Mi domine!"

"Where is the ring?" said the king.

Suan replied,--

"Singsing na nawala
Ninakao ang akala
Ay nas' 'big ng gansa,"--

which meant that the ring was not stolen, but had been swallowed by
a goose. The king ordered all the geese to be killed. In the crop of
one of them they found the ring. In great joy the king patted Suan
on the back, and said, "You are truly the wisest boy in the world."

The next day there was a great entertainment, and Suan and the princess
were married.

In a country on the other side of the sea was living a rich man named
Mayabong. This man heard that the King of Campao had a son-in-law
who was a good guesser. So he filled one of his cascos with gold
and silver, and sailed to Campao. He went to the palace, and said,
"King, is it true that your son-in-law is a good guesser?"

"Yes," said the king.

"Should you like to have a contest with me? If your son-in-law can
tell how many seeds these melons I have brought here contain, I will
give you that casco filled with gold and silver on the sea; but if he
fails, you are to give me the same amount of money as I have brought."

The king agreed. Mayabong told him that they would meet at the public
square the next day.

When Mayabong had gone away, the king called Suan, and said, "Mayabong
has challenged me to a contest. You are to guess how many seeds the
melons he has contain. Can you do it?" Suan was ashamed to refuse;
so, even though he knew that he could not tell how many seeds a melon
contained, he answered, "Yes."

When night came, Suan could not sleep. He was wondering what to do. At
last he decided to drown himself in the sea. So he went to the shore
and got into a tub. "I must drown myself far out, so that no one may
find my body. If they see it, they will say that I was not truly a
good guesser," he said to himself. He rowed and rowed until he was
very tired. It so happened that he reached the place where Mayabong's
casco was anchored. There he heard somebody talking. "How many seeds
has the green melon?" said one. "Five," answered another. "How many
seeds has the yellow one?"--"Six."

When Suan heard how many seeds each melon contained, he immediately
rowed back to shore and went home.

The next morning Suan met Mayabong at the public square, as
agreed. Mayabong held up a green melon, and said, "How many seeds
does this melon contain?"

"Five seeds," answered Suan, after uttering