下载掌阅APP，畅读海量书库
立即打开
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