The Boy Called Juan Pusong

Once there was a boy whose name was Juan Pusong. He was very mischievous.

One day he went to the fields to see the cows of the King. He thought of playing a prank on the king. He
cut the tails of several cows and then drove the cows away. Then he stuck the tails in mud holes, with half
of each tail sticking out of the mud.

Then he went to the King’s palace and told the King that many of his cows had jumped into the mud holes
and drowned.

The King was very sad. He went to the fields to see his cows. When he saw the tails sticking out of the
mud, he became even sadder.

But when he asked the people nearby he learned of Juan Pusong’s mischief. The King became angry. He
ordered his men to put Juan Pusong in a cage. The following day the cage was to be thrown into the sea so
that Juan Pusong would drown.

Early in the morning, Juan Pusong cried and cried. A man came along and asked, “Why do you cry, Juan?
Why are you in that cage?”

Juan Pusong answered, “I am crying because the King is forcing me to marry his beautiful daughter but I
don’t want to.”

The man thought that to marry the King’s daughter would make him a very lucky fellow. So the man
suggested that they change places. The man put on Juan’s clothes and placed himself in the cage. Juan
Pusong put on the man’s clothes and went home.

The following day, the King’s men came and carried the cage with the man in it and threw it into the sea.
The next day, Juan Pusong passed by the King’s palace. The King was surprised to see him. He thought
that Juan Pusong had drowned the day before.

The King was about to put Juan Pusong in prison again. But Juan told the King that he had returned from
the bottom of the sea. There he had seen the King’s dead parents and relatives. They were all very happy
and they wanted the King to come for a visit and see their beautiful houses.

The King marveled at Juan’s story. He wished to see his parents and relatives in their beautiful houses. So
he had himself put in a cage and ordered his men to throw the cage into the seas. And thus the silly king
was drowned. And clever Juan Pusong became king in his place.

Reference:

http://homepage.mac.com/mila.d.aguilar/_Media/fighting_the_panopticon.pdf