Long ago, in the city of Baghdad, there was a merchant named Ali. Once, he had to go on a long journey that would take time. Selling off most of his things, Ali placed a thousand gold coins in a large jar for use when he returned. To keep it safe, he placed a layer of olives on top of the coins before closing the jar tightly. He took it to another merchant and asked him to keep his jar of olives safely till he returned. His friend gave him the warehouse key and told him to put it there himself. Placing it there, Ali returned the key and went away. For seven years, there was no news of him. One evening, the merchant remembered the jar and suggested to his wife that they should open it or the olives would rot. She disagreed as it would be a betrayal of Ali’s trust.
The Merchant’s Deception
The merchant ignored his wife’s advice and opened the jar. The olives on top had become stale and rancid, so he threw them away. He was surprised to see the gold coins below! He thought, ‘Ali’s been away for seven years, and there’s no news! He must be dead. I will keep these gold coins for myself!’ He removed the gold and filled the jar with fresh olives and put it back. A few weeks later, Ali returned and asked for his jar! The merchant gave him the key and asked him to take it from the warehouse. Ali took it to his house and opened it. He was shocked to see the jar full of fresh olives instead of his gold coins! He returned and told the merchant to give back his gold coins, but the merchant angrily denied touching the jar! The quarrel became so bad that they finally took it to the court of Caliph Harun-al-Rashid.
The Caliph used to walk around in disguise every evening with his Vazir, to see how his kingdom and its people were doing. One evening, he saw the strange sight. A group of boys were holding a mock-court on the street, trying the case of Ali and the merchant, as the case had become very well-known in the city. The mock-judge was supposed to be the Caliph. He asked mock-Ali to explain what his complaint was. After hearing him and the mock-merchant, the mock-judge called for two experts on olives. The mock-experts looked at the olives in the jar and said, “These are very fresh. They couldn’t possibly be seven years old!” This proved that the mock-merchant was telling a lie. So, the mock-judge asked the culprit to pay back mock-Ali’s gold coins or he would be severely punished. The Caliph and his Vazir watching this play were very impressed by the justice of the boys.
The next morning, Ali with his jar of olives, the merchant and two experts on olives were summoned to the court. The Caliph also asked the boy who had acted as the mock-judge to come. First, Ali was asked to explain his complaint. Then, the merchant gave his explanation. The jar of olives was opened and the Caliph tasted an olive and asked the boy to taste one too. They both found that the olive was fresh. The experts were asked to taste them and say if they could be seven years old. The experts tasted the olives and said that the olives were fresh, not stale. In seven years, the olives would have rotted! The merchant realised he was caught lying. He admitted his guilt and got the gold coins from his house and returned them to Ali. This saved him from severe punishment! The Caliph rewarded the boy richly for his wisdom!
