The Pot of Gold

I heard from our elders, they in turn from their fathers, they in turn from their elders, that once upon a time there was a poor farmer who had a rented plot of land and a yoke for one bull. During the harsh winter the farmer’s bulls died. In the early spring when it was time to begin to plow and clear the fields, the farmer did not have any bulls to work the land. He rented the land to a neighbor to farm.

While the neighbor tilled the field, his hoe hit an object. He thought it was a big rock. When he unearthed it, he saw a clay water jug full of gold coins. He tied his bulls and ran to the village to his neighbor who rented him the land.

“Hey brother, may the sunlight brighten your eyes (ahchkut louyee), I just unearthed this pot full of gold on your land. Take it, it belongs to you.”

“No way, brother, it doesn’t belong to me,” said the farmer to his renter.

“You paid me rent for the land, you plowed the ground. Whatever comes out of the land belongs to you. If it is gold, so be it, it belongs to you.”

They began to argue back and forth. The renter said, “It is yours brother,” and the farmer said, “No, it is yours.” The argument heated up. They came to blows. Finally, they went before the king with their mutual differences of opinion. Then the king heard about the pot of gold, his eyes bulged from their sockets with greed. He spoke.

“It doesn’t belong either of you. The pot of gold came out of the plot of land that belongs to me. It’s mine!” The king proceeded with his guards to the farmer’s place to fetch the pot of gold for himself. When the king opened the lid of the pot, he was shocked to find that instead of gold, the pot was brimming with poisonous snakes!

The king became incensed with rage and rushed back to his palace. He ordered his men to severely punish these country bumpkins for daring to cheat him.

“May the king live long, we beg to differ,” said the two hapless prisoners. “Why are you going to execute us. There is some mistake. Maybe you didn’t look into the pot correctly. There aren’t any snakes. It is full of precious gold, so much gold, Sire.”

The king sent a group of his men to examine the pot again. When the men returned, they affirmed that the pot was full of gold.

“My God,” said the king is a burst of amazement. “I must not have looked carefully into the pot or, maybe, I looked into the wrong pot.” The king darted out again to see the pot of gold. He opened the lid and again he was shocked to find the pot full of poisonous snakes.

“What kind of magic is this. What does it mean. I don’t understand,” said the king.
He issued a royal order that all the sages and wise men in his kingdom come immediately to his palace for a consultation. He addressed them thus, “Please explain to me my dear wise men the origin and meaning of this strange event. These farmers unearthed a pot full of gold . When I went to examine it, I saw the same pot full of dangerous snakes. When they look, they see only precious gold. What does this mean?”
The wise men addressed the king, “If the honored king does not get upset, we can explain the meaning. The pot of gold was a gift sent to the poor farmers for their noble and honest work. When they looked into the pot, they saw their rightful reward of precious gold. But, when you looked into the pot, you intent was to usurp the fortune belonging to others. Because of that illicit desire, you saw dangerous snakes instead of gold.”

The king was shocked. He was speechless. He composed himself and spoke to the wise men: “I accept. But you must still determine which one of these two farmers owns the pot of gold.”

The farmer who unearthed the pot said, “It belongs to my neighbor who rented the plot to me.”

“It’s not true,” said the farmer who rented the plot. It belongs to my friend the renter.” The two farmers began to argue again.

“Stop this arguing right now,” said the wise men. Now tell us. Do you have children? If so, tell us whether they are girls or boys and what are their ages?”

It turned out that one farmer had a boy and the other a girl and both children were of marriageable age. The wise men decided that the one farmer’s son and the other’s daughter should get married. The pot of gold that was unearthed should be gifted to the newly married couple. The two honest farmers agreed.

Eight days and eight nights the humble villagers celebrated the marriage of the farmer’s children. The pot of gold that was unearthed and later revealed to be a gift to them in recognition of their noble and honest work throughout their lives was offered to their children. Blessing and goodness were with the humble, honest people. Bad behavior and greediness with the king.