“Lift it. It really is not heavy,” explained Fil’s father.
“It is made out of split bamboos, which are spread out in a circle. Oiled silk, or oiled hemp cloth, is pasted over the frame. It all costs very little,” explained Fil’s father.
“But they are so thick, I could not put more than one in my umbrella stand at home,” I said.
“There you are joking again,” laughed Fil, who added: “We Filipinos hang our umbrella up on the veranda roof, where it is ornamental, as well as useful when wanted.”
“You see our umbrellas are made in pretty colors,” explained Filippa, who certainly showed that she would become a good housekeeper.
“Now, would you like to see a chair-shop, where they use no saw or plane or nails?” asked Fil.
“It seems nonsense, because our chairs at home are sawn from oak logs; and they are so filled with tacks and nails that they tear my clothes,” I replied.
“Around this corner,” said Fil, who was proud to lead the way.
Surely enough, Filipino workmen were tying lengths of bamboo poles together, with tough rattan vine, for the frame of a chair. The back was made of laced rattan and grasses. The seat was made of split bamboo, round side up, and all was as smooth, restful, light, and pliable as could be wished; and not a dangerous nail nor a saw used to make it.