Wisdom for Sale
Once upon a time, in a small village in India, there lived a poor boy named Shiro. Shiro had lost his mother in a devastating flood and lived with his father, who was a poor farmer.
However, you should know something about young Shiro. He was clever, and as they say, clever people find clever solutions.
The Wisdom Shop
One day, the poor farmer gave Shiro some money and asked him to go to the market and do some trading. And that's exactly what Shiro did. He had a wonderful idea.
He entered the town market, took the cheapest spot, and opened a shop. With the remaining money, he bought paper, ink, and a pen, and put up a sign that read: "Wisdom for Sale."
The Market's Reaction
Around him, in the bustling market, merchants had large and attractive shops, selling things people needed, like fabrics, fruits, and vegetables. Shiro stood in front of his shop daily and called out:
— We sell wisdom, come, come! Good prices!
People who came for goods for their homes and families, passing by his shop, thought it was strange, but also funny.
— Ah, it seems you have a lot of wisdom for sale. Why don't you sell some to yourself? — Ha ha ha ha ha ha! — Hey, wise man, can you make my wife stop telling me what to do? — Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
But Shiro was patient and smiled.
The First Customer
One day, a merchant's son, Sandar, was passing through the market and heard him calling out:
— Wisdom! Buy here, good prices! — Wisdom? I've never eaten that before.
Sandar approached and asked:
— Hey! What exactly are you selling and what's the price per piece? — I don't sell wisdom by quantity, but by quality. — Ah, alright. I want wisdom worth one gold coin, please.
Shiro smiled and put the gold coin in his pocket. Then he took out a piece of paper and, taking a deep breath, wrote something. After he finished, he folded the paper, waved his hand over it three times, stood up, and handed the paper to the merchant's son. On the paper it read: "Do not stand and watch two people arguing."
— Keep this with you always.
Sandar was very excited. He rushed home shouting:
— Father, you won't believe what happened to me today! Come quickly and see what I bought!
Sandar's Father Gets Angry
When his father read what was written, he got angry and yelled at his son:
— Who sold you this? Take me to him immediately!
Sandar told him about the boy and his shop. The father immediately went to the shop. When Sandar's father arrived at the shop, he saw Shiro and yelled at him:
— Hey, you thief! — Me? — Yes, you! You're the thief who sold this nonsense to my son! I know he's a bit foolish, but you're a thief! Give him back the money! Otherwise, I'll call the police. — If you don't like my product, you can return it. Give it back to me and I'll return your money. — Now I've given you the product back. — Sir, you haven't returned the product. You've only returned the paper. If you want your money back, you must return the wisdom to me. Sign a statement saying that your son will never use my advice, and therefore will always stand and watch two people arguing. — What? I think you're joking!
The crowd had already gathered to watch the argument and agreed with Shiro.
— He's right, he only returned the paper, not the idea. — Yes, you're trying to trick the poor seller. You bought the advice and you're not giving it back! — Eh, okay, I'll sign the document.
And after the document was signed, Shiro returned the coin. The merchant was happy to have his money back.
The Quarrelsome Princesses
It just so happened that the king of the land, King Dara, had a sister-in-law, Princess Tara, who was coming to visit the royal palace. And it was well known that Princess Tara and King Dara's sister, Princess Lina, did not get along. They were very envious of each other and argued about almost everything.
One day, each princess sent her maid to the market. And by fate's will, ironically, both maids arrived at the same shop, at the same moment.
— Excuse me, I wanted to buy that! — Oh, you're lying! I got here first! — You only got here first because you pushed your way in and lunged for it! — Excuse me, I didn't push my way in, you did! — I was reaching out to take it and you pushed me before I could! — No, you weren't! — Yes, I was! — No, you weren't! — Yes, I was! — No, you weren't!
And they started raising their voices more and more. Sandar, who was near the shop, saw everything and didn't leave, because that's what his father had told him.
— Who's lying? I signed a document and I have to watch people arguing all the time if they're nearby. — Hey, did you see what she did, right? She pushed me! — No, she's lying! I was here first! You saw it! You're my witness! — No, he's my witness! — Ha! We'll see about that!
And saying this, she left.
— Oh, you'll see!
And so, when the two returned to the palace, they told the princesses what had happened. The princesses immediately got angry and complained to the king. The maids also told the princesses about the witness who had seen everything. Each princess ordered that the merchant's son, Sandar, be their witness, otherwise he would be imprisoned.
Sandar Asks Shiro for Advice Again
When King Dara heard this, he sent a messenger to the merchant with the princesses' orders. Sandar and his father were very worried when they heard the orders.
— We must go to the boy who sells
