the celestial
beings. There was hardly an hour of the day when some sort of
jubilation or festival was not being held in the royal home. But,
in spite of all his riches, there was a melancholy in the mind of the
king,--a brooding, a cankering thought, that would not give him an hour
of rest or contentment. In spite of all the favors lavished on him by
God, he felt miserable and uneasy. He had a happy and wealthy kingdom,
but--he had no heir. There was nobody to manage the government after
his death. Whenever the thought of death came to his mind, he fell
on his knees and implored the Almighty to give him a son: "Have mercy
on me, O God! Give me a son to manage my kingdom after I am gone!"

One evening an angel from Paradise came to visit him, and, on finding
the king at his prayers, said, "Dry thy tears, O king! Thy royal
prayer is heard in heaven. Thou shalt be given more than a son, but
not in the same shape as thou art. Thy sons shall see the light of
day crowned with their own flesh." The king was so greatly overjoyed,
that he could not speak a single word of gratitude in reply.

Not long afterward the queen gave birth to a cock that crowed on
seeing the light of day. The couple were very glad: night and day
they caressed the royal babe, and they would have made for him a
cage of gold had not God forbidden them to do so. Every year a cock
was born into the royal family, until the feathered sons numbered
thirteen. But these sons were jealous of one another: each thought
that the others had no right to wear crowns.

At last the old king and queen died, and no one was left to manage
the royal demesne but the dumb sons. Thereafter the feathered orphans
began fighting one another, each one trying to wrest the crown from
the others.

Note.

I know of no variant of this story.

TALE 69

WHY BATS FLY AT NIGHT.

Narrator, Francisco M. Africa.

Many years ago the earth was inhabited by only one man. His body was
composed of minute organisms that were incessantly warring against
one another. One day this man became so weak that he could not obtain
food for his support. He laid himself down on some soft moss by the
bank of a river, and there he remained till night.

The organisms that lived in his body began to fight against one another
most fiercely. Each ate his fellow until he became very big. At last
the man died, and only one organism remained alive. This organism then
flew away, and became the ance