The Sold Shadow

Once upon a time, in a village, there lived a wealthy man. His house stood by a main road, and in front of the gates grew a huge mulberry tree.

One day, a poor man appeared near the house and sat down to rest in the cool shade of the tree. The rich man came out and lashed out at him:

"Hey, you! Don’t you dare sit here! Get out of here, and be quick about it!"
"Get out? How come? What if I want to sit here?" the poor man retorted.
"This tree belongs to me. I watered it, and now it has grown big and shady. Therefore, the shade of the tree also belongs to me," said the rich man.
"Well, if that’s the case, then sell me this shade. I’ll pay you something for it," the poor man offered.

Hearing the words "I’ll pay you," the rich man happily agreed:

"Well, that’s a different story. I can sell the shade."

By chance, there were witnesses nearby, and the deal was made.

From then on, the poor man began to come every day to enjoy the cool shade of the tree. If the shade fell inside the courtyard, he sat there to rest; if the shade covered the kitchen, he settled in the kitchen; if the shade fell on the guest gazebo, he went there too. In short, wherever the shade was, that’s where he made himself comfortable. Sometimes he came alone, and other times he brought friends and acquaintances. Occasionally, even donkeys and other livestock belonging to his friends rested in the shade.

One day, the rich man couldn’t take it anymore and became angry:

"Hey, why are you sitting in the courtyard and the gazebo? Don’t you dare come here anymore!"
"Didn’t I buy the shade of this tree from you?" the poor man shot back. "If that’s the case, then wherever the shade falls, that’s where I sit."

No matter how much the rich man fumed, there was nothing he could do.

One day, guests came to visit the rich man, and the host received them in the gazebo. The poor man, paying no attention to them, casually walked into the gazebo and sat down in the shade. The guests looked at him in bewilderment, finding it strange. But when they learned what had happened, they burst out laughing. The poor man laughed along with them.

After this incident, everyone started mocking the rich man so much that he had to move to another village.

As for the poor man, he settled in the rich man’s house, and where the former owner used to tie his horses, he tied his donkey. And whoever came to sit in the shade of the mulberry tree, the poor man never turned anyone away.

More fairy tales

• How the Fox Was Taught a Lesson
• The Grateful Tigress
• The Fishing Rod
• The Drunken Sparrow
• The Tiger and the Buffalo