n. "The ball contains nine
cents." Consequently Suan won the fourteen cascos full of gold. From
now on, nobody doubted Suan's merit.

Suan Eket.

Narrated by Manuel Reyes, a Tagalog from Rizal province. He heard
the story from his grandfather.

Many years ago there lived in the country of Campao a boy named
Suan. While this boy was studying in a private school, it was said
that he could not pronounce the letter x very well--he called it
"eket." So his schoolmates nick-named him "Suan Eket."

Finally Suan left school, because, whenever he went there, the other
pupils always shouted at him, "Eket, eket, eket!" He went home,
and told his mother to buy him a pencil and a pad of paper. "I am
the wisest boy in our town now," said he.

One night Suan stole his father's plough, and hid it in a creek near
their house. The next morning his father could not find his plough.

"What are you looking for?" said Suan.

"My plough," answered his father.

"Come here, father! I will guess where it is." Suan took his pencil and
a piece of paper. On the paper he wrote figures of various shapes. He
then looked up, and said,--

"Ararokes, ararokes,
Na na nakawes
Ay na s'imburnales,"--

which meant that the plough had been stolen by a neighbor and hidden
in a creek. Suan's father looked for it in the creek near their house,
and found it. In great wonder he said, "My son is truly the wisest
boy in the town." News spread that Suan was a good guesser.

One day as Suan was up in a guava-tree, he saw his uncle Pedro
ploughing. At noon Pedro went home to eat his dinner, leaving the
plough and the carabao [5] in the field. Suan got down from the tree
and climbed up on the carabao's back. He guided it to a very secret
place in the mountains and hid it there. When Pedro came back, he
could not find his carabao. A man who was passing by said, "Pedro,
what are you looking for?"

"I am looking for my carabao. Somebody must have stolen it." "Go to
Suan, your nephew," said the man. "He can tell you who stole your
carabao." So Pedro went to Suan's house, and told him to guess who
had taken his carabao.

Suan took his pencil and a piece of paper. On the paper he wrote some
round figures. He then looked up, and said,

"Carabaues, carabaues,
Na nanakawes
Ay na sa bundokes,"--

which meant that the carabao was stolen by a neighbor and was hidden
in the mountain. For many days Pedro