You must not think that Filipinos spend all their time in planting rice, harvesting abaca, or climbing coconut trees. On the contrary, they are fond of amusements, and they find many ways of gratifying this very natural desire. There were several boys of about the same age as Francisco, who lived close by, and they played together most of their spare time. The American soldiers and teachers had shown the older boys how to play baseball, and the game had become very popular. Pablo and JosÉ both played well, the older boy having developed into an excellent pitcher before he went to Manila to enter college. Francisco and his companions were not large enough to play a real game of baseball, but they found much fun in their efforts to imitate the older boys. Of course their native tongue, which in southern Luzon is called “Bicol” (Be?e'-col), had no words for this foreign game, and so the English terms had to be taken bodily into their own language and used as native words. If you had watched these small boys playing, you would have heard Francisco shout as he struck at the ball and missed it,—“Sarong (sÄ'-rong) strike!”—“Duang (du'-Äng) strike!—Foul!!” “Tolong (to'-long) strike!” “Aco (Ä'-co) out!” sarong meaning one, duang, two, tolong, three, and aco, I.

Filipinos have a game of ball, quite different from baseball, that is much enjoyed by young and old. The ball is of woven rattan, about four inches in diameter and very light. As many as wish to play form a ring, the ball is thrown into the air, and as it comes down, some one sends it flying upward again. The game is to keep it from touching the ground, and the players show much skill in striking it with hands, arms, or feet, from various positions and without getting very far away from their places in the ring. Old men often watch the boys awhile and then get into the game themselves, showing surprising agility and seeming to enjoy fully the brief return to boyhood.

There is a game rather similar to marbles that the younger boys play a great deal. A ring is drawn on the ground and within this are placed small stones or centavos (cen-tÄ'-vos), Philippine copper coins worth half a cent; the players stand back a certain distance and toss other stones or coins, trying to knock out the ones inside the ring.

The most harmful amusement in the Philippines is cockfighting. The present government has limited the enjoyment of this sport to Sunday afternoons and public holidays, but even so it is a great source of evil in every community. The cockpit is generally a large roofed enclosure with rude bamboo seats rising in tiers like circus benches, and with a fenced arena in the center in which the chickens fight.

A small knife blade, keen and sharp pointed, is fastened to a leg of each of the birds, and when all is ready they are put into the arena to fight. The owner of a gamecock trains him carefully, making him scratch to develop the muscles of his back and legs, and in other ways preparing him for the ring. The fights are often drawn out until one of the chickens, weak from loss of blood and from the exertion, falls over dead. Then the winner crows, if he has any breath left, the crowds watching the fight cheer loudly, bets are paid, new ones are made on the next pair of birds, and the excitement continues. At sunset the people reluctantly leave the ring and return to their homes, the winners jingling their gains, the losers hoping for better luck next time, and the owners of birds either proudly showing off their conquering heroes or tenderly carrying home the limp bodies of their pets to be boiled for hours in the vain hope of making their hard muscles tender for the table. Much time and money are wasted on this cruel and rather disgusting sport, and it is to be hoped that it may decrease from year to year and finally die out entirely.

Each community in the Philippines has its patron saint, and once a year, usually on the day celebrated by the church in honor of that saint, occurs the fiesta (fi-es'-tÄ), or feast day, of the town. These holidays are looked forward to with joyful anticipation, and most elaborate preparations are made for the entertainment of guests. A great tower or arch, sometimes seventy-five or a hundred feet high, is built of coconut logs, bamboo, and rattan. Lanterns of gayly colored paper are hung over this, and at night men climb laboriously over it, lighting candles in each lantern; the effect is exceedingly pretty and the lights burn for several hours.

The fiesta usually begins with a solemn celebration of the Mass at the church, with special music by the band or orchestra in addition to the choir and organ. When the service is over, the people move about over the plaza (plÄ'-zÄ), or public square, greeting their friends and enjoying conversation. At noon, the priest serves an elaborate dinner to the important men of the town and to the distinguished visitors, while in the various homes, people are entertaining their friends with the best their tables afford. After dinner is over and all have rested awhile, games and sports of various kinds are witnessed,—races around the plaza, jumping, wrestling, ball games, and other feats of skill or strength, while those who are so disposed go to the cockpit for the afternoon.

At night it is customary for the presidente (pres-i-den'-te), or mayor, of the town to give a grand baile (bÄi'-le), or dance, to which nearly every one is invited. The largest hall in the town is secured and lavishly decorated with flags, palm leaves, bamboo stems, and bright flowers. The floor is polished until it fairly shines, a long table groans under the weight of rice, chicken, ham, roast goat, bananas, and sweets of various sorts, an orchestra or band is hired, and all is ready for the event. About eight-thirty or nine o’clock a throng of seÑores (se_n-yo'-res?), seÑoras (se_n-yo'-rÄs), and seÑoritas (sen-yo-re?e'-tÄs) (which means gentlemen, married ladies, and young ladies) arrive, dressed in their finest clothes and ready to enjoy the music, the dancing, and the refreshments until a late hour. The waltz, two-step, and Virginia reel are very much in favor, and a dignified Spanish dance called the rigodon (ri'-go-don), with complicated figures and graceful steps, is also popular.

Every town has its musicians, and often excellent music is made by a group of bare-footed players whom you would hardly suspect of being skilled in anything. Sometimes when better instruments cannot be secured, the boys organize a bamboo band; generally, however, the instruments are those which are commonly used the world over. The great Constabulary Band of Manila, conducted by an American negro, Captain W. H. Loving, ranks among the first musical organizations of the world and has several times made tours in the United States.

Filipinos are very fond of plays. In Manila there is a large Grand Opera House, and many outlying towns have their teatros (te_-Ä'-tros), or theaters; but in the smaller places where this is not possible, plays are given at night in some public square, without stage, scenery, or costumes. The characters include kings, queens, knights, servants, and even bears or other animals, all of whom recite their lines to the great delight of a circle of onlookers who squat upon the ground holding candles or lamps in order to see the play. At Christmas time, bands of singers and dancers go from house to house, entertaining the public and passing the hat for gifts when the program is finished.

These are a few of the pleasures which Francisco and his friends enjoyed. It is true that some of their work was very hard and disagreeable while it lasted, but the climate and soil of the Philippines are so favorable that even the most industrious people have a great deal of leisure time in which to enjoy life. Francisco’s grandfather had a great fund of stories, and he loved to collect a crowd of children about him and entertain them with one tale after another. The following story of “The Three Sisters” was a general favorite: