Once Krishna was sitting beside his mother, watching her churn milk into butter. He was hopeful that once she finished, he would be given a generous share of butter to eat. His mother knew what Krishna was thinking and smiled. The truth was, she secretly enjoyed the tricks Krishna would play on her, just to get his hands on the butter.
Just then a fruit-seller called out, “Mangoes! Fresh mangoes!”
She was selling the freshest and the juiciest of mangoes. Nandraj, Krishna’s father, called out to the fruit-seller and she came to their doorstep. Krishna noticed that she was carrying two baskets of freshly-picked, delicious mangoes with her. As soon as she stepped into the house, the house was filled with the sweet aroma of ripe mangoes. Everyone was delighted to see such ripe, juicy mangoes, especially Krishna who was already hungry (because of all the butter being churned around him!).
Those were the days when people would barter goods instead of using money to pay. Goods were generally exchanged for grains and other farm products. Nandraj went into the house and brought out a basket full of grains.
He put the basket in front of the fruit-seller and asked her, “Will this basket of grain be sufficient payment for one basket of mangoes?”
The fruit-seller was delighted to receive a basketful of grains in exchange for a basket of mangoes. She responded, “Most people generally offer me half a basket for these many mangoes. You are very generous. I shall be happy to exchange one basket of mangoes for this much grain.”
Krishna watched his father carefully as he carried out the barter. Though he was still very small, he understood that mangoes could be bought in exchange for grain. He wanted to buy some mangoes on his own.
So Krishna immediately ran inside and picked up as much grain as he could in his hands. With tightly closed fists, to ensure that not a single grain fell out of his hands, Krishna ran towards the fruit-seller. He offered the contents of his hands to the fruit-seller.
Now, this was the first time the fruit-seller took a careful look at Krishna. And she was instantly mesmerized by his dark eyes, innocent smile, and long dark locks adorned with a peacock feather. For a moment, she forgot everything around her, and was unable to take her gaze off Krishna.
Krishna called out in his innocent voice, “Could I have some mangoes too?”
Saying this, he emptied the contents of his fists into the fruit-seller’s hands. His little hands could only grab a few grains. Krishna suddenly realized that, with so few grains, he may not be able to buy any mangoes.
The fruit-seller noticed the disappointment on the little boy’s face. She gladly put the grains given by him in her sack and filled Krishna’s arms with juicy, golden mangoes.
The little boy’s joy saw no bounds. He was extremely delighted and so was everyone else around him.
Suddenly, the basket of grains that Nandraj had given to the fruit-seller turned into a basket full of gold and precious gems.
The fruit-seller could not believe her eyes!
She looked back at Krishna, who was still smiling at her. At that instant she knew that she was standing in the company of no ordinary mortal but God himself.
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Excellent
Beautifully narrated. A veritable treasure chest for grandparents to keep their grandchildren occupied!