Greed above All
There once was a greedy king that wanted as much money as he
could squeeze out of his subjects. There was a person that worked for him that
would tell what the measure of something was and how much it costed. He was
known as the Valuer and was a very honest and hardworking man. The king thought
to himself how he might get more money out of his subjects and his eyes set on
the Valuer. He thought to himself if he had any other Valuer he would be make
loads more money. He needed to get rid of this man and put another in his place
that will charge more for things so that he might make more money. There was a
peasant that came to the palace that the king thought would be perfect for the
job. So the king offered him the job and the man took it. A horse-dealer
brought five hundred horses to the court to sale and the Valuer said they were
worth a measure of rice. The horse-dealer went to the honest man who had once
been the Valuer and asked what he should do. The Valuer advised him to give the
new Valuer a fine present and tell him that since he put a price on the horses
he should then put a price on the measure of rice. So the horse-dealer did this
and the peasant then went to the king and asked the king that he got these
horses for a measure of rice, and if he should put a price on the rice. The
king anxious to make more money agreed to this, for he thought he could make
even more money off this man. The peasant Valuer then said to the king the
value of the rice is that of the kingdom. To this he was laughed out and the
king was ashamed.
Bibliography: Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt
Greedy Old King Walking by Unknown
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