PABLO AND THE PRINCESS

Something to Find Out.—How the magic fruit saved Pablo.

I. THE MAGIC PURSE

Once upon a time, long, long ago, there lived a King and Queen who had one beautiful daughter. When the Princess was eighteen years old, the King wanted to find a rich husband for her. He thought that money was the best thing in all the world.

So the King sent messengers all over the country to say that whoever would bring him ten cart-loads of money each day for ten days should marry the Princess and have half of his kingdom, besides. But if anyone tried and failed, he should be put to death.

A poor, hard-working boy named Pablo heard the King's message. That night he said to his mother, “O Mother, how I should like to marry the beautiful Princess, and have half of the king-dom, besides! Then I should be a handsome prince, and you would be a lovely queen.”

But his mother only laughed at him, for well she knew that they had not even one small piece of money in the house.

The next day Pablo took his ax as usual and went to the forest to cut wood. Picking out the largest tree in the forest, he began to chop it down. When he had struck only two or three blows with his ax he heard a voice saying,“Please do not cut me any more, Pablo. I am the King of the Forest. Put your hand into the hole in my trunk, and you will find a purse which will give you all the money you wish.”

At once Pablo obeyed the voice and, putting his hand into the hole, he pulled out a leather purse. It was empty, however, and so Pablo threw it down, saying, “The King of the Forest is trying to play a joke on me.” But as the purse struck the ground, there was a clinking noise, and silver money rolled out of it.

Pablo was then filled with happiness and,taking the purse, started at once for home to tell his mother of his good luck. As soon as he reached the house, he called his mother and began shaking the purse. Out rolled the money in a silver stream. It spread all over the floor of the little hut.

Of course Pablo's mother was surprised and delighted when she saw so much money. “Now, my son, you can go to the King,” she said, “and marry the beautiful Princess.”

The next morning Pablo went to the palace and asked to see the King. The King was much surprised to hear such a poorly dressed boy say that he had come to marry the Princess, and ask for half of his kingdom, besides.

“Young man,” said the King, “do you know that if you try to send the cart-loads of money and fail, you will be put to death?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” said Pablo. “But I shall not fail.”

Then he asked the King to let him have a talk with the Princess. He was taken before the Princess, and was much pleased with her beauty. But the young girl was not pleased with Pablo, because he was so poorly dressed.

After Pablo had bidden her good-bye, he told the King to send ten carts for the first loads of money. The carts were sent with soldiers to guard them. How surprised the soldiers were when they saw the piles of silver around Pablo's little hut! They filled the carts with money and hauled it away to the palace. The King was overjoyed at the sight, and even the Princess seemed pleased.

Five days went by, and Pablo had not once failed to have the money ready when the soldiers came for it. By this time the Princess was not quite so well pleased. “Only five days more,” she said to herself, “and I shall have to marry Pablo. He is very, very rich, but now we have all the money we need. I do not want to marry him. I will play a trick on him.”

The next day one of the soldiers told the Princess that Pablo got all his money from a magic purse. When she heard this she asked the soldier to tell Pablo that she wished to see him alone. Of course Pablo was much delighted at the message, and hastened at once to the palace.

There the Princess sang and sang to him, until finally he fell asleep. As soon as Pablo closed his eyes, she took the magic purse and hid it.

II. THE WONDERFUL FRUIT

After a while Pablo awoke and went back to his little hut. When he reached home he found that his magic purse was gone.

“Alas, alas!” he said to his mother. “My purse has been stolen, and now I cannot fill the carts with money. Surely I must die if I do not leave this kingdom at once.”

So bidding his mother good-bye, he started on a journey into another country.

After traveling for a long time, Pablo came to a high mountain, on which grew many wonderful trees that bore strange-looking fruit. As he had eaten very little on his journey, he was so hungry that he decided to try some of it. No sooner had he tasted a mouthful than he was terrified to find two horns growing on his forehead. With all his strength he pulled and pulled, but the horns would not come off.

“Now I am in a pretty fix!” he said. “But since I have horns I may as well eat some more fruit, for I am still very hungry.”

So he went to another tree that was full of delicious-looking fruit, and ate some of it. To his great delight, the horns at once tumbled off his forehead.

“Ha! ha!” he said to himself. “The magic fruit of the first tree makes horns grow on the head of anyone that eats it. The fruit of this second tree makes the horns drop off. What wonderful fruit this is! I think I can use it to help me get back my magic purse.”

Gathering some of the fruit of the second tree, he put it into his hat. Then he went back to the first tree and gathered some of its fruit in his handkerchief. Off he started for home, many miles away. He had been gone for several months, and so he felt sure that the King had stopped searching for him.

When he reached his home town he went at night to the palace of the King and hired himself as a helper to the cook. Pablo quickly made friend of all the servants in the kitchen. He was such a hard-working young man that he was soon doing most of the cooking himself.

One day the cook went off and left Pablo to prepare dinner all alone. Now came his chance. He chopped up both kinds of the magic fruit. Then he put some of the first kind into a dish with the food which the King, Queen, and Princess would eat for dinner. The fruit which made the horns fall off he mixed with water and put into a bottle.

When the dinner had been placed upon the table, the King's family sat down and began eating. In a few minutes the King, Queen, and Princess were horrified to see two horns growing on each of their heads. They pulled and screamed and pulled and screamed, but the horns stuck fast.

All the servants ran into the dining room and tried to help them, but no one could pull the horns off. Last of all came Pablo, who said, “I will take off your horns, O King, if you will promise me three things for doing it. First, I ask for my life; second, for half of your kingdom;and third, for the beautiful Princess.”

“I will gladly give you all you ask,” said the King, “if you will take these horrid horns from our heads.”

Then Pablo gave the King, the Queen, and the Princess each a glass containing the liquid which he had made from the fruit of the second tree. When they drank it, their horns fell off at once.

The King kept his word and gave Pablo half of his kingdom and the beautiful Princess as his wife. The Princess returned the magic purse to Pablo, and they lived happily ever afterwards. The King became very fond of Pablo, and when he grew old, made Pablo ruler over all the land.

—Philippine Folk Tale