As might be expected, the stories are often very crude and simple, presenting no difficult situations nor intricate plots.  Sometimes they resemble well-known tales from other lands, although great care has been taken to collect only those from original sources.

The tales here presented were collected during the spring of 1904, in the island of Panay, belonging to the Visayan group of the Philippine Islands, and were obtained in our own class rooms, from native teachers and pupils.  Mr. Maxfield was stationed at Iloilo, and Mr. Millington at Mandurriao, places five miles apart.  We daily came in contact with about one thousand pupils.  The tales were gathered in both places, and were found to be substantially alike, the differences being only in petty details.  After collecting one version, we endeavored to ascertain whether the same narrative was current among natives in other localities of the island.  We were surprised to discover that they seemed to be known wherever we became acquainted with the people and had obtained their confidence sufficiently to induce them to talk freely.  There were often variations, but the framework was always the same.  If any stories were obtained from native teachers who knew Spanish, we have always verified them by getting children or natives from other places, who knew no Spanish, to relate them, in order to assure ourselves that the narrative could not be a mere translation of a Spanish tale.

We who have collected these stories can claim little credit for any more than the mere arrangement of them, as, so far as possible, even the wording of the original manuscripts has been retained.  Doubtless, much of the interest we have felt in the work is due to our personal acquaintance with the writers who put on paper for us these simple tales, yet we hope that they will not be wholly unattractive to those for whose sake they have been collected.

February, 1906.

B. L. M.

W. H. M.

CHAPTER 1

How Jackyo Became Rich.

A long time ago there was a young man whose name was Jackyo.  He was very poor, and by his daily labor could earn barely enough for his food and nothing at all for his clothes.  He had a little farm at some distance from the village in which he lived, and on it raised a few poor crops.

One pleasant afternoon Jackyo started off to visit his farm.  It was late when he reached it, and after he had finished inspecting his crops, he turned back homewards.  But the bright day had gone and the sun had set.  Night came on quickly, and the way was dark and lonely.

At last he could no longer see the road.  Not a star was to be seen, and the only sounds he heard were the sad twitterings of the birds and soft rustling of the leaves as they were moved by the wind.

At last he entered a thick forest where the trees were very big.  “What if I should meet some wild beast,” thought Jackyo; but he added half aloud, “I must learn to be brave and face every danger.”