ied his wife, "how can you make any gain if you
sell it for just what you paid for it."
The man leaned his head against the wall and thought. Ever since then
he has been called "Mansumandig," a man who leans back and thinks.
Then the wife said, "Give me the twenty-five centavos, and I will try
to make some money." So he handed it to her, and she said, "Now you go
to the field where the people are gathering hemp and buy twenty-five
centavos worth for me, and I will weave it into cloth."
When Mansumandig returned with the hemp she spread it in the sun,
and as soon as it was dry she tied it into a long thread and put it
on the loom to weave. Night and day she worked on her cloth, and when
it was finished she had eight varas. This she sold for twelve and a
half centavos a vara, and with this money she bought more hemp. She
continued weaving and selling her cloth, and her work was so good
that people were glad to buy from her.
At the end of a year she again spread the mat on the floor and took
her place on one side of it, while her husband sat on the opposite
side. Then she poured the money out of the blanket in which she kept
it upon the mat. She held aside her capital, which was twenty-five
centavos, and when she counted the remainder she found that she
had three hundred pesos. Mansumandig was greatly ashamed when he
remembered that he had not made cent, and he leaned his head against
the wall and thought After a while the woman pitied him, so she gave
him the money and told him to buy carabao.
He was able to buy ten carabao and with these he plowed his fields. By
raising good crops they were able to live comfortably all the rest
of their lives.
Why Dogs Wag their Tails
_Visayan_
A rich man in a certain town once owned a dog and a cat, both of
which were very useful to him. The dog had served his master for many
years and had become so old that he had lost his teeth and was unable
to fight any more, but he was a good guide and companion to the cat
who was strong and cunning.
The master had a daughter who was attending school at a convent some
distance from home, and very often he sent the dog and the cat with
presents to the girl.
One day he called the faithful animals and bade them carry a magic
ring to his daughter.
"You are strong and brave," he said to the cat "You may carry the ring,
but you must be careful not to drop it"
And to the dog he said: "You must accompany the cat to guide
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