No. 226
The Three-cornered Hatter[1]
In a certain country a greatly-poor man dwelt, it is said. The man having prayed to a friend of his [for assistance], received from his friend a calf. In order to sell the calf for himself, having set out from the village at which he stayed, and come and descended to the road, at the time when he was going along driving it he met with three young men of yet [another] village.
At the time when the three young persons saw this poor man, they spoke together in this fashion. The speech indeed was, “Having cheated the man who is going driving this bull, let us seize the bull,” they said.
Having spoken to the man, when they asked him, “Will you give us the goat?” the poor man who is going driving the bull, says, “Friends, I am not taking the goat; it is a bull,” he said.
Then the men who were cheating him began to say, “Why, O fool, when you have come driving the goat, are you trying to make it a bull? We recognise goats, and we recognise bulls. Don’t make fun [of us]. Having given us that goat, and taken a sufficient amount, go away,” they said.
Having said and said thus, when these three persons began to make an uproar [about it], the poor man who is driving the bull, having made the bull the goat, and spoken to the three persons, says, “It is good, friends. Taking this goat that I brought, and having fixed a sufficient price, give [me it],” he said.
When he said thus, those three enemies say, “What are you saying? The full value of a goat is five rupees; this one is worth three rupees, but we shall not do in that manner to you. To you we will give four rupees,” they said.
Having said thus, and given that poor man four rupees, “Now then, you go away,” they said.