ur conscience will not permit us
to steal.'

"'Oh, no, no!' returned Thumb angrily, 'you are greatly mistaken,
my friends! Haven't you sense enough even to know how foolish you
are to oppose my plan? Do you call my scheme bad policy,--to save
your lives and mine?'

"'Ay, if that be your plan,' said the other four fingers, 'you
can go your own way. As for us, we would rather starve and die than
steal.' Then the four virtuous brothers drove Thumb in shame out of
their community, and would have nothing more to do with him.

"So that is why," concluded old Julian, "we see our thumbs separated
from the other four fingers. He was a thief; and the other four,
who were honest, did not care to live with him. And it is because
Little-Finger did not have enough to eat, that we see him lean and
weak these days."

Note.

I know of no other Filipino accounts of why the thumb is separated
from the rest of the fingers. As an interesting curiosity, however,
I might cite a Bicol children's jingle of five lines which characterize
briefly the five fingers (the thumb is the last described) :--

Maya-mayang saday
Magayon na singsignan
Daculang mangmang
Atrevido
Hababang tao

"Pretty little sparrow,
Beautiful for a ring,
Long but lazy fellow,
Froward, insolent thing,
Dumpy, dwarfish one."

TALE 76

WHY SNAILS CLIMB UP GRASS.

Narrated by Jose E. Tomeldan of Binalonan, Pangasinan.

Long ago, when the various kinds of animals dwelt together in a kind
of community, a dalag (a kind of mud-fish), a dragonfly, a wasp, and
a snail agreed to live together in a common house. They furthermore
agreed to divide up the different household duties according to
their power and skill. Accordingly, Dalag, since he was the biggest
and strongest of all, was made the head of the house. He was also
to provide food for his little companions. Dragon-Fly was made the
messenger, because he was the swiftest of them all, but was too weak
for any other kind of work. Wasp was made the house-guard because
of his poisonous sting. Besides being guard, he was also to keep
the house in repair, because he could carry bits of earth and other
building-materials. Snail was made the cook, because he was too slow
for any other duty except tending the house.

Early one day Dalag went out to look for food. He swam slowly here and
there among the water-plants, when suddenly