The Little Gildmaster

Once on a time when Brahmadatta was reigning in
Benares in Kasi, the Bodhisatta was born into a gild-
master's family, and growing up, became gildmaster, being
called Gildmaster Little. A wise and clever man was he,
with a keen eye for signs and omens. One day on his way
to wait upon the king, he came on a dead mouse lying on
the road ; and, taking note of the position of the stars at
that moment, he said, " Any decent young fellow with his
wits about him has only to pick that mouse up, and he
might start a business and keep a wife."

His words were overheard by a young man of good
family but reduced circumstances, who said to himself,
" That's a man who has always got a reason for what he
says." And accordingly he picked up the mouse, which he
sold for a farthing at a tavern for their cat.

With the farthing he got molasses and took drinking
water in a water-pot. Coming on flower-gatherers return-
ing from the forest, he gave each a tiny quantity of the
molasses and ladled the water out to them. Each of them
gave him a handful of flowers, with the proceeds of which,
next day, he came back again to the flower grounds pro-
vided with more molasses and a pot of water. That day
the flower-gatherers, before they went, gave him flowering
plants with half the flowers left on them; and thus in
a little while he obtained eight pennies.

Later, one rainy and windy day, the wind blew down
a quantity of rotten branches and boughs and leaves in
the king's pleasaunce, and the gardener did not see how
to clear them away. Then up came the young man with
an offer to remove the lot, if the wood and leaves might
be his. The gardener closed with the offer on the spot.
Then this apt pupil of Gildmaster Little repaired to the
children's playground and in a very little while had got
them by bribes of molasses to collect every stick and leaf
in the place into a heap at the entrance to the pleasaunce.
Just then the king's potter was on the look out for fuel to
fire bowls for the palace, and coming on this heap, took
the lot off his hands. The sale of his wood brought in
sixteen pennies to this pupil of Gildmaster Little, as well
as five bowls and other vessels. Having now twenty-four
pennies in all, a plan occurred to him. He went to the
vicinity of the city-gate with a jar full of water and supplied
500 mowers with water to drink. Said they, " You've done
us a good turn, friend. What can we do for you ? " " Oh,
I'll tell you when I want your aid," said he ; and as he went
about, he struck up an intimacy with a land-trader and a
sea-trader. Said the former to him, " To-morrow there will
come to town a horse-dealer with 500 horses to sell." On
hearing this piece of news, he said to the mowers, " I want
each of you to-day to give me a bundle of grass and not to
sell your own grass till mine is sold." " Certainly," said they,
and delivered the 500 bundles of grass at his house. Unable
to get grass for his horses elsewhere, the dealer purchased
our friend's grass for a thousand pieces. Only a few days
later his sea-trading friend brought him news of the arrival
of a large ship in port ; and another plan struck him. He
hired for eight pence a well appointed carriage which plied
for hire by the hour, and went in great style down to the
port. Having bought the ship on credit and deposited
his signet-ring as security, he had a pavilion pitched hard
by and said to his people as he took his seat inside, "When
merchants are being shewn in, let them be passed on by
three successive ushers into my presence." Hearing that
a ship had arrived in port, about a hundred merchants
came down to buy the cargo ; only to be told that they
could not have it as a great merchant had already made a
payment on account. So away they all went to the young
man ; and the footmen duly announced them by three
successive ushers, as had been arranged beforehand. Each
man of the hundred severally gave him a thousand pieces
to buy a share in the ship and then a further thousand
each to buy him out altogether. So it was with 200,000
pieces that this pupil of Gildmaster Little returned to
Benares.

Actuated by a desire to shew his gratitude, he went
with one hundred thousand pieces to call on Gildmaster
Little. "How did you come by all this wealth?" asked
the gildmaster. " In four short months, simply by follow-
ing your advice," replied the young man ; and he told him
the whole story, starting with the dead mouse. Thought
Lord High Gildmaster Little, on hearing all this, " I must
see that a young fellow of these parts does not fall into
anybody else's hands." So he married him to his own
grown-up daughter and settled all the family estates on
the young man. And at the gildmaster's death, he became
gildmaster in that city. And the Bodhisatta passed away
to fare according to his deserts.