summary of story half the price a gatekeeper and villager
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Once upon a time in Rangoon the king arranged a banquet to celebrate the birth of his first child. He invited kings and queens and nobles from all the neighboring lands to attend.
For weeks before the celebration, the king's attendants bustled about, preparing for the lavish event.
They swept and dusted and polished every corner of the castle, gathered fresh flowers from the gardens, decked the halls with ornaments and ribbons. And most importantly, of course, they cooked and cooked, preparing salads with sesame seeds and shredded cabbage and carrots, rice noodles and fritters, tapioca and semolina cake, everything but the main course, the fish. The fish, you see, had to be the freshest fish imaginable, caught the very day of the feast.
Everything was ready the morning of the banquet, but as the cook called to the fishermen, a storm suddenly blew up. The wind howled, trees shook, and the sea turned wild. The fishermen, their boats lined up along the shore, shook their heads. "It's far too dangerous to go to sea," they said. "No one will go out to sea today."
When the cook gave king the bad news, he nearly wept. He wanted to impress his visitors, but now what could he do? There would be no feast, after all -- at least not one he could be proud of. Everything seemed lost when suddenly the gatekeeper appeared before the king.
"There is a fisherman standing at the gate," he said. "He wants to talk to the king. He is carrying a net full of fish."
"Send him in at once!" the king cried.
The gatekeeper did as he was asked and brought the fisherman, his net brimming with marvelous fish, before the king.
"My good man!" the king cried with delight. "How did you manage to catch these?"
"I heard of your dilemma," the fisherman answered modestly, "and so I went to sea to catch these."
"You risked your life!" the king exclaimed.
"But here I am, safe and sound," the fisherman said. "Here are your fish."
"You are a brave and noble man," the king said, and he called for his cook. When the cook appeared, he said, "Take these fish to the kitchen to clean and prepare them for the banquet."
Turning to the fisherman, he flushed with pleasure and gratitude. "Please sit and share a cup of sweet tea. You have saved my honor. Ask anything of me. I will offer you any reward."
The fisherman sadly bowed his head and said, "I would like 100 lashes of the whip," he said.
The king gasped. "Surely I have misheard you. I thought you said you desired to have 100 lashes of the whip."
"That is correct, sir," the fisherman said.
"I cannot punish a man who has performed so bravely for me," the king declared.
But the fisherman bowed his head again and said, "I insist."
The king did not want to appear ungrateful, and so he called his servant to the room and instructed him to give the fisherman 100 lashes with the whip. But first he pulled his servant aside and whispered, "Be gentle, please. This is an odd request, and yet we must comply."
The servant thought the fisherman must be a fool, but he lifted the whip and began to lash the man as gently as he could. With each strike, he pulled back a little more. "Forty-eight," he counted, "49," then, "50."
And just as the servant lifted the whip again, the fisherman raised his hand and said, "Stop, we must now go to see the gatekeeper."
"What?" the king asked. "What can you mean?"
The fisherman rose to his feet and explained. "I must share my reward with the gatekeeper. When I arrived at the palace with my catch, he would not allow me entry until I swore to him that I would share my reward with him, half and half."
The king was stunned. "And why did you agree to such a request?" he asked.
"The time for the banquet was fast approaching," the fisherman explained. "I did not want you to have to wait, but the gatekeeper was fierce. I had no choice, so you see, I must share this reward."
The king was furious to learn of his gatekeeper's betrayal and greed. He ordered his servant to fetch the man.
When the gatekeeper appeared before him, the king said to the servant, "Now give him 50 lashes, but without gentleness."
After the servant had lashed the gatekeeper, the king looked sternly at him. "You are now banished from my kingdom forever."
And he turned to the fisherman and smiled. "Good man, I wish you to join me in a seat of honor at the banquet."
Naturally the fisherman accepted the invitation.
The banquet was a grand success, and all the guests exclaimed that they had never tasted such delicious fish.