red cavans of husked rice mixed with one hundred cavans of unhusked
rice. To-night you must separate the grain into two piles, and also
transport the palace of Dona Maria to my kingdom. If you have not
done both by to-morrow morning, you shall lose your head." Juan went
away very sad toward the mountain. As he was walking along, he met
the thin horse which had helped him before. The horse said to him,
"Why are you so sad, Juan?" Juan told the horse what the king had
ordered him to do. Then the horse said, "Don't be sad, Juan! you can
accomplish both those difficult tasks. Don't you remember the leg
of the ant and the feathers of the eagle which were given to you,
and the promise of the ant and eagle?" So Juan took the ant's leg
and the feathers from his pocket, burned them, and threw the ashes
into the air. In a short time thousands of birds and ants came to him
and asked him what he wanted. Then Juan said, "I want the palace of
Dona Maria brought here before daybreak, and the two hundred cavans
of mixed rice separated." When they heard Juan's order, the birds
flew to the mountain to get the palace, and the ants hastened to the
king's grounds to separate the unhusked from the husked rice.

By morning both tasks were completed: so Juan was married to Dona
Maria, for she would have no other husband.

Notes.

Although this story is clearly derived from the Tagalog romance of the
"Life of King Asuero," nevertheless it is also told as a folk-tale,
and for that reason I have included it in this collection. As has been
intimated already so many times, it is often hard to draw the line
between folk-tales and literary tales, especially when the latter are
widely told and read. Since our object in this collection is to present
to Occidental readers a comprehensive account of what is in Philippine
popular literature, it has seemed unwise to exclude this story.

The full title of the romance is "The Story and Life of King Asuero,
Dona Maria, and Juan the Poor, in the City of Jerusalem." My copy
is dated 1905; Retana (No. 4192) mentions an edition between the
years 1860 and 1898. In outline the folk-tale differs little from
the romance, hence it is unnecessary to give a detailed summary of
the printed version. The more important variations might be noted,
however. The romance opens thus:--

Once there lived an old man whose name was Asuero. He was the king
of Jerusalem. One night he dreamed that he should be dethroned,
and t