When the robbers came home and asked Juan for rice, he told them what had happened. The chief realized that the fault was his, so he only laughed at Juan; but, from that time on, Juan was never allowed to stay alone in the cave.
One night the robbers decided to rob the captain of the Municipal Police in a town near by. When they reached the captain’s house, they saw that it was empty: so they took everything they could find. Juan entered the captain’s bedroom, but, instead of searching for valuables, he took the captain’s uniform and put it on. Then Juan went out to join his companions. But as soon as the robbers saw the uniformed man, they thought it was the captain, and ran away as fast as their legs would carry them. Juan ran too, for he thought that the captain must be after them. The robbers were so frightened, that they separated; but Juan decided to follow the chief. Finally the chief became so tired, that he made up his mind to stop and fight his pursuer; but when Juan came up, the chief recognized him, and it was only then that both of them felt that they had gotten rid of the real captain.
For a Santal story of a stupid hero joining a band of thieves, see A. Campbell, “Jhorea and Jhore,” pp. 11–12; Bompas, p. 19.
(3) Adventure with the crabs. Compare “The Adventures of Juan” (JAFL 20 : 106), in which Juan’s mother sends her foolish son to town to buy meat to eat with the boiled rice. He buys a live crab, which he sets down in the road and tells to go to his mother to be cooked for dinner. The crab promises, but, as soon as Juan’s back is turned, runs in another direction. Clearly our version of the incident is superior to this.
(4) Juan as a thief. With this incident may be compared another Tagalog story, narrated by Adolfo Scheerer. It is entitled—
The Adventure of two Robbers.
There were once two robbers, who, hearing of the trip that a certain family was about to make, decided to rob them during the night. They were encouraged in their purpose by the thought that everything in the house would be in a state of great confusion. During the night the two thieves climbed a tree which grew close by a window of this house. From this place they could easily observe what the people inside were doing. As they sat there waiting, they saw two servants packing something which seemed to be very heavy. They believed that the bundle contained much money, so they decided to steal it.
In the dead of night one of the robbers went up into the house, took the bundle, and passed it to his companion below. When he joined the other, they took to their heels, carrying the bundle between them on their shoulders. When they had gone some way, the one in the rear began to get curious as to what they were carrying, so he cut an opening in the mat that was wrapped around the contents. To his great surprise, he noticed a human toe stick out; and he at once shouted, “Man, man, man!” The one in front took this shout as a warning that some one was chasing them, so he ran faster. The other only continued to shout, “Man, man!” but his companion paid no attention to him. Finally his foot caught in the root of a tree, and he fell down. When he understood the situation, the two villains left the bundle and ran away.
(5) Frightening robbers under tree. This incident is widespread, and has made its way into many Märchen cycles. It is distinctly comic in its nature. For references to its occurrence, see Köhler-Bolte, 99 and 341 (sub “Herabwerfen der Thür”); Crane, 380, note 19; Cosquin, I : 243 f.; and especially Bolte-Polívka, I : 521–525 (on Grimm, No. 59), episode F.
(6) Walking on his own soil. This trick of Juan’s we have already met with in “King Tasio,” [No. 7 (b)].