The Intelligent Merchant – A Hindi Folktale Retold

Long ago, there was a king who was very unjust and cunning. He used to look for opportunities to tax his subjects and was least interested in their welfare. He was always surrounded by people who would praise him for whatever he did, however wrong it may be. The king used to dislike people who pointed out his mistakes and disagree with his deeds. He used to particularly hate one of the merchants in his kingdom. 

This merchant was an extremely proud and intelligent person. He believed that it was a king’s duty to protect his subjects and it was the duty of the subjects to pay taxes to the king and remain loyal to the king. He hated all the sycophants that surrounded the king.

One day, while at the king’s court, the merchant proudly said that as long as a person is ready to use his intelligence, he can make a living. The king, already annoyed with the merchant, was looking for such an opportunity. He ordered that the merchant from now on will stay in the stable along with his family. He would not be given any salary, would not be allowed to go out of the stable and within a month, he will have to earn 1000 gold coins, using his intelligence, and submit the money in the royal treasury.

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The merchant was disappointed with the king’s decision but did not lose his heart. He requested the king that he should be allowed to carry his weighing scale with him. The king readily agreed. He moved to the stable along with this family. In the stable, he started weighing the horse’s manure. The hostlers (people employed in the stable to take care of horses) first thought that the merchant had lost his mind. Then they approached him and enquired what he was doing. The merchant told them that the king has ordered him to find out if the horses in the stable are being properly tended. He would weigh the manure from each horse and find out if the horse is being given adequate amount of food. If the weight of manure is less for the horses, then he would know which hostler was not feeding his horse adequately.

The hostlers had indeed been selling the food meant for royal horses in the market. They immediately begged the merchant not tell anything to the king. In return they would take care of him and his family and also agreed to return whatever money they had earned through these illegal means. Within a month, the merchant collected 1000 gold coins from the hostlers and deposited it in the treasury. The king was utterly displeased and refused to believe that the merchant had earned this money while being in the stable. He accused the merchant of arranging the money from somewhere.

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So this time, he decided that the merchant be sent to a river front. He would have to stay in a small cottage near the river with his family. As earlier, he would be given a weighing scale only and no money. Within a month he will have to earn 2000 gold coins and deposit it in the royal treasury.

The merchant had no option but to agree to the king’s unjust demand. He moved into the small cottage near the river. He was allowed to carry his weighing scale. There, he started weighing water using the weighing scale. Out of curiosity, the boatmen asked the merchant what he was doing. The merchant told them that the king had asked him to find out which boatman is overloading his boat by taking extra passengers and thus jeopardizing the life of the passengers.

Now, all the boatmen had been overloading their boats. They pleaded with the merchant to not tell anything to the king. In return they promised to load their boats correctly in the future. They also agreed to pay extra tax for all the previous years. The merchant told them to deposit the money with him. Within a month, the merchant was able to collect 2000 gold coins which he deposited in the royal treasury.

The king, finally, had to concede that an intelligent person can thrive under any condition.

Read more folktales here.