CLINKING OF COINS
GETTING A TASTE OF YOUR OWN MEDICINE
A Children’s Story
Once upon a time, in a small town, there lived a wise man named Hoshyar. He was a schoolteacher and walked every day from his house to the school where he taught young children.
One day, Hoshyar was passing through a busy street in the town when he stopped suddenly. A small crowd had assembled in front of the small grocery shop, which was also a bakery and a Kebab corner. It belonged to a man called Banya. Everybody not only bought groceries and bread from Banya but also had the facility to bake their bread in his bakery. People also bought delicious kebabs freshly baked on his hot griddle.
Banya was a rich man. He was also known to be cunning and money-minded.
Hoshyar approached the crowd to find out what the matter was.
At the shop, he saw that people surrounded an old beggar. The beggar was kneeling on the ground in front of Banya. He was immersed in tears, and he was pleading with the harassing shop owner, who seemed to be taking pleasure in the poor fellow.
The inquisitive Hoshyar went to the grocery owner and asked:
“Excuse me, Banya! What is the matter? Why is this poor fellow kneeling and pleading with you? What has he done?”
In fact, Banya, known in the region as cunning and calculating, was fooling and harassing the beggar. When he saw the schoolteacher, he stood up and looked at him. He was well aware that Hoshyar was respected by all in the area. Therefore, Banya decided to get Hoshyar on his side. He thought he would have some more fun at the beggar’s expense.
“Yes, Banya?” asked Hoshyar.
“This beggar asked me permission to bake his bread on my stove like everybody else! Banya replied, smiling.
“So?” Hoshyar asked.
“So, I allowed him, like I always do!” replied Banya. “But instead of baking bread on the stove, this man baked his bread on my griddle.”
“I find nothing very wrong in that!” said the schoolteacher, looking questioningly at the shop owner. “Why, then is he in such a piteous state here?”
Banya answered, still smiling.
“I will tell you, master. As you see, after frying the kebabs, there was some oil left on my griddle. That oil contained all the fragrance of my kebabs. Now that fragrance has gone into his bread.”
“Mmm. But I see no harm in that,” Hoshyar said. “It can happen.”
“Yes, but oil costs me a lot to make my kebabs, master. He should not have used that oil left on my griddle. It is almost like he has eaten my kebab. Therefore, I am asking him for money. He has to pay for my oil and also for the fragrance. Am I not right, master?”
The elderly schoolteacher looked at Banya, then at the beggar, and lastly at the crowd, now suddenly gone quiet and watchful.
“Why young man,” Hoshyar turned to the beggar and asked him. “Don’t you know that we must always pay for what we take from others?
The shocked beggar looked at the wise man with frightened eyes. Then he quietly took out the little amount of money he had in his pocket and started giving it to Banya.
But before Banya could take the money from the beggar, Hoshyar stopped the shop owner. Then he turned to face the beggar.
“One minute, boy! Get up and let me have the coins. I will l give them to Banya myself.”
The beggar gave the schoolteacher the tiny pile of coins.
Taking the coins from the beggar, Hoshyar turned round and faced the shop owner.
“Sir! Will you just bring your ear closer to me…” he started saying.
The clever shopkeeper, sensing something was amiss, suddenly stopped smiling. He even looked troubled. But he could not refuse the wise man in front of a watchful crowd. Therefore, he bowed to the teacher.
Hoshyar took the coins near Banya’s ear and started tinkling them loudly in his ears.
“Do you hear this, Banya?” Hoshyar asked.
Banya kept quiet.
“Sir! Aren’t you listening? How do you like the sound?”
′′Tinkling coins always sound very good to me, master,” said the money minded Banya. “Now, if I should have the coins in my hand, they would even sound better, and… ′′
He stopped, as Hoshyar suddenly turned away from him and put all the coins back in the beggar’s pocket. Banya looked confused.
“You see, Banya! This young beggar only smelled the fragrance of your kebab and was happy. But he did not eat any of your kebabs. In the same way, you also heard the tinkling of the coins and enjoyed the sound greatly. But it is not necessary that you must have the coins. Do you understand?”
The crowd that was gathered around the shop started laughing, expressing their amusement.
The rich shop owner understood his blunder and his miscalculation. He bowed his head and silently went inside his shop.
The beggar thanked the schoolteacher and went away, looking happy with his bread and his coins.
