Once upon a time, there were three merchants who were partners in a business. One day, they went to a small village. A beautiful and clear river flowed there with woods and flowers growing splendidly on both banks. With the clean and fresh air, this beautiful part of the world looked like a fairyland. The three men decided to spend some time around the village and enjoy the scenery. Since they were carrying heavy packs on their backs, they wanted to find a place first to put away their baggage.
The merchants saw a farmhouse near the entrance to the village. They went over and found an old lady living there. They entrusted her with their valuables and reminded her, “Please bear in mind that these valuables are jointly owned by the three of us. You can only give them back if all three of us come to you at the same time.”
They then left the farmhouse and strolled along the river bank. Suddenly, one of the three suggested taking a quick swim in the river. The other two agreed. As they had brought no towels, they said to the man who had had the idea, “How about going back to the old lady’s and bringing back the swimming stuff?” He nodded and headed off.
The man who wanted to get the swimming stuff was trying to figure out how to get all of the stuff from the old lady on his way back. When he arrived at the house and asked the old lady to give him the stuff, she refused, saying, “No, I can’t give it to you, unless all three are here. Didn’t you tell me that?” The man continued, “Let’s go and find them. You can ask them whether they approve or not.”
The guy returned to the riverbank together with the old lady. He yelled at his two business partners in the water, “Do you permit me to take back the stuff? Tell the old dame, please.” The two bathers shouted to the old lady, “Yes, give it to him. We sent him back to get the stuff.” Hearing this, the old woman gave it all to him. The man immediately ran away with all their property.
After finishing their swim, the other two merchants found their partner had still not returned. Realizing that something was wrong, they hurried back to the old lady’s house. They spoke quite rudely and unreasonably to the lady, “We sent him to get the bath stuff. How come you gave it him our property? You should pay for our losses. You know, we sweated and toiled to earn that money.” They found a judge who ruled that the old lady should be responsible for all of their losses. Unable to afford such a large sum of money, the lady cried her heart out.
A little boy was told about the old lady’s misery. He comforted her and said, “Don’t worry, Granny. I have a good idea. You go to the judge and tell him the valuables of the three merchants are all at your home now. They can come and pick them up. But they can do so only if all three show up together just as agreed before.”
The old lady did as the little boy told her. The judge then informed the two merchants to go to the lady and take their property back. But the man who had fled with their money was nowhere to be found.
Hence, the judge changed his verdict in favour of the old lady.
