This just in. The
kingdom of Benares was just sold for a single measure of rice.
According to our covert sources, the king of Benares made an
error in judgement when appointing the royal valuer this past year. He was unhappy with the man formerly in this
position and fired him on the spot. The
king then chose a random citizen off the streets to fill the vacancy, a man
with no experience and no morals. Apparently,
the new valuer assigned values at random, depending on his mood, the weather,
and the phases of the moon. Sources
conflict on whether or not this was part of the king’s plan or simply great
hubris in believing that he knew what was best for his treasury.
Early this week, a working man approached the valuer to
inquire what his herd of horses would be worth to the king. An arbitrary decision resulted in the value
of a single measure of rice in exchange for five hundred horses. That is correct. Five hundred horses are now worth a single
measure of rice in the eyes of the royal valuer and the eyes of the king
himself. However, the horse-dealer was
not satisfied with this deal and came up with a cunning plan.
Yesterday evening, the horse-dealer put his plan into
action. He approached the royal valuer
and offered him a bribe, as we are told is custom in this country. He then asked the valuer to assess the single
measure of rice which he had been given for his herd of horses earlier in the
week. They then requested an audience with the king of Benares. The
horse-dealer told the king that a herd of five hundred horses was worth a
measure of rice and requested to know what the value of that measure of rice
was.
Our sources say that the king was unaware of the events that
had been transpiring in his kingdom and he foolishly asked his valuer what a
single measure of rice was worth in the kingdom of Benares. Recall now, that the valuer was not a
particularly bright individual and he had been bribed by the horse dealer. As such, his answer to the king was very
surprising.
The valuer judged a single measure of rice to be worth all
of Benares, both within and without the walls.
For those unfamiliar with their global geography, the city of Benares
spans 12 leagues from wall to wall and the suburbs and lands belonging to the
city span a further 300 leagues. And all
of this was only worth a single measure of rice.
Information is still trickling in about the aftermath of this
earth-shattering event. The entire court
was shut down for the duration of a trial and to discuss whether or not the king
would be forced to forfeit his kingdom to the horse dealer.
We will continue to provide you with details regarding
Benares throughout the morning. Stay
tuned with News Channel 6. I am Bodisat and I will keep you updated.
Author's Note:
I chose to rewrite the story The Rice Measure. I kept the general storyline the same,
although I left out the Bodisat’s role in the original story to make him the
news announcer. In the story, a peasant is made the royal valuer when the king thinks
the Bodisat is costing him too much money with his fair and accurate assessment
of the goods that people bring him. The
king appoints a random peasant to be the valuer and he just puts random costs
on the goods brought to him, including the herd of 500 horses. The horse dealer goes to the Bodisat, the
former valuer, who helps him come up with a plan to fool the valuer and the
king. In the end, the Bodisat is
returned to his position. There is no
mention as to what happens to the horse dealer who only received a measure of
rice for his horses, although I assume that the Bodisat reevaluated the herd
for him. I wanted to stretch my writing
skills a little this week, which is why I tried to rewrite the story as a news
broadcast. I’m not sure it worked quite
as well as I hoped, but well enough for me I guess.
Bibliography: Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie Shedlock (1920), Baldwin Project.
Image Info: Breaking News. Source: Wikimedia Commons; Brown Rice. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
