Some time after this he married a beautiful princess, and because of the kindness of the magic tree they always lived happily. [159]

Juan Gathers Guavas

Tagalog

One day Juan’s father sent him to get some ripe guavas, for a number of the neighbors had come in and he wanted to give them something to eat.

Juan went to the guava bushes and ate all the fruit he could hold, and then he decided to play a joke on his father’s guests instead of giving them a feast of guavas.  A wasp’s nest hung near by.  With some difficulty he succeeded in taking it down and putting it into a tight basket that he had brought for the fruit.  He hastened home and gave the basket to his father, and then as he left the room where the guests were seated he closed the door and fastened it.

As soon as Juan’s father opened the basket the wasps flew over the room; and when the people found the door locked they fought to get out of the windows.  After a while Juan opened the door, and when he saw the swollen faces of the people, he cried.

“What fine, rich guavas you must have had!  They have made you all so fat!”.

The Sun and the Moon [160]

Visayan

Once upon a time the Sun and the Moon were married, and they had many children who were the stars.  The Sun was very fond of his children, but whenever he tried to embrace any of them, he was so hot that he burned them up.  This made the Moon so angry that finally she forbade him to touch them again, and he was greatly grieved.

One day the Moon went down to the spring to do some washing, and when she left she told the Sun that he must not touch any of their children in her absence.  When she returned, however, she found that he had disobeyed her, and several of the children had perished.

She was very angry, and picked up a banana tree to strike him, whereupon he threw sand in her face, and to this day you can see the dark marks on the face of the Moon.

Then the Sun started to chase her, and they have been going ever since.  Sometimes he gets so near that he almost catches her, but she escapes, and by and by she is far ahead again. [161]

The First Monkey

Visayan

Many years ago at the foot of a forest-covered hill was a small town, and just above the town on the hillside was a little house in which lived an old woman and her grandson.

The old woman, who was very industrious, earned their living by removing the seeds from cotton, and she always had near at hand a basket in which were cotton and a long stick that she used for a spindle.  The boy was lazy and would not do anything to help his grandmother, but every day went down to the town and gambled.

One day, when he had been losing money, the boy went home and was cross because his supper was not ready.