Week 11 Story: The Golden Bowl

A poor, old woman and her granddaughter decided it was time to start their spring cleaning. They dusted shelves and swept floor throughout the house, removing cobwebs that were created during the cold winter months. As they went from room to room, they would occasionally find items that had been missing for months, some that they forgot even existed. While cleaning the kitchen, the little girl stumbled upon a bowl that was covered in dust and clearly had not been used in a very long time.

At the start of Spring, merchants resumed their practice of traveling from village to village, selling and bartering in order to find the best deal for both parties. This was how most merchants worked, anyway. There were always a few who sought to maximize their profits by taking advantage of those who did not know the true value of their possessions. 

One of these deceitful merchants made their way down the old lady's street. The little girl saw him coming up the road and noticed that he had quite a few goods with him. After the harsh winter they had just experienced, the little girl hoped to trade the bowl for a blanket or two in preparation for the next winter. Her grandmother was getting quite old, after all. 

When the merchant got near, the old woman and the little girl approached him with the bowl. They handed it to him, and asked if it was worth two of his blankets. After examining the bowl for an extended period of time, the merchant realized that it was made entirely of gold and was worth more than all of his possessions combined. He scoffed at the two as his greed set in, "Two blankets! For this old thing?! I wouldn't even give you a washcloth." With that, he tossed to bowl aside and continued on to the next street. His plan was to come back later and trade one blanket for the bowl, knowing that the family had no idea how much it was worth. 

As the greedy merchant left, another merchant, this one very kind and helpful made his way down the little girl's road. The girl's grandmother had resumed cleaning, but the little girl sat outside crying. When the merchant saw her, he approached her and asked what was wrong. The girl explained that she had asked the other merchant for two blankets in exchange for the bowl, but he told her that it was worthless. They had nothing else in the house to trade and she was worried about how her grandmother would fare during the next winter without blankets.

The kind merchant told the little girl to give him the bowl. Without looking at it, he gave her two of his best blankets. The girl smiled, hugged the merchant, and went to show her grandmother what she received. While the little girl was inside, he took a look at the bowl as it seemed awfully heavy. Once he realized that it was made of gold, he knew he had a decision to make. He could take it to the nearest bank, cash it in, and retire, or he could tell the family the true value of their bowl. It took him less than a second to make his decision. Within minutes, the merchant was taking the family to the bank. 

The second merchant, who had spent the entire day thinking about what he was going to do with all the money he was about to make, finally made his way back to old lady's house. He knocked on the door, prepared to offer them one old and torn blanket for their bowl, but no one was home. He cried himself to sleep that night, realizing that his extreme greed had cost him a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Golden Bowl

Image Author: 颐园新居

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

Authors Note: In the original story, the first merchant says the bowl isn't worth 7 pennies, throws it on the ground, and leaves. The second merchant, also realizing it's value, gives the family everything he owns, plus all the money he has, equaling $1,000. He then catches a boat and is able to trade the bowl for $100,000, while the first merchant chases him. In my story, the second merchant takes the family to get the full value of the bowl instead of leaving them with 1% of it's value and the first merchant is clueless as to what happened. 
Bibliography. Grandmother's Golden Dish by Marie L. Shedlock in Eastern Stories and Legends. Web Source.