Filipino Popular Tales Part 13

Seeing the soldiers entering their house, Zaragoza asked, "What is your pleasure?"

"We want to arrest that woman," was the answer of the chief of the guard.

"Why? She has not committed any crime."

"She is the widow of that dead man. Her words betrayed her, for she exclaimed that the dead man was her husband."

"Who is her husband? That remark was meant for me, because I had unintentionally hurt our young son," said Zaragoza smiling.

The soldiers believed his words, and went on their way. Reaching a public place when it was almost night, they decided to stay there until the next morning. Zaragoza saw his opportunity. He disguised himself as a priest and went to the place, taking with him a bottle of wine mixed with a strong narcotic. When he arrived, he said that he was a priest, and, being afraid of robbers, wished to pa.s.s the night with some soldiers. The soldiers were glad to have with them, as they thought, a pious man, whose stories would inspire them to do good. After they had talked a while, Zaragoza offered his bottle of wine to the soldiers, who freely drank from it. As was expected, they soon all fell asleep, and Zaragoza succeeded in stealing the corpse of Luis. He took it home and buried it in that same place where he had buried the head.

The following morning the soldiers woke up, and were surprised to see that the priest and the corpse were gone. The king soon knew how his scheme had failed. Then he thought of another plan. He ordered that a sheep covered with precious metal should be let loose in the streets, and that it should be followed by a spy, whose duty it was to watch from a distance, and, in case any one attempted to catch the sheep, to ascertain the house of that person, and then report to the palace.

Having received his orders, the spy let loose the sheep, and followed it at a distance. n.o.body else dared even to make a remark about the animal; but when Zaragoza saw it, he drove it into his yard. The spy, following instructions, marked the door of Zaragoza's house with a cross, and hastened to the palace. The spy a.s.sured the soldiers that they would be able to capture the criminal; but when they began to look for the house, they found that all the houses were similarly marked with crosses.

For the third time the king had failed; and, giving up all hopes of catching the thief, he issued a proclamation pardoning the man who had committed the theft, provided he would present himself to the king within three days. Hearing the royal proclamation, Zaragoza went before the king, and confessed that he was the perpetrator of all the thefts that had caused so much trouble in the court. True to his word, the king did not punish him. Instead, the king promised to give Zaragoza a t.i.tle of n.o.bility if he could trick Don Juan, the richest merchant in the city, out of his most valuable goods.

When he knew of the desire of the king, Zaragoza looked for a fool, whom he could use as his instrument. He soon found one, whom he managed to teach to say "Si" (Spanish for "yes") whenever asked a question. Dressing the fool in the guise of a bishop, Zaragoza took a carriage and drove to the store of D. Juan. There he began to ask the fool such questions as these: "Does your grace wish to have this? Does not your grace think that this is cheap?" to all of which the fool's answer was "Si." At last, when the carriage was well loaded, Zaragoza said, "I will first take these things home, and then return with the money for them;" to which the fool replied, "Si." When Zaragoza reached the palace with the rich goods, he was praised by the king for his sagacity.

After a while D. Juan the merchant found out that what he thought was a bishop was really a fool. So he went to the king and asked that he be given justice. Moved by pity, the king restored all the goods that had been stolen, and D. Juan wondered how his Majesty had come into possession of his lost property.

Once more the king wanted to test Zaragoza's ability. Accordingly he told him to bring to the palace an old hermit who lived in a cave in the neighboring mountains. At first Zaragoza tried to persuade Tubal to pay the visit to the king, but in vain. Having failed in his first attempt, Zaragoza determined to play a trick on the old hermit. He secretly placed an iron cage near the mouth of Tubal's cave, and then in the guise of an angel he stood on a high cliff and shouted,--

"Tubal, Tubal, hear ye me!"

Tubal, hearing the call, came out of his cave, and, seeing what he thought was an angel, knelt down. Then Zaragoza shouted,--

"I know that you are very religious, and have come to reward your piety. The gates of heaven are open, and I will lead you thither. Go enter that cage, and you will see the way to heaven."

Tubal meekly obeyed; but when he was in the cage, he did not see the miracle he expected. Instead, he was placed in a carriage and brought before the king. Thoroughly satisfied now, the king released Tubal, and fulfilled his promise toward Zaragoza. Zaragoza was knighted, and placed among the chief advisers of the kingdom. After he had been raised to this high rank, he called to his side Maria and his G.o.dson, and they lived happily under the protection of one who became the most upright and generous man of the realm.

Juan the Peerless Robber.

Narrated by Vicente M. Hilario, a Tagalog from Batangas, who heard the story from a Batangas student.

Not many centuries after Charlemagne died, there lived in Europe a famous brigand named Juan. From childhood he had been known as "the deceitful Juan," "the unrivalled pilferer," "the treacherous Juan." When he was twenty, he was forced to flee from his native land, to which he never returned.

He visited Africa, where he became acquainted with a famous Ethiopian robber named Pedro. Not long after they had met, a dispute arose between them as to which was the more skilful pickpocket. They decided to have a test. They stood face to face, and the Ethiopian was first to try his skill.

"Hey!" exclaimed Juan to Pedro, "don't take my handkerchief out of my pocket!"

It was now Juan's turn. He unbuckled Pedro's belt and slipped it into his own pocket. "What's the matter with you, Juan?" said Pedro after a few minutes. "Why don't you go ahead and steal something?"

"Ha, ha, ha!" said Juan. "Whose belt is this?"

Pedro generously admitted that he had been defeated.

Although these two thieves were united by strong ties of common interest, nevertheless their diverse characteristics and traits produced trouble at times. Pedro was dull, honorable, and frank; Juan was hawk-eyed and double-faced. Pedro had so large a body and so awkward and shambling a gait, that Juan could not help laughing at him and saying sarcastic things to him. Juan was good-looking and graceful.

While they were travelling about in northern Africa, they heard the heralds of the King of Tunis make the following proclamation: "A big bag of money will be given to the captor of the greatest robber in the country." The two friends, particularly Juan, were struck by this announcement.

That night Juan secretly stole out of his room. Taking with him a long rope, he climbed up to the roof of the palace. After making a hole as large as a peso [33] in the roof, he lowered himself into the building by means of the rope. He found the room filled with bags of gold and silver, pearls, carbuncles, diamonds, and other precious stones. He took the smallest bag he could find, and, after climbing out of the hole, went home quickly.

When Pedro heard Juan's thrilling report of the untold riches, he decided to visit the palace the following night. Early in the morning Juan went again to the palace, taking with him a large tub. After lowering it into the room, he departed without delay. At nightfall he returned to the palace and filled the tub with boiling water. He had no sooner done this than Pedro arrived. Pedro was so eager to get the wealth, that he made no use of the rope, but jumped immediately into the room when he reached the small opening his treacherous friend had made in the roof. Alas! instead of falling on bags of money, Pedro fell into the fatal tub of water, and perished.

An hour later Juan went to look for his friend, whom he found dead. The next day he notified the king of the capture and death of the greatest of African robbers. "You have done well," said the king to Juan. "This man was the chief of all the African highwaymen. Take your bag of money."

After putting his gold in a safe place, Juan went out in search of further adventures. On one of his walks, he heard that a certain wealthy and devout abbot had been praying for two days and nights that the angel of the lord might come and take him to heaven. Juan provided himself with two strong wings. On the third night he made a hole as large as a peso through the dome of the church.

Calling the abbot, Juan said, "I have been sent by the Lord to take you to heaven. Come with me, and bring all your wealth."

The abbot put all his money into the bag. "Now get into the bag,"

said Juan, "and we will go."

The old man promptly obeyed. "Where are we now?" said he, after an hour's "flight."

"We are within one thousand miles of the abode of the blessed,"

was Juan's reply.

Twenty minutes later, and they were in Juan's cave. "Come out of the bag, and behold my rude abode?" said Juan to the old man. The abbot was astounded at the sight. When he heard Juan's story, he advised him to abandon his evil ways. Juan listened to the counsels of his new friend. He became a good man, and he and the abbot lived together until their death.

Notes.

The story of "Zaragoza" is of particular interest, because it definitely combines an old form of the "Rhampsinitus" story with the "Master Thief" cycle. In his notes to No. 11, "The Two Thieves," of his collection of "Gypsy Folk Tales," F. H. Groome observes, "(The) 'Two Thieves' is so curious a combination of the 'Rhampsinitus'

story in Herodotus and of Grimm's 'Master Thief,' that I am more than inclined to regard it as the lost original, which, according to Campbell of Islay, 'it were vain to look for in any modern work or in any modern age.'" By "lost original" Mr. Groome doubtless meant the common ancestor of these two very widespread and for the most part quite distinct cycles, "Rhampsinitus" and the "Master Thief."

Both of these groups of stories about clever thieves have been made the subjects Of investigation. The fullest bibliographical study of the "Rhampsinitus" saga is that by Killis Campbell, "The Seven Sages of Rome" (Boston, 1907), pp. lx.x.xv-xc. Others have treated the cycle more or less discursively: R. Kohler, "Ueber J. F. Campbell's Sammlung galischer Marchen," No. XVII (d) (in Orient und Occident, 2 [1864] : 303-313); Sir George c.o.x, "The Migration of Popular Stories"

(in Fraser's Magazine, July, 1880, pp. 96-111); W. A. Clouston, "Popular Tales and Fictions" (London, 1887), 2 : 115-165. See also F. H. Groome, 48-53; McCulloch, 161, note 9; and Campbell's bibliography. The "Master Thief" cycle has been examined in great detail as to the component elements of the story by Cosquin (2 : 274-281, 364-365). See also Grimm's notes to the "Master Thief,"

No. 192 (2 : 464); and J. G. von Hahn, 2 : 178-183.

F. Max Muller believed that the story of the "Master Thief" had its origin in the Sanscrit droll of "The Brahman and the Goat" (Hitopadesa, IV, 10 = Panchatantra, III, 3), which was brought to Europe through the Arabic translation of the "Hitopadesa." Further, he did not believe that the "Master Thief" story had anything to do with Herodotus's account of the theft of Rhampsinitus's treasure (see Chips from a German Workshop [New York, 1869], 2 : 228). Wilhelm Grimm, however, in his notes to No. 192 of the "Kinder- und Hausmarchen," says, "The well-known story in Herodotus (ii, 121) ... is nearly related to this." As Sir G. W. c.o.x remarks (op. cit., p. 98), it is not easy to discern any real affinity either between the Hitopadesa tale and the European traditions of the "Master Thief," or between the latter and the "Rhampsinitus" story. M. Cosquin seems to see at least one point of contact between the two cycles: "The idea of the episode of the theft of the horse, or at least of the means which the thief uses to steal the horse away .... might well have been borrowed from Herodotus's story ... of Rhampsinitus" (Contes de Lorraine, 2 : 277).

A brief a.n.a.lysis of the characteristic incidents of these two "thieving" cycles will be of some a.s.sistance, perhaps, in determining whether or not there were originally any definite points of contact between the two. The elements of the "Rhampsinitus" story follow:--

A Two sons of king's late architect plan to rob the royal treasure-house.

(A1 In some variants of the story the robbers are a town thief and a country thief.)

A2 They gain an entrance by removing a secret stone, a knowledge of which their father had bequeathed them before he died.

B The king discovers the theft, and sets a snare for the robbers.

C Robbers return; eldest caught inextricably. To prevent discovery, the younger brother cuts off the head of the older, takes it away, and buries it.

D The king attempts to find the confederate by exposing the headless corpse on the outer wall of the palace.