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:
"Once there were three sisters who were very beautiful, and they all lived in the same house. A beggar came one day asking for rice, and one of the sisters went down the stairs with a plateful for him. As soon as he received it, he seized the girl, and putting her into a sack, he carried her off to his home. The next day he said to her, 'I must go away for several days and will leave you all my keys. But you must not unlock room thirteen; all the others you may go in, but not thirteen.'
"So she took the keys and an egg which he gave her to keep, and prepared to wait for his return. By and by she became curious, however, and decided to open the forbidden room. As soon as she pushed back the door, she saw scattered about the floor portions of the body of a dead man. She was so frightened that she dropped the egg and the keys, and when she picked them up again the egg of course was broken and the keys were bloody.
"When the old man returned, he saw the broken egg and the keys with blood on them. So he locked the girl in the room with the dead man, and went again to the home of the sisters, begging for bananas. Just as before, one of the sisters came to grant his request for food, and he put her into his bag and took her home with him. As with the first sister, he gave her an egg and the keys, with the same instructions not to enter room thirteen. Of course, the second sister did as the first had done and also dropped the egg and the keys.