THE RICE MEASURE

Long ago, Brahmadatta was king in Benares, in the land of Kāsi. At that time our Bodisat was his valuer. He valued both horses, elephants, or things of that kind; and jewelry¹, gold, or things of that kind; and having done so, he used to have the proper price for the goods given to the owners thereof.

Now the King was covetous². And in his avarice³ he thought, “If this valuer estimates in this way, it will not be long before all the wealth in my house will come to an end. I will appoint another valuer.”

And opening his window, and looking out into the palace yard, he saw a stupid miserly peasant crossing the yard. Him he determined⁴ to make his valuer; and sending for him, asked if he would undertake the office. The man said he could; and the King, with the object of keeping his treasure safer, established that fool in the post of valuer.

Thenceforward the dullard used to value the horses and elephants, paying no regard to their real value, but deciding just as he chose; and since he had been appointed to the office, as he decided⁵, so the price was.

Now at that time a horse-dealer brought five hundred horses from the northern prairies. The King sent for that fellow, and had the horses valued. And he valued the five hundred horses at a mere⁶ measure of rice, and straightway ordered the horse-dealer to be given the measure of rice, and the horses to be lodged⁷ in the stable. Then the horse-dealer went to the former valuer, and told him what had happened, and asked him what he should do.

“Give a bribe⁸ to that fellow,” said he, “and ask him thus: 'We know now that so many horses of ours are worth a measure of rice, but we want to know from you what a measure of rice is worth. Can you value it for us, standing⁹ in your place by the King?’ If he says he can, go with him into the royal presence, and I will be there too.”

The horse-dealer accepted the Bodisat’s advice, went to the valuer, and bribed¹⁰ him, and gave him the hint suggested. And he took the bribe, and said, “All right! I can value your measure of rice for you.”

“Well, then, let us go to the audience-hall,” said he; and taking him with him, went into the King’s presence. And the Bodisat and many other ministers went there also.

The horse-dealer bowed down before the King, and said, “I acknowledge, O King, that a measure of rice is the value of the five hundred horses; but will the King be pleased to ask the valuer what the value of the measure of rice may be?”

The King, not knowing what had happened, asked, “How now, valuer, what are five hundred horses worth?”

“A measure of rice, O King!” said he.

“Very good, then! If five hundred horses are worth only a measure of rice, what is that measure of rice worth?”

“The measure of rice is worth all Benares, both within and without the walls,” replied that foolish fellow.

For the story goes that he first valued the horses at a measure of rice just to please the King; and then, when he had taken the dealer’s bribe, valued that measure of rice at the whole of Benares. Now at that time the circumference¹¹ of the rampart of Benares was twelve leagues, and the land in its suburbs was three hundred leagues in extent. Yet the foolish fellow estimated that so-great city of Benares, together with all its suburbs, at a measure of rice!

Hearing this the ministers clapped their hands, laughing, and saying, “We used to think the broad earth, and the King’s realm, were alike beyond price; but this great and famous royal city is worth, by his account, just a measure of rice! O the depth of the wisdom of the valuer! How can he have stayed so long in office? Truly he is just suited to our King!” Thus they laughed him to scorn.

Then the Bodisat uttered this stanza¹²:
“What is a measure of rice worth?
All Benares and its environs!
And what are five hundred horses worth?
That same measure of rice!”

Then the king was ashamed, and drove out that fool, and appointed the Bodisat to the office of valuer. And in course of time the Bodisat passed away according to his deeds.

1 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

2 covetous   

adj.贪婪的，贪心的

参考例句：

• She is envious of Jane's good looks and covetous of her car.她既忌妒简的美貌又垂涎她的汽车。
• He raised his head,with a look of unrestrained greed in his covetous eyes.他抬起头来，贪婪的眼光露出馋涎欲滴的神情。

3 avarice   

n.贪婪；贪心

参考例句：

• Avarice is the bane to happiness.贪婪是损毁幸福的祸根。
• Their avarice knows no bounds and you can never satisfy them.他们贪得无厌，你永远无法满足他们。

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

7 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 bribed   

v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• They bribed him with costly presents. 他们用贵重的礼物贿赂他。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He bribed himself onto the committee. 他暗通关节，钻营投机挤进了委员会。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 circumference   

n.圆周，周长，圆周线

参考例句：

• It's a mile round the circumference of the field.运动场周长一英里。
• The diameter and the circumference of a circle correlate.圆的直径与圆周有相互关系。

12 stanza   

n.（诗）节，段

参考例句：

• We omitted to sing the second stanza.我们漏唱了第二节。
• One young reporter wrote a review with a stanza that contained some offensive content.一个年轻的记者就歌词中包含有攻击性内容的一节写了评论。