ut if I say 'Boombye, Boomba' it will beat
you to death."

At the sound of the magic words the stick leaped from his hands and
began beating his friend until he cried:

"Oh, stop it and I will give back everything that I stole from
you." Juan ordered the stick to stop, and then he compelled the man to
lead the goat and to carry the net and the jar and spoons to his home.

There Juan commanded the goat, and it shook its whiskers until his
mother and brothers had all the silver they could carry. Then they
ate from the magic jar and spoons until they were filled. And this
time Juan was not scolded. After they had finished Juan said:

"You have beaten me and scolded me all my life, and now you are glad
to accept my good things. I am going to show you something else:
'Boombye, Boomba'." Immediately the stick leaped out and beat them
all until they begged for mercy and promised that Juan should ever
after be head of the house.

From that time Juan was rich and powerful, but he never went anywhere
without his stick. One night, when some thieves came to his house,
he would have been robbed and killed had it not been for the magic
words "Boombye, Boomba," which caused the death of all the robbers.

Some time after this he married a beautiful princess, and because of
the kindness of the magic tree they always lived happily. [159]

Juan Gathers Guavas

_Tagalog_

One day Juan's father sent him to get some ripe guavas, for a number of
the neighbors had come in and he wanted to give them something to eat.

Juan went to the guava bushes and ate all the fruit he could hold,
and then he decided to play a joke on his father's guests instead
of giving them a feast of guavas. A wasp's nest hung near by. With
some difficulty he succeeded in taking it down and putting it into
a tight basket that he had brought for the fruit. He hastened home
and gave the basket to his father, and then as he left the room where
the guests were seated he closed the door and fastened it.

As soon as Juan's father opened the basket the wasps flew over the
room; and when the people found the door locked they fought to get
out of the windows. After a while Juan opened the door, and when he
saw the swollen faces of the people, he cried.

"What fine, rich guavas you must have had! They have made you all
so fat!".

The Sun and the Moon [160]

_Visayan_

Once upon a time the Sun and the Moon were married, and they had many
children who w