Pumpkin in the Jar
A maiden must figure out how to fit a full pumpkin into a tiny-necked jar.
ONE DAY IN THE PHILIPINES A LONG TIME AGO, young King Adoveneis went out into the plains to hunt for deer, when he accidentally became separated from his companions.
Wandering about, the King saw a hut that was surrounded by a garden. Tending the garden was a young woman.
The King spoke to her, saying, “Tell me, lass, what plants are you growing here?”
“I am raising pumpkins,” she replied. “As you can see.” She gave a quick glance to the pile of pumpkins behind her and a quick smile to the King. He couldn’t help but smile back.
However the King also happened to be thirsty, and so he asked the young woman for a drink. “We were hunting in the heat of the day,” he said, “and I felt a terrible thirst come over me.”
She replied, “O illustrious king! We have water to be sure, but only an old, crude jar in which to serve it. Surely it is not right or worthy that your Majesty should drink from such a crude jar! If we had a jar of pure gold, in which we could pour water from a crystal clear fountain, then that would be a proper offering for your Majesty.”
The King replied, “Never mind the jar: I’m terribly thirsty! I care not if the jar is old, provided that the water is cool.”
The pumpkin-grower went into the house, fetched the jar, and filled it with clear cool water. Presently the King drank his fill.
After he had finished, the King handed her back the jar. Then suddenly, the young woman struck the jar against a stone wall and it was shattered to bits.
The King wondered at this strange act. In his heart he wondered if this young woman, who at first he had found so clever and engaging, actually had no manners at all.
He cried, “You see that I am your noble King. You know that I hold the crown. For what possible reason did you shatter that jar, received from my hands?”
She replied, “The reason I broke the jar, which has been kept for many years by my mother, O King! is that I should not like to have it used by anyone else after you, Your Majesty, has touched it.”
Upon hearing this, the King made no reply. In his heart, he marveled at the actions of this young farmer and realized she had unusual thoughtfulness and intelligence. As he returned toward the city, a thought began to grow on him. Perhaps, he thought, he might devise a test to see just how clever this young woman might be.
After some time, the King one day ordered a soldier to carry to the young farmer’s house a new jar, one with an opening at the top not much more than one inch across. The soldier’s orders were to tell the young woman that the jar was from the King, and that she was to put an entire pumpkin inside the jar. The soldier was also to tell her that she should not break the jar under any circumstance. Both the jar with the small opening at the top and the pumpkin must remain whole.
The young woman returned a message to the King that she was certain she could do what his Majesty ordered, but that such a task might take some time. Indeed, it was several months before the young lady arrived at the palace. In her hands she held the same jar, and sure enough, an entire pumpkin sat inside of it.
When the young King closely examined the jar, he confirmed that the jar was the very same one that he had ordered delivered. What’s more, he saw that both the jar and the pumpkin were completely undamaged.
The King had absolutely no idea how she could have brought this about! He urged her to reveal her secret, and when she did, he laughed long and hard.
For this was her answer to the riddle: She had placed a pumpkin bud, one that was still attached to a vine in the ground, inside the jar through its small opening. Over time the pumpkin bud grew into a full-sized pumpkin. When the pumpkin filled the jar, she simply cut off the stem and delivered the jar with the pumpkin to the palace.
The King was much impressed. He asked her if she would allow him to visit her pumpkin farm from time to time to see her. Of this she was well-disposed, and over time the initial admiration that each one held for the other, only deepened.
Before long they were married. As King and Queen of the Philippines, they ruled wisely and well, and lived happily ever after.
Source:
“The Pumpkin in the Jar” is based on a story called “The Life of a Shepherdess Born in a Town, who Became the Wife of a King Because of a Pumpkin,” from Filipino Popular Tales by Dean S. Fansler, Ph.D. (American Folk-Lore Society: G. E. Stechert & Co: New York, 1921), pp. 57-58.
Adapted by Elaine Lindy. ©1998. All rights reserved.
Footnote:
This Philippine story is traced to Manila, 1908 and is associated with the Tagalog tribe.
A related version of this story is found in India (Indian Nights Entertainment by Swynnerton, p.315). The daughter of a smith, whom a Prince wanted to marry, in order to show her cleverness made some large earthenware jars, and without baking them she painted and enameled them, and introduced a small watermelon into each. When the melons had grown so as to fill the jars, she sent two of them to the palace, with a request that the melons should be taken out without breaking the jars or the melons. No one being able to do it, she obtained permission to visit the palace, wrapped a wet cloth around each jar until it became soft, expanded the mouths, extracted the melons, and remade the jars as before.
