"That is right, that is right!" shouted a man. "The ball contains nine
cents." Consequently Suan won the fourteen cascos full of gold. From
now on, nobody doubted Suan's merit.


Suan Eket.

Narrated by Manuel Reyes, a Tagalog from Rizal province. He heard
the story from his grandfather.

Many years ago there lived in the country of Campao a boy named
Suan. While this boy was studying in a private school, it was said
that he could not pronounce the letter x very well--he called it
"eket." So his schoolmates nick-named him "Suan Eket."

Finally Suan left school, because, whenever he went there, the other
pupils always shouted at him, "Eket, eket, eket!" He went home,
and told his mother to buy him a pencil and a pad of paper. "I am
the wisest boy in our town now," said he.

One night Suan stole his father's plough, and hid it in a creek near
their house. The next morning his father could not find his plough.

"What are you looking for?" said Suan.

"My plough," answered his father.

"Come here, father! I will guess where it is." Suan took his pencil and
a piece of paper. On the paper he wrote figures of various shapes. He
then looked up, and said,--