By this time the horns had grown until they were one foot in length, and the presidente was so ashamed that he bade his wife tell the people that he could not talk.  She told this to the councilmen when they came on the following day, but they replied that they must see him, for they had heard that he had horns, and if this were true he had no right to govern the people.

She refused to let them in, so they broke down the door.  They saw the horns on the head of the presidente and killed him.  For, they said, he was no better than an animal. [152]

The Story of a Monkey

Ilocano

One day when a monkey was climbing a tree in the forest in which he lived, he ran a thorn into his tail.  Try as he would, he could not get it out, so he went to a barber in the town and said: 

“Friend Barber, I have a thorn in the end of my tail.  Pull it out, and I will pay you well.”

The barber tried to pull out the thorn with his razor, but in doing so he cut off the end of the tail.  The monkey was very angry and cried: 

“Barber, Barber, give me back my tail, or give me your razor!”

The barber could not put back the end of the monkey’s tail, so he gave him his razor.

On the way home the monkey met an old woman who was cutting wood for fuel, and he said to her: 

“Grandmother, Grandmother, that is very hard.  Use this razor and then it will cut easily.”

The old woman was very pleased with the offer and began to cut with the razor, but before she had used it long it broke.  Then the monkey cried: 

“Grandmother, Grandmother, you have broken my razor!  You must get a new one for me or else give me all the firewood.”

The old woman could not get a new razor so she gave him the firewood.

The monkey took the wood and was going back to town to sell it, when he saw a woman sitting beside the road making cakes.

“Grandmother, Grandmother,” said he, “your wood is most gone; take this of mine and bake more cakes.”

The woman took the wood and thanked him for his kindness, but when the last stick was burned, the monkey cried out: 

“Grandmother, Grandmother, you have burned up all my wood!  Now you must give me all your cakes to pay for it.”

The old woman could not cut more dry wood at once, so she gave him all the cakes.

The monkey took the cakes and started for the town, but on the way he met a dog which bit him so that he died.  And the dog ate all the cakes.

The White Squash

Ilocano

In a queer little bamboo house in front of a big garden lived a man and his wife all alone.  They had always been kind and good to everyone, but still they were not happy, because the child for which they longed had never come to them.  Each day for many years they had prayed for a son or a daughter, but their prayers had been unanswered.  Now that they were growing old they believed that they must always live alone.