yellow-green fairy tale book

Chapter 20

Once upon a time, in a village in Hindustan lived a merchant.In spite of his early hours and dark days and hard work, he was poor and bad luck was always on his way.In the end, he decided to go far away to try his luck.Twelve springs, summers, autumns and winters have passed, and finally the time has turned, and now he has a huge fortune, which is enough for him to enjoy his old age.At this time, he thought of his hometown, a place where he hoped to retire.In order to bring his wealth safely back to his hometown far away in the sky, he transformed his property into some precious jewels, locked them in a small box, and hid them on himself.In order not to attract the attention of the robbers who made a living by robbery along the way, he put on ragged clothes and disguised himself as a penniless poor man.

When he was ready, he set off.He walked quickly on the road, and when he was only a few days away from home, he came to a city.Now that he no longer had to be afraid of robbers, he decided to buy some better clothes so that he could dress himself more in line with his identity.Wearing new clothes, he approached the city.At the gate of the city, he saw a market.There are many shops in the bazaar, which display many expensive silks, carpets and goods from all over the world.One of them looked particularly fine, and amidst its array of valuables sat the owner, smoking a long silver pipe.The businessman came forward to say hello to the shopkeeper, then sat down and began to pick things out.The owner, Piccolo Marr, was a very shrewd businessman. After talking with the businessman for a few words, he immediately concluded that the customer in front of him was much richer than he looked from the outside, and he was consciously avoiding revealing his wealth.After the merchant bought a few things, the host invited him in to have a rest, and soon they chatted very speculatively.Piccolo Marr asked the merchant where he was going, and when the merchant told him the name of the village, he said, "Ah, you'd better be careful on the road—the robbers are very rampant there."

Hearing what he said, the businessman turned pale with fright.He thought, as soon as he was about to get home, it would be such an unlucky thing that his hard-earned wealth would be snatched away.The amiable Piccolo in front of him should understand the mood of being a businessman very well.Then the merchant said:
"Dear sir, can you help me and keep this small box for me, it won't be long, when I get home, I will bring some strong fellows from my country, and I will get the box back at that time."

Piccolo shook his head. "There's nothing I can do. I'm sorry, but it's not my job. So I'm afraid I can't promise you."

"But," pleaded the merchant, "I'm not familiar with the place here, and you must have a place to hide your treasures, so I beg you to help me."

However, Piccolo resolutely declined.But the businessman felt that he had exposed his wealth, and he was unwilling to ask people everywhere to let more people know, so he continued to persuade him until he agreed.So the merchant took out the jewel box, and Piccolo locked it and other precious gems in a large, strong chest.After many words of promise and thanks, they said goodbye.

Like this Eastern style bazaar, all the doors of the shops are open, and the steps and corridors a few feet above the road are full of goods.The conversation between Piccolo Marr and the merchant caught the attention of the other shopkeepers in the alley.Had the merchant known that almost all the shopkeepers in the area were likely to be thieves, and that Piccolo Marr was the biggest and craftiest of them all, he wouldn't have entrusted him with the box.It's a pity that the businessman didn't know this, he just felt that he was a little uneasy if he wanted to hand over his property to a stranger.So, while wandering around in the alleys to buy things, he inquired about Piccolo's character.Those rascals knew there had to be a reason for it.They all hoped to get something out of it, so they all praised Piccolo Marr for being a typical nice guy.

In this way, although the worry in the businessman's heart has not been eliminated, it is relatively more relaxed.After he returned to his hometown, he took five or six young and strong relatives and friends back to that city in about a week, and asked them to take the jewelry box home with him.

When he came to the big market in the center of the city, the merchant asked his friends to wait here, saying that he would meet them after he retrieved the jewelry box.The merchant came to Piccolo's store alone and went up to greet him.

"How do you do, sir!" he said.But Piccolo pretended not to see him.So he said hello again.

"What do you want?" Piccolo Marr interrupted sharply, "You've said 'Hello' twice!

Why don't you say something quickly! "

"Don't you remember me?" asked the merchant.

"Remember you?" Piccolo growled. "Who remembers you? Why should I remember you? No! I have a lot of good customers to remember. Why should I remember every beggar who comes in to beg?"

Hearing this, the merchant began to tremble all over.

"Dear sir!" he cried, "you must remember me and the little box I entrusted to you! You promised--and you promised so readily--that I could come and get it anytime...and... "

"You rascal!" yelled Piccolo Marr, "Get out of my shop at once!
You shameless rascal!Everyone knows that I never take care of other people's property. It is enough trouble for me to take care of my own property. Get out of here! As he spoke, he pushed the businessman out of the shop. The poor businessman wanted to resist, but the two people standing beside him immediately came to help Piccolo, and threw the businessman onto the road like a camel. It's like throwing a bag down.

The businessman slowly got up from the ground, bleeding from the cuts and scrapes on his body.But he couldn't feel the pain at all.The plundering of his property made him insensitive.He dragged himself slowly away from the angry, fat-headed Piccolo who was still standing among the messy silks and blankets, to a wall, and sat down against it, holding his head in his hands, looking desperate. and a very sad look.

He sat there, motionless, like a statue.It was getting dark.At about eleven o'clock a young man named Kosi Ram, a cheerful man, passed by with a friend, saw the merchant sitting against the wall, and said, "This man must be a thief!" "You Wrong," said his friend, "thieves don't sit where everyone can see them, not even in the dark." So saying, the two of them walked over, thinking no more of the matter .At five o'clock the next morning, Kosi Ram passed by here on his way home, and was astonished to see the miserable businessman sitting there as he had been the night before.Sitting all night alone in an empty street must be in some trouble.So, he was determined to find out. He walked over and shook the merchant's shoulder lightly, asking him, "Who are you? What are you doing here? Are you sick?"

"Sick?" replied the merchant in a muffled voice. "Yes, I am sick, and there is no cure for it."

"Really? I don't believe it," said Kosi Ram. "Come with me! I know there is a cure for your disease." So the young man took him by the arm, pulled him up, and dragged him to his Go where you live.After entering the room, Kosi Ram first gave him a large glass of wine to drink, then gave him something to eat, and asked him what happened after he recovered.

Those fellows who waited in the marketplace for the merchant's return were simple minded.They thought that since the merchant hadn't come, they must have gone home by themselves. After they got impatient, they ignored him and went back to the village by themselves.Therefore, if it were not for Kosi Ram's help, the businessman would have been miserable.Kosi Ram was given a fortune when he was a kid, and no one taught him how to spend it.He is a kind-hearted, energetic, intelligent and capable man.But he spends money like water, and always likes to give generously no matter what happens.Now, he has made up his mind to help the poor businessman, and he will do what he says.As for the businessman, he also regained his self-confidence at this time, and told Kosi Ram the whole thing without needing to say anything more.

Kosi Ram burst out laughing at the sound of a stranger trusting Piccolo with his fortune.

"Cough! He's the biggest villain in town," he said, "unless you believe what they say about me! But there's nothing you can do now. You stay here quietly for a while, and I want to use Soon I will find a medicine that can cure your disease." Hearing what he said, the businessman mustered up his courage again, and his heart relaxed a little.He gratefully accepts this new friend's invitation.

A few days later Kosi Ram called some friends over and had a long talk with them.Although the businessman didn't hear what they were talking about, he heard their laughter, as if they were telling some very funny jokes.However, these laughter made his heart pound.He felt more and more that it was impossible to get his fortune back from Piccolo Mar.

Not long after this, Kosi Ram came in one day and said to him, "You remember the wall where I met you! It's near Piccolo's store."

"Yes, I remember," replied the merchant.

"That's all right," went on Cosi Ram, "you go out there this afternoon and stand there watching. When someone hints at you, go up to Bick Marr and say, 'Ah! My lord, will you give me back that box which I have entrusted to you?'"

"What's the use of it?" asked the merchant, "he will refuse to give it back to me as I did when I asked him for it."

"You don't need to think about it!" Kosi Ram replied, "you just do what I say, say exactly what I say, and I will take care of the rest."

So, this afternoon, he came to stand by the wall at the appointed time.He noticed that Piccolo Mar saw him too, but neither of them paid any attention to the other.At this time, a very gorgeous sedan chair came, like the kind that noble ladies sit on.The sedan chair was carried by four bearers in gorgeous uniforms, and its curtains and decorations were very rich and magnificent.Among the party was a grave-faced man whom the businessman recognized as a friend who had been at Kosi Ram's house.A servant follows him, holding a box covered with a cloth.

The bearers walked in unison, carried the sedan chair to the door of Piccolo Mar's shop and stopped.

Immediately the fat shopkeeper stood up and bowed deeply to a man approaching.

"May I ask," he said, "which noble lady is that sitting in the palanquin who visits my shop? Can I be of service to her?"

The man walked up to the sedan chair, whispered something to the curtain, then turned to Bick Marr and said that a relative of his was sitting inside and was going on a trip.But her husband couldn't accompany her on the trip because he was away from home, so she wanted to give her jewelry box to Piccolo for safekeeping.The innkeeper bowed again, his head almost touching the ground, and said: "It is not my business. But, of course, if I can serve this lady and make her happy, I will vouch for her with my life." jewelry box."

Then the servant with the jewel box was called forward.After opening the box, the ecstatic shopkeeper saw many very precious jewels inside, and his saliva almost flowed out.

All of this was seen by the businessman standing in the distance.At this time, he clearly saw a hand protruding from the curtain on the side of the sedan chair facing away from the store—at first he thought he had seen it wrong.After confirming it, he thought to himself: "Is this a signal?" At this time, the hand stretched out to beckon again, as if a little impatient.So, he stepped forward quickly and greeted Piccolo Marr.Piccolo Marr was thinking now of the dazzling box of jewels that fate and some fool had delivered to him.

"Ah! Dear Sir! Can you return the box I entrusted to you?" The merchant's words seemed to prick him, and he raised his head.But it immediately occurred to him that if this man made a fuss, he would lose the confidence of this wealthier clientele.Then, controlling himself, he replied, "My God! Of course, of course! I forgot all about that." He went in, took out the little box, and placed it in the trembling hands of the merchant.Immediately the merchant took down the key which hung round his neck by a cord, and opened the box.When he saw that all his jewels were in it, he ran out into the road with the box in his hands, laughing and shouting and dancing like a madman.

At this moment, a messenger ran to the front of the sedan chair, bowed to the man who was following the sedan chair, and said, "Madam's husband has returned and is going to travel with her, so there is no need to deposit your jewelry." It's gone." Hearing what he said, the man immediately covered the box, locked it, and handed it over to the servant standing by.Then there was a burst of laughter from the litter, and out came a figure, not a lady at all, but Kosi Ram.As soon as he got off the sedan chair, he ran over and danced wildly with the merchant in the middle of the road.

(End of this chapter)