we consider the wide variety to be found in the European stories
(see Bolte-Polivka, 2 : 87-94; Panzer, Beowulf, 66-74), suggests an
ultimate common source for our variants. The phrase "Soplin Soplon,
son of the great blower" (in "Juan and his Six Friends") is almost
an exact translation of "Soplin Soplon, hijo del buen soplador"
(Caballero, "Lucifer's Ear"). This same locution in the vernacular
is found in the Tagalog folk-tale of "Lucas the Strong."

The ship that will sail on land is often met with in European
stories. See R. Koehler, "Orient und Occident," 2 : 296-299; also
his notes to Gonzenbach, No. 74. Compare also the Argonaut saga;
and Bolte-Polivka, 2 : 87-95 passim.

In two of our stories the hero's runner is almost defeated by
the king's messenger, who treacherously makes use of a magic
sleep-producing ring. One of the other companions, however, discovers
the trick, and the skilful hunter awakens the sleeper with a well-aimed
shot. For this feat of Sharpshooter's, see Gonzenbach, No. 74; Grimm,
No. 71; Meier, No. 8; Ey, Harzmaerchenbuch, 116.

Of native beliefs found in our stories, two are deserving of
comment. The method by which Lucas becomes possessed of great strength
reflects a notion held by certain old Tagalogs. Some of the men around
Calamba, Laguna province, make an incision in the wrist and put in
it a small white bone taken from the end of the tail of the sawang
bitin (a species of boa). The cut is then sewed up. Those who have
a talisman of this sort believe that at night it travels all over
the body and produces extraordinary strength. (For similar Malayan
superstitions, see Skeat 2, 303-304.) The legend (in "King Palmarin")
about the origin of Mount Arayat and the swamp of Candaba is but one
of many still told by old Pampangans. Its insertion into a romance
with European setting is an instance of the Filipino romance writers'
utter disregard or ignorance of geographical propriety.

In conclusion, attention may be called to the fact that while
these three stories have the same basic framework, each has its own
peculiar variations. The testimony of the narrator of "Juan and his
Six Companions," that his informant, an old Balayan woman, said that
the story was very popular in her section of the country, is a bit of
evidence that the tale has been known in the Philippines for decades,
probably. Whether or not her form of the story was derived from
a printed account, I am unable to say; but I