The lucky man

An old coup-le in Greece were about to die. On their deathbed, they said to their son, an only son, `Dear son, our days are over. We have nothing to leave you- neither cattle nor sheep, nor fields, nor anything. But we give you one gift: our blessing. Take earth in your hands and it will turn into gold.’

Soon they died. The blessing they gave their son worked in a wonderful way. The young man succeeded in all that he did. In fact, it seemed as if everything e touched became gold.

But one day he said to his dearest friend, `Once I had nothing, and now I have everything. Whatever I do, I succeeded in. where others would lose, and I gain. But I feel that all this good fortune may suddenly bring a calamity upon me. So I want to make a loss over something I don’t know how’.

His friend thought for a while, when said, `I will tell you how to make a loss. Go and buy all the dates in Greece and ship them across the sea. When you reach Egypt, buy camels, and carry your dates to Cairo. Try to sell them there.

This idea pleased the young man very much. So he bought all the dates he could find in Greece, shipped them across the sea, and set off to Cairo on camels.

The king of Egypt was out hunting in the desert with his friends. During the hunt the king happened to lose his wedding ring. This made him so unhappy that he sent his soldiers to the desert in search of it. But they could not find it.

The king’s grief increased. Then he saw a train of camels coming across the desert. He sent his men to fetch the man with the camels.

When they arrived, the rich Youngman sprang down from is camel and bowed low.

`Where do you come from?’ asked the king. `And what do you bring with you sell us?’

`I come from beyond the Great Sea,’ answered the young man, `and my home is in Greece. I bring dates with me to sell here in Egypt.’

The king forgot his sorrow and burst out laughing. `You must be a fool to bring dates to sell in the country where they grow,’ he said. `How much did they cost you?’

`Seven pieces of silver for each measure,’ answered the Youngman.

`If we pay half piece of silver for a measure of dates ere, we think we are being cheated,’ said the king.

`Listen, my lord,’ he young man replied. `I may not have any brains, but I am not quite a fool. When my parents died, I had nothing except their blessing. But their blessing has turned me into a very rich man. I am afraid of my good luck, though. I am afraid some great disaster will happen to me. The least I can do is to make a loss on one venture. That is why I have brought dates to sell in Egypt.

The young man paused, and picked up some sand. Then he said, `all the same, great king, I feel that even now something will happen to stop me from making a loss. For I am such a lucky man that if I pick up even a handful of sand from the ground, it will turn into gold’.

So saying, he took a handful of sand and let it sift through his fingers. And what did he see in his hand? The king’s ring!

When the king saw the ring, he was so delighted that he cried, `Unload your camels and sell me your dates.

I will buy them all –not or seven, but for seventeen pieces of silver for each measure.’

And so, even when he took dates to Cairo, the blessing of his parents protected the young man.