Once a rich man came to Messina. He was so rich that he himself didn’t really know how much wealth he had. He went for a walk on the shore of Lake Gandzirri and admired its beauty. And, rich people have this habit - if they like something, they will certainly want to buy it. The rich man began to ask:
- Whose lake is this?
“Royal,” they answer him. The rich man went to the king.
“Your Majesty, would you sell me the lake?”
- Why not sell it! - said the king. – If we agree on a price, I’ll sell it.
– What will the price be?
- Yes, I’ll take it inexpensively. Cover the bottom of Gandzirri with gold coins. And then we’ll share – coins for me, lake for you.
- It's coming! - exclaimed the rich man.
Seeing how easily the buyer agreed, the king was afraid that he had sold too cheap. So he hastily added:
“But I haven’t said everything yet.” The coins should be edge-on.
- No, Your Royal Majesty, it's too expensive. Let the coins lie flat.
- Edgewise! – the king became stubborn.
- Flat! – the rich man became stubborn.
So that evening they did not agree on the price. But in the morning the rich man saw the sun rise over Lake Gandzirri and ran straight to the king.
- Eh, Your Royal Majesty, let it be your way.
And a day later the rich man began carrying coins. A caravan of one hundred mules, each with two saddlebags on its back, came in the morning and left in the evening for exactly twenty days. Golden mountains grew on the shore of the lake. Then the coins began to be placed on the bottom.
The king himself made sure that they were placed edge-on, close to each other. The golden mountains were quickly melting, and the bottom of Lake Gandzirri now shone like the scales of a goldfish.
And on the last day, at the last hour, at the last minute, when the rich man already considered the lake his own, it turned out that one single coin was missing.
“Well, it doesn’t matter,” said the rich man. - What is there one gold!
- That is, how unimportant it is! - exclaimed the king. –
Do you really think that I will give away such a magnificent lake for nothing? Hand over the coin now!
But in truth, the rich man has absolutely nothing left of his wealth. However, he did not want to confess to the king.
“I won’t drive a whole caravan of mules for one coin,” he said. - If you insist, lend me this missing coin.
Now we have to reveal the whole truth to the end. The king also did not have a single gold coin. Feasts, masquerades, and rich gifts to the ladies of the court emptied the treasury. The royal treasury was as empty as a big drum. But the king was even more unable to admit it. And he said:
“I am a king, not some dirty money changer to lend.” When there is no money, they don’t buy Lake Gandzirri!
The rich man became very angry.
“Well, if that’s the case,” he shouted, “then I don’t need your lake Gandzirri.” For that price, I’ll probably buy myself a small sea.
And the rich man ordered the coins to be pulled out from the bottom and loaded back onto the mules.
So nothing worked out for them.
Whether the rich man bought himself a sea is unknown. But the king, until his death, regretted that he did not have one single gold coin in his treasury. Just think, he could become a rich king!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru