Long, long before the Spaniards came, there lived a man who had a beautiful, virtuous, and, above all, clever daughter. He was a servant of the king. Marcela, the daughter, loved her father devotedly, and always helped him with his work. From childhood she had manifested a keen wit and undaunted spirit. She would even refuse to obey unjust orders from the king. No question was too hard for her to answer, and the king was constantly being surprised at her sagacity.

One day the king conceived a plan by which he might test the ingenious Marcela. He bade his servants procure a tiny bird and carry it to her house. "Tell her," said the king, "to make twelve dishes out of that one bird."

The servants found Marcela sewing. They told her of the order of the king. After thinking for five minutes, she took one of her pins, and said to the servants, "If the king can make twelve spoons out of this pin, I can also make twelve dishes out of that bird." On receiving the answer, the king realized that the wise Marcela had gotten the better of him; and he began to think of another plan to puzzle her.

Again he bade his servants carry a sheep to Marcela's house. "Tell her," he said, "to sell the sheep for six reales, and with the money this very same sheep must come back to me alive."

At first Marcela could not make out what the king meant for her to do. Then she thought of selling the wool only, and not the whole sheep. So she cut off the wool and sold it for six reales, and sent the money with the live sheep back to the king. Thus she was again relieved from a difficulty.

The king by this time realized that he could not beat Marcela in points of subtlety. However, to amuse himself, he finally thought of one more scheme to test her sagacity. It took him two weeks to think it out. Summoning a messenger, he said to him, "Go to Marcela, and tell her that I am not well, and that my physician has advised me to drink a cup of bull's milk. Therefore she must get me this medicine, or her father will lose his place in the palace." The king also issued an order that no one was to bathe or to wash anything in the river, for he was going to take a bath the next morning.

As soon as Marcela had received the command of the king and had heard of his second order, she said, "How easy it will be for me to answer this silly order of the king!" That night she and her father killed a pig, and smeared its blood over the sleeping-mat, blanket, and pillows. When morning came, Marcela took the stained bed-clothing to the source of the river, where the king was bathing. As soon as the king caught sight of her, he said in a voice of thunder, "Why do you wash your stuff in the river when you know I ordered that n.o.body should use the river to-day but me?"

Marcela replied, "It is the custom, my lord, in our country, to wash the mat, pillows, and other things stained with blood, immediately after a person has given birth to a child. As my father gave birth to a child last night, custom forces me to disobey your order, although I do it much against my will."

"Nonsense!" said the king. "The idea of a man giving birth to a child! Absurd! Ridiculous!"

"My lord," said Marcela, "it would be just as absurd to think of getting milk from a bull."

Then the king, recollecting his order, said, "Marcela, as you are so witty, clever, and virtuous, I will give you my son for your husband."

King Tasio.

Narrated by Leopoldo Faustino, a Tagalog, who says that the story is popular and common among the people of La Laguna province.

Juan was a servant in the palace of King Tasio. One day King Tasio heard Juan discussing with the other servants in the kitchen the management of the kingdom. Juan said that he knew more than anybody else in the palace. The king called Juan, and told him to go down to the seash.o.r.e and catch the rolling waves.

"You said that you are the wisest man in the palace," said the king. "Go and catch the waves of the sea for me."

"That's very easy, O king!" said Juan, "if you will only provide me with a rope made of sand taken from the seash.o.r.e."

The king did not know what to answer. He left Juan without saying anything, went into his room, and began to think of some more difficult work.

The next day he called Juan. "Juan, take this small bird and make fifty kinds of food out of it," said the king.

"Yes, sir!" said Juan, "if you will only provide me with a stove, a pan, and a knife made out of this needle," handing a needle to the king, "with which to cook the bird." Again the king did not know what to do. He was very angry at Juan.

"Juan, get out of my palace! Don't you let me see you walking on my ground around this palace without my consent!" said the king.

"Very well, sir!" said Juan, and he left the palace immediately.

The next day King Tasio saw Juan in front of the palace, riding on his paragos [31] drawn by a carabao.

"Did I not tell you not to stand or walk on my ground around this palace? Why are you here now? Do you mean to mock me?" shouted the king.

"Well," said Juan, "will your Majesty's eyes please see whether I am standing on your ground or not? This is my ground." And he pointed to the earth he had on his paragos. "I took this from my orchard."

"That's enough, Juan," said King Tasio. "I can have no more foolishness." The king felt very uncomfortable, because many of his courtiers and servants were standing there listening to his talk with Juan.

"Juan, put this squash into this jar. Be careful! See that you do not break either the squash or the jar," said the king, as he handed a squash and a jar to Juan. Now, the neck of the jar was small, and the squash was as big as the jar. So Juan had indeed a difficult task.

Juan went home. He put a very small squash, which he had growing in his garden, inside the jar. He did not, however, cut it from the vine. After a few weeks the squash had grown big enough to fill the jar. Juan then picked off the squash enclosed in the jar, and went to the king. He presented the jar to the king when all the servants, courtiers, and visitors from other towns were present. As soon as the king saw the jar with the squash in it, he fainted. It was many hours before he recovered.

Notes.

A third version (c), a Bicol story ent.i.tled "Marcela outwits the King," narrated by Gregorio Frondoso of Camarines, resembles closely the Pampango story of Marcela, with these minor differences:--

The heroine is the daughter of the king's adviser Bernardo. To test the girl's wit, the king sends her a mosquito he has killed, and tells her to cook it in such a way that it will serve twelve persons. She sends back a pin to him, with word that if he can make twelve forks from the pin, the mosquito will serve twelve persons. The second and third tasks are identical with those in the Pampango version. At last, satisfied with her sagacity, the king makes her his chief counsellor.

In addition to the three popular tales of the "Clever La.s.s" cycle, two chap-book versions of the story, containing incidents lacking in the folk-tales, may be mentioned here:--

A Buhay nang isang pastorang tubo sa villa na naguing asaua nang hari sa isang calabasa. ("Life of a Shepherdess who was born in a town, and who became the Wife of a King because of a Pumpkin.") Manila, 1908. This story is in verse, and comprises sixty-six quatrains of 12-syllable a.s.sonanced lines. It is known only in Tagalog, I believe.

B Buhay na pinagdaanan ni Rodolfo na anac ni Felizardo at ni Prisca sa cahariang Valencia. ("Life of Rodolfo, Son of Felizardo and Prisca, in the Kingdom of Valencia.") Maynila, 1910. Like the preceding, this corrido is known only in Tagalog, and is written in 12-syllable a.s.sonanced lines.

Of these two printed versions, I give below a literal translation of the first (A), not only because it is short (264 lines), but also because it will be seen to be closely connected with the folk-tales. For help in making this translation I am under obligation to Mr. Salvador Unson, which I gratefully acknowledge. The second story (B) I give only in partial summary. It is much too long to be printed in full, and, besides, contains many incidents that have nothing to do with our cycle. It will be noticed that "Rodolfo" (B) resembles rather the European forms of the story; while A and the three folk-tales are more Oriental, despite the conventional historical setting of A.

TALE A

"Cay Calabasa: The Life of a Shepherdess born in a town, who became the Wife of a King because of a Pumpkin."

1. Ye holy angels in the heavens, help my tongue to express and to relate the story I will tell.

2. In early times, when Adoveneis, King of Borgona, was still alive, he went out into the plains to hunt for deer, and accidentally became separated from his companions.

3. In his wandering about, he saw a hut, which had a garden surrounding it. A beautiful young maiden took care of the garden, in which were growing melons and pumpkins.

4. The king spoke to the maiden, and asked, "What plants are you growing here?" The girl replied, "I am raising pumpkins and melons."

5. Now, the king happened to be thirsty, and asked her for but a drink. "We were hunting in the heat of the day, and I felt this thirst come on me."

6. The maiden replied, "O ill.u.s.trious king! we have water in a mean jar, but it is surely not fitting that your Majesty should drink from a jar!

7. "If we had a jar of pure gold, in which we could put water from a blest fountain, then it would be proper for your Majesty. It is not right or worthy that you should drink from a base jar."

8. The king replied to the girl, "Never mind the jar, provided the water is cool." The maiden went into the house, and presently the king drank his fill.

9. After he had drunk, he handed her back the jar; but when the maiden had received it (in her hands), she suddenly struck it against the staircase. The jar was shattered to bits.