ale. And when he recognized it, he advanced to it, and,
putting his mouth to its ear, said, 'Wo to thee, O unlucky! Doubtless
thou hast returned to intoxication and beaten thy mother again. By
Allah, I will never again buy thee!'" The sharper had previously
given as the reason of his transformation the fact that his mother had
cursed him when he, in a fit of drunkenness, had beaten her. Clouston
tells this story in his "Book of Noodles" (81-83).

Stories of the transformation of a child into an animal because
of a parent's curse are found all over Europe. This motif is also
widespread in the Philippines among both the Christian and the Pagan
tribes. It is usually incorporated in an origin story, such as "The
Origin of Monkeys." For this belief among a non-Christian people in
northern Luzon, see Cole, Nos. 65-67. None of these tales, however,
assume the droll form: they are told as serious etiological myths.

TALE 16

THE CLEVER HUSBAND AND WIFE.

Narrated by Elisa Cordero, a Tagalog from Pagsanjan, La Laguna. She
heard the story from her servant.

Pedro had been living as a servant in a doctor's house for more than
nine years. He wanted very much to have a wife, but he had no business
of any kind on which to support one.

One day he felt very sad. His look of dejection did not escape the
notice of his master, who said, "What is the matter, my boy? Why do
you look so sad? Is there anything I can do to comfort you?"

"Oh, yes!" said Pedro.

"What do you want me to do?" asked the doctor.

"Master," the man replied, "I want a wife, but I have no money to
support one."

"Oh, don't worry about money!" replied his master. "Be ready to-morrow,
and I will let you marry the woman you love."

The next day the wedding was held. The doctor let the couple live in a
cottage not far from his hacienda, [58] and he gave them two hundred
pieces of gold. When they received the money, they hardly knew what
to do with it, as Pedro had never had any business of any sort. "What
shall we do after we have spent all our money?" asked the wife. "Oh,
we can ask the doctor for more," answered Pedro.

Years passed by, and one day the couple had not even a cent with
which to buy food. So Pedro went to the doctor and asked him for some
money. The doctor, who had always been kind to them, gave him twenty
pieces of gold; but these did not last very long, and it was not many
days before the money was all spent. The husband and wife