Author: George Todorov
Tale of the Jar of Gold and the Leather Bottle of Water
Once upon a time in the small shop of the young Rhabbat came Exer, who wanted to drink a cup of aroma tea and to have a chat with his new friend. Although he was not staying for long in town, he already liked this young man because of his open temper, his good heart and his great desire to become a good trader. After serving the tea, Rhabbat asked Exer:
- Do you know, Exer, I’ve been thinking that I want to ask you something. How did you decide to make your living out of trading?
- Well… that’s an interesting story, which I would be happy to tell you if you are ready to listen. So, here we go…
It all happened when I was even younger than you and my heart was obsessed by the desire to conquer the whole world. This one time my father had to leave right away for the White Oasis beyond the desert because of trading affairs, but he had appointments in our city that prevented him from leaving. In the end, he decided to send me with the task to solve all trading cases he had.
- But I don’t understand anything when it comes to trading! – I told him with my scared voice, and he smiled and with a calm voice answered..
- Son, let your heart learn its lessons and pick its way by its own. All you have to do is follow it.
- I listened to my wise father and I left. The road across the desert was long, a week of travelling under the Sun’s deadly rays. In the beginning of my journey, a famous trader joined my caravan. He, like me, travelled across the desert. We were both walking and talking about different things. I was telling him about my father’s advice, and he, about his own problems.
In the end of the second day, as the sun was in its highest, I noticed a huge shiny object in the distance. And since I was young and quick, I ran over to it and pulled it out of the sand. It was a huge jar full of old gold coins. I could barely lift it. When my companion caught up with me, he looked at the coins, smiled and said:
- Great, now we can split it in halves. Do you agree?
- What do you mean? I found it? It’s mine, I’m not spliting it with anybody!
He looked me in the eyes with the sharp look only wise desert people cary in their eyes and smiled:
- Alright, if this is what you have decided….
…and he moved forward, since we had a lot of travelling until we reached the White Oasis. I put the golden coins in my luggage and ran after him. But their weight soon took all the powers I had so I started falling behind and my companion had to stop and wait for me. On the next day, I, of course, had fallen behind again, and the old trader, while he was walking in front, had found a huge leather bottle full of cold fresh drinking water. In the distance I saw him lifting it and killing his thirst with the water. When i caught up with him, since I was exhausted, I asked him:
- Please give me some water.
- Nooo, I found it so it’s mine! You did not give me coins, so I am not giving you water.
- Please – I told him – I am exhausted, and we are only halfway there. My water is already gone, so I will pay you kindly. Do you agree?
- Yes, I agree – he told me – We will make an Arabic market right here, in the middle of the desert!
And so, as we were standing in the middle of the huge desert on the top of a sandhill, he laid his small carpet on the warm sand, put the bottle of water in front, sat with crossed legs and waited for me.
I approached him and greeted him:
- Good day! – I said.
- Good day! – he answered.
- I heard you were selling water – I said in a hurry.
- You heard right, I do sell water – he answered.
- How much is it for a drink?
- A jar of golden coins – he told me.
- BUT THIS IS TOO EXPENSIVE!!!
- Well, if it’s too much for you, wall around the market and if you find something cheaper, buy it instead.
So, against my will I paid with all of my gold coins in order to drink some water. By the end of the journey I was burdened by the thought that if I had given him some of my money, I wouldn’t have lost it all.
When we arrived at the White Oasis, he stopped, pulled out all coins, split them in exact halves, and said.
- You are a good man, so here is why I will give you back half of the gold. But let this remain a lesson for life. If you are not ready to split profit with others, be sure that sooner or later, you will lose everything. This is the most important rule in trading. Remeber it!
Then I realized that all people are interested in profit and that a stock can be bought or sold only if both sides are satisfied. Realizing this secret, I did not face any difficulties solving the issues my father had sent me for.
Business conclusion:
When we perform a sale, no matter what we sell, we should remember that the mutual interest is by far the most important goal we have to achieve. To be able to understand whether the person in front is interestand and at what level, is the knowledge that is a secret to most traders.
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