The measure of rice

The measure of rice

Once upon a time, in a large city, there lived a king who loved to count his treasures.

Every morning, he would walk past the storerooms, look into the chests of coins, and ask the steward:

“Do we have more gold today than yesterday?”

The king’s advisors knew that if the answer was “yes,” the king would smile. If “no,” he would frown, as if the sun had suddenly hidden behind a cloud.

At the court, there was a man called the Appraiser. His job was very important. When horses, oxen, precious stones, cloth, or other expensive goods were brought to the city, he was the one who had to say how much they were really worth.

The Appraiser was honest and attentive. He took his time.

If a horse was shown to him, he would check whether it was healthy, strong, and well-groomed. If they brought a gold ornament, he would check the weight and craftsmanship. If merchants brought cloth, he would check its quality.

And he always quoted a fair price.

But the king was not pleased.

“If goods were priced lower,” he thought, “I could buy more and pay less. Then my treasury would be even fuller.”

One day the king looked out the window and saw a man in the courtyard arguing with a merchant over a basket of onions.

“For this basket I will give you one grain of rice!” the man declared.

“One grain?” the merchant exclaimed. “Why, this basket weighs more than you!”

“Okay, two grains. And don’t say I am stingy.”

The king heard these words and thought:

“Here is a man who knows how to quote low prices!”

He called the man to him.

“Do you want to be my new Appraiser?”

The man did not even ask what exactly he had to do.

“Certainly, Your Majesty!” he replied eagerly.

Thus the honest Appraiser was sent home, and a new one took his place.

Very soon strange things began to happen in the city.

The new Appraiser might value a large basket of fruit at one coin and a little jug at ten. He priced a fine carpet below a length of rope, and a precious ornament below a wooden spoon.

The people were indignant, but the king ordered everyone to accept the decision of his Appraiser.

One day, a horse trader arrived with five hundred splendid horses. They were strong and well cared for, with gleaming coats. He had brought them a long way, along roads and over mountain passes, hoping for a fair sale to the royal court.

The new Appraiser walked around the herd, scratched his head, and said:

“All five hundred horses together are worth… one measure of rice.”

The merchant thought he had misheard.

“Excuse me. One measure of what?”

“Rice,” the Appraiser repeated confidently. “One measure of rice.”

At the king’s command, the trader was given a container of rice, and his horses were led to the royal stables.

The saddened man went to find the former, honest Appraiser.

“What can I do?” he asked. “I brought five hundred horses and received enough rice for one supper.”

The honest Appraiser thought for a moment.

“Do not grow angry or argue,” he said. “If the injustice reveals its own absurdity, the king will find it harder to overlook.”

“But how can you do that?”

“Ask the new Appraiser to answer one question before the king: if five hundred horses are worth one measure of rice, what is that measure of rice worth?”

The merchant smiled.

The next morning, he visited the new Appraiser, who sat with great dignity, as though he knew the value of everything in the world.

“Sir,” the trader said politely, “yesterday you valued my horses. Could you value a measure of rice just as precisely today?”

“Of course!” the Appraiser replied. “Nothing could be easier.”

“And will you tell the king in person?”

“I will!”

Together, they went to the palace. The king, his ministers, and several city elders were gathered there. The former, honest Appraiser stood among them too.

The merchant bowed.

“Your Majesty, yesterday your Appraiser valued my five hundred horses at one measure of rice. I accept that this was his decision. But please ask him one more question: what is that measure of rice itself worth?”

The king was interested.

“Indeed. Appraiser, what is it worth?”

The Appraiser did not want to admit that he had no idea. He straightened up and said loudly:

“One measure of rice is worth… your entire city!”

The hall fell silent.

The king blinked.

The ministers looked at each other.

The merchant asked calmly:

“Then my five hundred horses are worth the same as the entire city?”

The new Appraiser opened his mouth but said nothing.

For the first time, the king clearly heard the absurdity of the unjust system he had created. It was as though someone had held up a great mirror before him.

He looked out of the window at houses, shops, workshops, gardens, and squares. People were working in the streets. In his stables stood five hundred horses for which he had paid a handful of rice.

The king felt ashamed.

“I wanted to keep more gold,” he said, “and so I allowed injustice to pass for a bargain.”

He turned to the merchant.

“You will receive a fair price for your horses. If you choose not to sell them, every one will be returned to you, and your travel and feed costs will be paid.”

Then the king turned to the new Appraiser:

“You are not ready for this work. There is no shame in that. The shame lies in pretending to know what you do not know, and harming others as a result.”

The man lost his post, but was not driven out of the city. He was offered work where he could learn without deciding the value of other people’s property.

The king asked the honest Appraiser to return.

“From now on,” he said, “give the true price, even if I dislike it.”

“That is exactly what I shall do,” the Appraiser replied.

Since then, the story of the five hundred horses and one measure of rice was often mentioned in the kingdom.

And when someone tried to make an unfair deal look very profitable, people asked:

“Does a measure of rice happen to be worth an entire city here?”

And that was usually enough to make everyone think twice.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨