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74. THE MERCHANT WHO CHEATED A DAIRY MAID
A simple dairy maid came to the shop of a merchant with two silver coins to buy cotton. In those days it was an expensive commodity and the merchant thought he could easily cheat the simple minded woman and make some money. He therefore weighed cotton worth only one single coin and gave it to her for her two. She quietly went away with the bundle and the merchant was glad to have an extra bit of profit. He thought he was therefore entitled to enjoy himself. He bought some ghee and raw sugar with the extra money that he had earned from the dairy maid and sent them home to his wife with a message that she should make some sweet pancakes for his lunch. She did make the pancakes but in the meantime, before her husband came home for lunch, their son-in-law came along with a friend and the merchant's wife served them the sweet pancakes. After their hearty lunch they went away. When the merchant came home, the wife placed before him nothing more than the usual plate of rice. When he asked her about the pancakes, she told him what had happened. The merchant quickly saw that he had no right to enjoy at the cost of the poor dairy maid. He committed the sin, some body else enjoyed the fruit.
He was still cogitating on this situation while resting under a tree when he saw a monk passing down the way. He called him to rest a while under the tree but the monk said that he was in a hurry to go for his work. The merchant asked whether any one ever went for any body else's work. The monk said, "Yes. Exactly as you suffer for your wife and others."
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| SR No. | 006762 |
| Book Title | Treasury of Jain Tales |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | V M Kulkarni |
| Publisher | Shardaben Chimanbhai Educational Research Centre |
| Publication Year | 1994 |
| Total Pages | 468 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 17 MB |