It has been three years now and none of the two oldest princes have returned. The king, now only having his beloved youngest son, is hesitant to send him off to try getting the Adarna bird.
Meanwhile, Don Juan is just waiting on him to do so. Noticing that his father isn't going to call on him anytime soon, he takes it upon himself to go and ask for the king's permission.
Don Juan reasons that he should go out. After all, it's been a long time since they've last seen his two brothers, and the king's illness is getting worse. However, his father says that it would basically break his heart if Don Juan goes out.
It pains Don Juan as well to see his father suffer, and he says that if he doesn't get his father's permission, then he will still be going out for the cure, albeit without the king's knowledge. This takes the king aback, and soon he reluctantly gives his blessing to his remaining son.
After getting the blessing, Don Juan takes five pieces of bread as his food for the journey. After that, he then sets out on foot, unlike his brothers who went out on horses.
He doesn't encounter any other person on his journey, but always has the Virgin Mary in mind. He also takes four months traveling through the fields and sustains himself on one piece of bread per month.
Thankfully, by this time, he gets to the part where the path goes upward (which killed his brothers' horses...) He doesn't go up immediately, but prays to the Virgin Mary first to give him the strength to do it. He then goes up and what do you know? He makes it just fine.
At the top, he sees a leprous man, who then asks him for food, if he has any. The man promises that if and when he is healed, he will repay Don Juan's kindness.
Don Juan answered the man, saying that he did have a piece of bread with him. And not only that, but he took it out and gave it to the man. (I don't think there was any hesitation, considering the narrator didn't say anything about it.)
After that, the man asks Don Juan where he's going and what he plans to do, and the prince answers that his father is sick and needs the Adarna bird, and also he hasn't seen his brothers in three years.
The leprous man tells Don Juan that he will have a hard time since the Adarna bird is magical. He then tells the prince that he shouldn't stay near the shiny tree and instead look for a house nearby, where someone there will help him capture the Adarna bird. Seeing that Don Juan will be facing this hardship, the man also attempts to give back the piece of bread from earlier.
The prince refuses, saying that it has been a habit of his to not get back what he has already given (and he will not change it this time). The man still insists, but Don Juan leaves anyway.
This is a LOT longer than the previous two attempts at catching the Adarna bird. But then again, it seems that Don Juan really is the main character here. There's a lot that he does and encounters differently, and it's implied it's partly because he has the blessing of the Virgin Mary. (Again, I don't personally subscribe to that, cause why pray to Mary when you can pray to God?)
That, and it seems that he's pretty adamant when it comes to doing good to others, regardless of his own condition or situation. I would say that it's something that we can all emulate.
Also, I kind of realized why the version in the textbook is so different... It's pretty much an expanded version, where some details are further elaborated. For example, here in this scene, there's only one stanza (heck, it's just one line) about the physical description of the man with leprosy. But in the textbook, I saw that they added a stanza to elaborate on how pitiful he looked...
I mean, yes, it can be easier to understand for high school students, but can't they just get the gist of it from economy of words and, you know, form their own thoughts and opinions of the situation? This is poetry, after all, despite it telling a story.