comes, Juan goes to church. In the pulpit the priest tells
the people to put a little cross on their street doors. When Juan
goes home, he takes a piece of tinting (the rib of a cocoanut-leaf)
and makes a little cross about two inches high. When the priest makes
his rounds, he does not see the cross, for it is so small. He asks
Juan where his cross is. Juan shows him; and the priest tells him
to make a large one, for it is too small, and the evil spirits will
not be able to see it. Juan takes his bolo and cuts two long pieces
of bamboo. This time his cross is so large, that the priest cannot
see it, either. The priest becomes so angry at Juan's stupidity, that
he expels him from the town. Juan good-naturedly goes away. He sells
his house, and with his cart and carabao he moves on to another town.

He settles in a barrio where the soil is red. Here he lives several
weeks, but he is always longing to go back to his old home. He finally
says to himself that he is going there in spite of the anger of the
priest. He fills his cart with red earth, and hitches his carabao to
it. He sits in the middle of his cart, and slowly drives to the town
where he had lived before. As he is driving down the main street
in the afternoon, whom should he meet but the priest himself! The
priest cries, "Juan, so you are here again! Didn't I tell you that you
must never tread the soil of this town again? If you do not go away,
I shall tell the capitan to imprison you."

"Dear priest," says Juan humbly, "before you accuse me, use your
eyes. I am not treading on your soil. This earth which I have in my
cart is my own." The priest looks in the cart. By this time there are
many people around them, and they too look in the cart. They laugh at
Juan's wit. The priest wants to laugh too; but he controls himself,
for he is afraid that the people will not respect him any more if he
laughs. So he angrily threatens Juan, and tells him to leave the town
instantly. Poor Juan has nothing to do but go.

He sells his carabao and cart, and spends the money foolishly in
the neighboring villages. Soon Juan is reduced to poverty again, so
he decides to go back to his native town. There he finds everything
changed: the houses are better, and the little chapel is prettier. He
looks for relatives or friends, but he finds only his old grandmother,
who lives by herself in the field. He goes to her and tells her the
history of his family. The old woman recognizes him a