There was once a man who, being qualified for nothing, and not knowing how to earn a living, made up his mind one day to become a diviner. As luck had many times served him, the public came to believe in his oracles.... He amassed a good round sum, and day by day his success made him more bold and boastful. Once a golden tortoise disappeared from the palace of the king. As all searches for it resulted in nothing, some one mentioned the diviner to the king, and begged permission to summon him. The king ordered his litter prepared, the escort and the umbrellas of honor, and sent to have the conjurer fetched. When the conjurer learned what was the matter, he was very much disturbed, but he could not resist the commands of the king. Accordingly he dressed himself, entered the litter, and set out. Along the road the poor diviner continually bemoaned his fate. Finally he cried out, “What is the use of groaning? The stomach (bung) has caused it all; the belly (da) will suffer for it” (an Anamese proverb). Now, it happened that the two litter-bearers were named Bung and Da, and it was they who had stolen the king’s gold tortoise. When they heard the exclamation of the diviner, they believed that they had been discovered. They begged him to have pity on them; they confessed that they had stolen the tortoise and had hidden it in the gutter. “Very well,” said the diviner, “I will spare you; I will say nothing; reassure yourselves.” When he reached the palace, he went through some magical performances, found the tortoise, and was overwhelmed by the king with rewards and honors.—COSQUIN, 2 : 192.
It is entirely possible that this story and our two stories containing the same situation are connected. Trading between Manila and Indo-China has been going on for centuries.
The history of the Philippine story has probably been something like this: To an early narrative about a wager between two neighboring kings or datus, in which the winner was aided by the shrewdness of an advisor (originally having a considerable amount of real ability), were added other adventures showing how the advisor came to have his post of honor. The germ of this story doubtless came from India via the Malay migrations; the additional details possibly belong to a much later period.
It is, moreover, not impossible that this whole cycle of the lucky “anti-hero” grew up as a conscious antithesis to the earlier cycle of the genuinely “Clever Lass” (see [No. 7] in this collection).
In conclusion I might call attention to Benfey’s treatment of this droll in “Orient und Occident” (1 : 371 et seq.). Benfey traces the story from the Orient, but considers that its fullest form is that given in Schleicher’s Lithuanian legends. The tale is also found in “Somadeva,” Chapter XXX (Tawney, 1 : 272–274).
[1] A common nickname for “Juan,” equivalent to the English “Jack.”
[2] Datu, old native name for “village chieftain.”
[3] Casco, a commodious wooden cargo-boat commonly used in rivers and propelled by poling.
[4] Carabao, a gray water-buffalo used throughout the Archipelago as a draught-animal.