city in twelve hours. Lucas presented the water
to the king, and the monarch was obliged to accept the young man as
his son-in-law.

The wedding-day was a time of great rejoicing. Everybody was
enthusiastic about Lucas except the king. The third day after the
nuptials, the giant reached the palace. He said that he was very near
the city when a heavy wind blew him back to the eighth mountain.

Juan and His Six Companions.

Narrated by Vicente M. Hilario, a Tagalog from Batangas, who heard
the story from an old woman from Balayan.

Not very long after the death of our Saviour on Calvary, there lived in
a far-away land a powerful king named Jaime. By judicious usurpations
and matrimonial alliances, this wise monarch extended his already
vast dominions to the utmost limits. Instead of ruling his realm as
a despot, however, he devoted himself to the task of establishing a
strong government based on moderation and justice. By his marvellous
diplomacy he won to his side counts, dukes, and lesser princes. To
crown his happiness, he had an extremely lovely daughter, whose name
was Maria. Neither Venus nor Helen of Troy could compare with her in
beauty. Numerous suitors of noble birth from far and near vied with
one another in spending fortunes on this pearl of the kingdom; but
Maria regarded all suitors with aversion, and her father was perplexed
as to how to get her a husband without seeming to show favoritism.

After consulting gravely with his advisers, the monarch gave out this
proclamation: "He who shall succeed in getting the golden egg from
the moss-grown oak in yonder mountain shall be my son-in-law and heir."

This egg, whose origin nobody knew anything about, rendered its
possessor very formidable. When the proclamation had been made public,
the whole kingdom was seized with wild enthusiasm; for, though the task
was hazardous, yet it seemed performable and easy to the reckless. For
five days and five nights crowds of lovers, adventurers, and ruffians
set sail for the "Mountain of the Golden Egg," as it was called; but
none of the enterprisers ever reached the place. Some were shipwrecked;
others were driven by adverse winds and currents to strange lands,
where they perished miserably; and the rest were forced to return
because of the horrible sights of broken planks and mangled bodies.

Some days after the return of the last set of adventurers, three
brothers rose from obscurity to try their fortunes in this