Philippine Folklore

Juan's Adventure with the Wise Men

         News of Juan Osong's wisdom reached some wise men who lived across the sea. They decided to come over and out Juan's skill to a test. They wanted to find out if Juan was really as wise as he was rumored to be. They hired a ship and set sail for the town where Juan lived.

The people in the town heard if the wise men's coming. They prepared a big feast. The women put on their pretty clothes. Everyone got ready for the big day. They felt sure that their own Juan Osong would prove to be wiser than the wise men. Juan's father moved happily about. He was betting that his son would beat the wise men.

But Juan was more frightened than he had ever been. He knew that he could not fool the wise men. He wad sure that the people would find out that he had been fooling them all along.

As soon as it was dark, he set out for the ship in his little banca. His plan was simple. He had all his money with him. He would give all he had to the wise men if they would sail away and nevet bother him again.

When Juan reached the ship, he called out to say that he wanted to visit the wise men. There was no answer. Juan was about to call again when he heard one of the wise men speak.

"We must be very sure of our test tomorrow," one wise man said. "Juan Osong may indeed be very wise "

"That's true," said another wise man. "We must plan our questions together."

"Right," said the third wise man. "We will ask only three questions. I have three oranges here. We'll see if that Juan can tell us the exact number of seeds each orange has."

"An excellent test!" said the first wise man.

"I have studied these oranges carefully, my friends," the third wise man continued. "I know the number of seeds in each one. But we must make no mistakes. So, you must find out the answers for yourselves if they are the same as mine." The two other wise men agreed to do this. For a long time, they studied the oranges.

They studied them carefully, using their books and charts. All the while, Juan waited patiently in his banca below.

At last, the wise men finished studying. They had their answers ready.

"We have found out," said the first wise man, "that the smallest orange had seventeen seeds."

"Right," said the third wise man. "That's my answer, too."

"The second largest orange," the first wise man continued. "Has eleven seeds; and the largest has no seeds at all."

"Excellent!" said the third wise man. "We will surely confuse this Juan Osong with our test. So, that is now agreed. Those are the questions we will ask Juan Osong tomorrow."

"Aha," said Juan Osong to himself, "Now I am ready for your test." and he hurried back home.

All the people were gathered in the plaza the next day. Big kettles of rice and meat were being cooked for the feast. The three wise men were seated on one side of a stage. They were dressed in fine robes. On the other side was Juan Osong. His big, black books were on a table in front if him.

Presently, the test began. The crown suddenly became silent as the first wise man spoke.

"We will now ask our good friend Juan Osong the first question. Here is an orange," he said, holding aloft, the smallest of the three oranges. "Juan Osong, tell us the number of seeds in this orange without opening it."

Juan pretended to read rapidly among his books. He make some scrawls on a piece of paper. Then, he advanced to the center of the stage.

"That orange has seventeen seeds," he said. The wise men looked at one another in disbelief. Juan had guessed it right! Someone brought a knife. The orange was opened and the seeds were counted - seventeen seeds in all!

The crown shouted joyously at Juan's first victory. Juan's father jumped up and down with joy. He jumped so high that his belt was caught on the wooden fence. He dangled there helplessly until the people took him down.

Now the second wise man asked Juan to guess the number of seeds in the second to the largest orange. As before, Juan pretended to read through his books and then he walked to the center of the stage.

"Eleven seeds in this orange," he announced.

Once again, the orange was opened to prove fhat Juan was right.

The crown shouted louder at Juan's second triumph. Juan's father kept jumping with joy. He jumped higher than before until head bumped against the ceiling. This knocked him out cold. The people threw some cold water on him. He revived and stood up just in time for the third and final question.

Now the third wise man held the largest orange. Once again, he asked Juan to tell the number of seeds in it. Juan tossed the orange into the air several times. Then, he felt its smooth surface and without even looking at it, answered, "This orange has no seeds at all." The orange was opened. Again Juan was right.

Three wise men looked at each other in bewilderment. They could not figure out how Juan so quickly answered the questions that had taken them weeks to prepare. The cheers of the people were defeaning. They shouted until they were hoarse. Juan's mother danced happily. At last, her long cherished dream was realized. Her son was now the wisest man.

Juan's father was the happiest of them all. He kept jumping up and down with joy. The people tried to hold him down, but he slipped away to jump some more. This proved to be the poor man's undoing. He kept jumping until he fell into a big kettle of boiling water that was being readied for the feast. The poor man was literally boiled alive. But he died happy in the thought that his son was now the wisest man who ever lived.