ore easily through the slippery mud,"
added Fil.

"But what if you fell off, a mile from a crossing?" I asked laughingly.

"Oh, he jokes too, and you don't check him," remarked Fil, who looked
at his father. Fil's father smiled.

"What is this tough, crooked elbow stick, fixed to a long pole?" I
inquired.

"A plow," answered Fil wisely:

"Don't joke. How can you have a plow wholly made of wood?" I asked.

"I'll tell you," said Fil. "You see our rice fields are flooded and
soft. We do not need a solid heavy steel plow, such as you need in
hard, dry land. The water buffalo, who loves to wade through the
flooded rice fields, easily pulls this bent stick, which plows up
the mud. Then we drain the field and plant the rice seedlings, and
flood the field again, because rice must grow in water."

"It is a peculiar but lovely Philippines that you live in ; so
different from our country, but perhaps even more charming," I added.

CHAPTER XVI

UMBRELLAS; CHAIRS; MILK-BOTTLE

"Please show us an umbrella shop," begged Filippa and Favra together;
for they had been whispering about what they would like to see.

"This way, then," said her father and the Padre.

We walked along several narrow streets, which had bamboo blinds hung
between the second stories, so as to keep out the strong sun.

When we came to a certain door space, which really had no hinged door,
Filippa's father moved aside the dangling ropes, made of glass and
bamboo beads, which hung across the entrance. This made a tinkling
noise, and attracted the workman to the front.

"We would like to see your umbrellas," explained Fil's father.

I thought the workman would show us silk or cloth ones, that would
roll up tight.

"Why, this one is very thick," I said.

"Lift it. It really is not heavy," explained Fil's father.

"How is it made?" I inquired.

"It is made out of split bamboos, which are spread out in a
circle. Oiled silk, or oiled hemp cloth, is pasted over the frame. It
all costs very little," explained Fil's father.

"But they are so thick, I could not put more than one in my umbrella
stand at home," I said.

"There you are joking again," laughed Fil, who added: "We Filipinos
hang our umbrella up on the veranda roof, where it is ornamental,
as well as useful when wanted."

"You see our umbrellas are made in pretty colors," explained Filippa,
who certainly showed that she would become a good housekeeper.

"Now, would you like to