The betel trader (Raehigamayā) says, “[Betel leaves]. In our country areka-nuts are scarce to an inordinate (no-saehena) extent.”
“Anē! Friend, [I have brought areka-nuts]. In that very way, for our country there is difficulty over betel leaves,” Gampolayā said.
Having said, “If so, let us change our two pingo loads,” the person possessing areka-nuts took the pingo load of betel leaves; the person who has the pingo load of betel leaves took the pingo load of areka-nuts.
Gampolayā [afterwards] says, “I indeed met with a trading at a profit!” When he asked, “What was it?” “I obtained a pingo load of betel leaves” [he said]. Who asked it? A man going on the road.
He took the pingo load of betel leaves to his country. Having gone there and having untied it, when he looked it was a pingo load of [worthless] pepper leaves. [The other man], taking the pingo load of areka-nuts, went to his village. Having gone [there] and unfastened it, when he looked they were [worthless] Īriya fruits.
Well then, those two persons came together at the travellers’ shed on another day. They spoke: “That day our trading did not go on properly. Now then, friend, we two being thieves at this city, [after] cooking rice and having eaten [together], at night let us go for robbery.”
Well then, except that those two say, “Let us cook,” not even one of them brings the materials.[4] What is [the reason why] they do not bring them? They were persons who on former occasions had gone to the shop and brought things, [and had been cheated by another person’s not bringing any], they said. In that manner it became night.
One person, having said he is going to bathe, [went away, and] having eaten cooked rice at the shop, came back. The other [thought], “While he has gone to bathe, that one, going to the shop, will eat rice;” so this one having gone to another place ate cooked rice [there].
A second time they came to the travellers’ shed. [Afterwards] they broke [into] the palace of the King of that city. Taking the box containing the gold things, and having gone [off with it], and during that very night having arrived at a rice field, they went to sleep at the bottom of a tree. Through dishonesty to one of them, the other, taking the box of things, bounded off. Having sprung off and gone, he crept into a mound of straw, and remained there.
That [other] one having arisen, when he looked there was neither the man nor the box of things. Thereafter he seeks and looks about. When he was seeking and looking, [he noticed that] there was a threshing-floor near [the place] where they were sleeping. Having taken a [wooden] cattle-bell, on the following day, in the evening, he shook and shook the cattle-bell, and began to gore the corn stacks and mounds of straw that were at the threshing-floor.[5] Then that man who had got hid there, having said [to himself], “Perhaps it is a bull,” spoke [to it, to drive it away]. Having spoken, when he looked it was the first thief.