ar him, for the murmuring
sound becomes louder and louder. At last Juan is so exasperated,
that he takes a piece of bamboo-bellows (ihip) and gives the pot a
fatal blow. This puts an end to the pot, the rice, and the flames.

At noon the hungry robbers come home. They find Juan almost breathless
in the darkest corner of the house, the pot broken, and the rice
scattered over the floor. They ask Juan what is the matter. Juan
says that the naughty pot was making too much noise, and was mocking
him; and, as the captain bade him be careful about making a noise,
he struck the pot and broke it into pieces. The captain cannot help
smiling at Juan's foolishness, and he tells Juan to prepare a lunch
with anything he can find in the house.

The next day comes, and all the food is eaten. The captain gives Juan
some money, and tells him to go to the market to buy some earthen pots
and some crabs. When Juan reaches the barrio, he buys all the crabs
he can find, and about two dozen large earthen pots. He next finds
out that the pots are too bulky for him to carry, although they are
not heavy. At last he thinks of a good way to carry them. He has the
pots carried to one corner of the market, where he buys a long piece
of rattan. He sharpens one end of the rattan and passes it through
the bottoms of all the pots, so that they are now very easy to be
carried. He slings them over his shoulder, and starts for home with
the pots and the crabs. Soon he comes to a large, wide river with a
very strong current. He sits down on the bank and wonders what is to
be done. He remembers that crabs are good swimmers, so he decides to
untie them and let them swim to the other side of the river. As he
unties the crabs, he says, "Now, crabs, we have to cross this broad
river. I know that you are good swimmers. I am a slow swimmer myself,
and especially with these pots to carry. Please swim to the other
side of the river as quickly as you can, for I cannot carry you. If
you reach the other side before I do, you may go straight home, or
wait for me." With this warning, he releases the crabs one by one
so that they may go in a straight line. He is very glad to see them
swim so fast. Then with the help of a piece of bamboo, and after a
long struggle, he himself reaches the opposite shore. He looks around
for the crabs; but, seeing none, he says to himself, "Perhaps they
have become tired of waiting for me and have gone straight home, as
I ordered them to do