden furnished him scarcely enough to live on.  Every week day he went to town to sell his fruits and vegetables and to buy rice.  Upon his return he noticed each day that some one had entered the garden in his absence and stolen some of the fruit.  He tried to protect the garden by making the fence very strong and locking the gate; but, in spite of all he could do, he continued to miss his fruit.

At length Masoy conceived the happy idea of taking some pitch and moulding it into the shape of a man.  He put a bamboo hat on it and stood it up in one comer of the garden.  Then he went away.

As soon as he was gone, the robber, who was none other than a huge ape, climbed the fence and got in.

“Oh!” he said to himself, “I made a mistake!  There is Masoy watching.  He did not go away as I thought.  He is here with a big bamboo hat, but he could not catch me if he tried.  I am going to greet him, for fear he may consider me impolite.”

“Good morning, Masoy,” he said.  “Why do you not answer me?  What is the matter with you?  Oh! you are joking, are you, by keeping so silent?  But you will not do it again.”  On saying this, the ape slapped the man of pitch with his right hand, and of course it stuck, and he could not get it loose.