A certain cultivator having gone to his Kaekiri garden, and having
seen, when he looked [through it], that a very beautiful long Kaekiri
fruit was ripe, presented it to the Chief of that country.
The Ratemahatmaya, being pleased regarding it, presented to him a
very valuable young bull.
A man who lives in that country, ascertaining this, thought, "Should
I also bring some present I shall receive a present [in return] in
this manner" (that is, one of much higher value); and he presented
to him a valuable heifer from his herd.
Thereupon the Ratemahatmaya, this time being acquainted with the
stratagem, presented to the man the Kaekiri fruit which the cultivator
gave.
North-western Province.
My friend Mr. C. Tucker, of Harrogate, has been good enough to show
me a variant of this story in a work called Lessons of Thrift, by
a member of the Save-all Club, published in 1820. It is related of
King Louis XI. of France.
A peasant who had ingratiated himself by his services, when the King
succeeded to the throne brought him a turnip of extraordinary size
as the only present within his power. The King gave him one thousand
livres in return. His landlord, a country squire, hearing of it,
thought he must profit by this weakness of the King's, and said to
himself, "If this madman give a thousand livres for a turnip, what
will he give me for that beautiful horse in my best stable!" He
took the horse to the Court. The King was delighted, and said,
"Your noble disinterested present shall be richly rewarded." Then
the King produced the turnip, with this sarcasm, "This, you know,
cost me a thousand livres, and I give it you in return for your horse."
In Keightley's Tales and Popular Fictions, pp. 253 ff., there are two
Italian variants in which a cat was bestowed by a King as a gift in
return for presents of great value.