The Greedy Mistress

A wandering merchant entered a village inn. He carried a large bundle of goods on his back. The innkeeper was a greedy woman. When she saw the bundle, she wanted to get her hands on it. She led the merchant to a room and then ran to her husband to discuss how to trick the merchant into leaving the bundle behind.

"It's very easy to do," her husband said. "You need to pick some mega grass, boil it, and mix it into his dinner. Mega grass makes people lose their memory. If the merchant eats it, he will surely forget his bundle here."

The innkeeper did just that: she went to the garden, gathered a full armful of mega grass, boiled it, and mixed the brew into all the dishes, even the rice. Then she served it all to the merchant for dinner.

The merchant ate the dinner and noticed nothing unusual. Only his head felt a little dizzy, and blood rushed to his face; he felt sleepy. He went to his room, lay down, and immediately fell asleep. The next morning, he woke up at dawn with a heavy head, packed his things, and continued on his way.

The innkeeper waited until the merchant had left the inn and then rushed to his room to claim the bundle. But the room was empty. She searched everywhere, looked in every corner. A bundle isn’t a needle—it’s not hard to spot. But no matter how much she searched, she couldn’t find it. Frustrated, she ran to her husband.

"Your mega grass was useless! I boiled it for nothing. The merchant left and didn’t leave us anything."

"That can’t be! Whoever eats mega grass is sure to forget something. Look again! He must have forgotten something."

The innkeeper rushed back to the merchant’s room, searched again, turned everything upside down, and still found nothing. Finally, she stopped in the middle of the room and looked around in confusion. Suddenly, she slapped her forehead and shouted at the top of her lungs:

"He forgot! He forgot!"
Her husband heard her cry and ran to her.
"Well? What did he forget?"
"He forgot to pay!"

More fairy tales

• The Gift of the Goddess Kannon
• The Werewolf from the Old Temple
• The Magic Pot
• The Badger and the Magic Fan
• The Enchanted Cup