s sheriff Cagang to summon
Aninipot. When Aninipot appeared, the king, with eyes flashing with
anger, said to the culprit, "Why were you carrying fire last night?"

Aninipot was very much frightened, but he did not lose his wits. In a
trembling voice he answered, "Sir, I was carrying fire, because Lamoc
[106] was always trying to bite me. To protect myself, I am going to
carry fire all the time." The king thought that Aninipot had a good
reason, so he pardoned him also.

The king now realized that there was a great deal of trouble brewing
in his kingdom, of which he would not have been aware if he had
not been awakened by the Bataktak. So he sent his sheriff to get
Lamoc. In a short time Cagang appeared with Lamoc. But Lamoc, before
he left his own house, had told all his companions to follow him,
for he expected trouble. Before Lamoc reached the palace, the king was
already shouting with rage, so Lamoc approached the king and bit his
face. Then Mangla cried out, "It is true, what I heard from Bataktak,
Hu-man, and Aninipot!" The king at once ordered his sheriff to kill
Lamoc; but, before Cagang could carry out the order, the companions
of Lamoc rushed at him. He killed Lamoc, however, and then ran to
his home, followed by Lamoc's friends, who were bent on avenging the
murder. As Cagang's house was very deep under the ground, Lamoc's
friends could not get in, so they remained and hummed around the door.

Even to-day we can see that at the doors of the houses of Cagang and
his followers there are many friends of Lamoc humming and trying to
go inside. It is said that the Lamoc mistake the holes of our ears
for the house of Cagang, and that that is the reason mosquitoes hum
about our ears now.

A Tyrant.

Narrated by Facundo Esquivel of Jaen, Nueva Ecija. This is a Tagalog
story.

Once there lived a tyrannical king. One of his laws prohibited the
people from talking loudly. Even when this law had been put in force,
he still was not satisfied: so he ordered the law to be enforced
among the animals.

One of his officers once heard a frog croak. The officer caught
the frog and carried it before the king. The king began the trial
by saying, "Don't you know that there is a law prohibiting men and
animals from making a noise?"

"Yes, your Majesty," said the frog, "but I could not help laughing
to see the snail carrying his house with him wherever he goes."

The king was satisfied with the frog's answer, so he dismi