And the trader by land told him, “To-morrow a horse-dealer is coming to the town with five hundred horses.”
On hearing this, he said to the grass-cutters, “Give me to-day, each of you, a bundle of grass, and don’t sell your own grass till I have disposed of mine.”
“All right!” cried they in assent, and brought five hundred bundles, and placed them in his house. The horse-dealer, not being able to get grass for his horses through all the city, bought the young man’s grass for a thousand pence.
A few days afterwards his friend the trader by sea told him that a large vessel had come to the port. He thinking, “This will be a good plan,” got for eight pennies a carriage that was for hire, with all its proper attendants; and driving to the port with a great show of respectability, gave his seal-ring as a deposit for the ship’s cargo. Then he had a tent pitched not far off, and taking his seat gave orders to his men that when merchants came from outside he should be informed of it with triple ceremony.[260]
On hearing that a ship had arrived, about a hundred merchants came from Benares to buy the goods.
They were told, “You can’t have the goods: a great merchant of such and such a place has already paid deposit for them.”
On hearing this, they went to him; and his footmen announced their arrival, as had been agreed upon—three deep. Each of the merchants then gave him a thousand to become shareholders in the ship, and then another thousand for him to relinquish his remaining share: and thus they made themselves owners of the cargo.
So Chullaka’s pupil returned to Benares, taking with him two hundred thousand.[261] And from a feeling of gratitude, he took a hundred thousand and went to Chullaka the treasurer. Then the treasurer asked him, “What have you been doing, my good man, to get all this wealth?”
“It was by adhering to what you said that I have acquired it within four months,” said he: and told him the whole story, beginning with the dead mouse.
And when Chullaka the high treasurer heard his tale, he thought, “It will never do to let such a lad as this get into any one else’s hands.” So he gave him his grown-up daughter in marriage, and made him heir to all the family estates. And when the treasurer died, he received the post of city treasurer. But the Bodisat passed away according to his deeds.