ory,--the ring. On seeing Suguid
approaching so cheerfully, the king knew that he was lost. He therefore
swooned, but on recovering he realized that he had to abide by his
promise. He reluctantly caused the princess to be summoned from her
palace, and she and Suguid were married together; and it was not long
before the king and queen began to appreciate the talent of their
humble and lowly son-in-law. By Suguid's wise policy the kingdom
prospered, and for the first time learned what peace really meant.

Notes.

I have a variant of this story, "Juan the Poor," told more briefly,
narrated by Andrea Mariano, a Tagalog, who heard it from her little
brother. It runs thus in outline:--

Juan is the son of a beggar. The beggar dies, and the son sells himself
to a merchant for money to bury his father properly. After Juan has
been educated, he posts this sign in front of the merchant's house:
"I can trace everything that is lost.--Juan." The king sees the sign,
and requires the boy to discover his hidden daughter. Method: Golden
carriage with Juan playing music inside; old man hired to push it. The
king borrows the carriage and takes it to his daughter. When alone
with the princess, Juan declares his love, and she gives him her
ring. Next day the carriage is returned to the old man. Juan takes
the ring to the king, and is given the princess's hand in marriage
because he is so wise.

For another Tagalog variant see "The King, the Princess, and the
Poor Boy" (JAFL 20 : 307). This is almost identical with the variant
above, except that the hero is advised by two statues how to discover
where the princess is. Furthermore, the hero is discovered with
the princess after he has gained access to her by means of the gilt
carriage and music-box.

The fullest form of the story, however, is the Tagalog metrical romance
popularly known under the title "Juan Bachiller." The full title runs
as follows: "The Sad Life of a Father and of his Son named Juan, in
the Kingdom of Spain. The son sold himself to a merchant on condition
that he would bury the corpse of his father." My copy bears the date
1907, but this is merely a reprint of an older edition. Retana cites
an edition dated 1902 (No. 4337) and one before 1898 (No. 4156). The
poem is in 12-syllable lines, and contains 350 quatrains. It is still
very popular among the Tagalogs, but does not appear to have been
printed in any of the other Philippine languages. Inasmuch as there
is a