Vageesh Express

Fable of the Month

A Golden Plate

- Varsha Das

The jeweler sat down on the doorsteps and examined the plate carefully...

Bodhisattva was born as a jeweler. He would carry his precious jeweler in a box and sell it like a vendor in the streets.

One he decided to go to another town known as Andhapur. After crossing the river in a boat he reached the new place. He saw another jeweler alighting from the boat tied next to his. He, too, was selling similar pearls, diamonds and precious gems. Both of them had arrived in Andhapur at the same time for selling jewelry! They realized that it would be difficult to sell the goods if they both went to the same locality at the same time. So they divided the town into two. Bodhisattva was to sell his jewelry in the streets of one part and the other jeweler was to cover the other part. They were free to go to each other's streets only after covering their own territory. This arrangement seemed good to both of them.

An old lady lived with her granddaughter in that town. They had a big house to themselves. The old lady's husband was once a rich merchant but he faced a severe setback in his business and lost all his wealth. The merchant could not beat the shock. He died. Over a short span of time, other family members also died. What were left of a large joint family were this girl and her grandma. They had no money. They worked in the houses of their rich neighbors and earned a little. At times they would even sell a piece of furniture or a utensil, and somehow carry on with their lives.

This house fell in the territory of the other jeweler. He passed by the house. The girl heard his call. He was selling pearls and diamonds! She was tempted to buy something for herself. She ran up to her grandma and said, "Please, buy me a pearl string. I haven't worn anything beautiful for a long, long time." "We have no money. How can we buy pearls?" said her grandma feeling utterly helpless.

The girl ran to the kitchen and brought a metal plate. It was tarnished. It looked like a piece of junk. She asked grandma, "Can I sell this? It has been lying on the upper shelf for ages! It is of no use to us."Grandma looked at it and agreed.

The girl went to the front door and called out, "Hello! Do you have a pearl string?"

"Of course I have, but do you have any money to buy it?" asked the jeweler sarcastically. He could see from her clothes that she was poor.

The girl showed the tarnished plate to him, "You can take this and give me one pearl string."

The jeweler sat down on the doorsteps and examined the plate carefully. He even scratched the back of the plate to ascertain the metal. He was a greedy, cunning jeweler. He could see that the plate was made of pure gold but the girl did not know this. The jeweler wanted to cheat the girl so he said, "Oh! This metal is no good. It is not worth anything." He pretended he was not interested in that plate, and left. After a while the good jeweler arrived in the same lane. He too called out, "Pearls and diamonds! Rubies and emeralds! Any takers?"

The girl again ran up to her grandma and coaxed her to buy her a pearl string. Grandma was sad. She had no money. How could she make the child happy? She hugged the girl and said, "How can we buy it? We don't have money!" "We have that plate. Shall I call him?" said the girl with the hope that her grandma would agree. Grandma said, "Didn't you see how the previous jeweler discarded the plate as if it was a rusted piece of iron? I think, you better forget about the pearl string."

But the girl was very much impressed by the voice and face of the second jeweler. She told her grandma, "The first one was harsh and ill mannered. This one looks so kind and gentle! At least allow me to show the plate to him."Seeing her granddaughter's strong desire for pearls the grandma gave in. The girl rushed to the front door and showed the plate to the second jeweler.

He immediately recognized the metal. It was pure gold! He told her, "This is an extremely precious plate. I don't have sufficient jewelry to give you in exchange. You can take all my jewelry and also the 500 coins that I have. Even then, I don't think it would match the price of this plate."

The girl and her grandma were stunned! They could not believe their luck! But it was true. Bodhisattva jeweler gave everything he had against that golden plate. He picked up his scales, the empty box and asked them to lend him 8 coins so that he could take the boat home. He took the plate, kept it carefully in the box and immediately left for home. He gave 8 coins to the boatman to take him to the other bank. In the meantime, the cunning jeweler came back to his own area after completing the round of the other part. He thought of taking the plate against some ordinary cheap bangles! He asked the girl to show him the plate once again.

The girl said with contempt, "You cheat! You said it was a piece of junk. But the other good jeweler took it and gave us all the jewelry and money he had with him."

The jeweler kept hitting his forehead with his palm and cried out loudly, "Oh! I have lost the deal. Oh, I've lost a golden chance! Oh, I am ruined! I am finished!" He went mad with frustration, jealousy and anger. In frenzy, he threw his bag full of precious ornaments at the girl's door and ran towards the river to grab the golden plate from the good jeweler.

As he reached the river he saw the boat sailing towards the other bank. He yelled and screamed, "Hey boatman, stop, stop. Come back."

But the good jeweler asked the boatman to keep moving, "Don't stop. We shall not return." They kept moving ahead.

When the greedy jeweler saw the other one going, he could not contain his frustration and suffering. He kept screaming like mad. His body trembled with rage. His eyes turned red. He vomited blood and collapsed. He died, carrying within him enmity against the good jeweler.

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