the Good Bargain好交易

"Wait," replied the king. "You shall have another reward. Get out of here for now, but come back in three days, and then five hundred shall be counted out for you in full."

　　When the peasant passed through the gate, the sentry said, "You made the king's daughter laugh, so you must have received something very good."

　　"Yes, that is right," answered the peasant. "Five hundred are to be counted out to me."

　　"Listen," said the soldier. "Give me some of it. How can you spend all that money?"

　　"Because it is you," said the peasant, "you shall have two hundred. In three days report to the king, and have it counted out for you."

　　A Jew, who had been standing nearby and had overheard the conversation, ran after the peasant, took hold of his coat, and said, "Miracle of God, what a child of fortune you are! I will change it for you. I will change it for you into smaller coins. What do you want with hard talers?"

　　"Jew," said the peasant, "You can have three hundred. Give it to me right now in coins. Three days from now you will be paid for it by the king."

　　the Jew was delighted with his small profit, and brought the sum in bad groschens, three of which were worth two good ones. After three days had passed, in keeping with the king's order, the peasant went before the king.

　　"Pull off his coat," said the king "He shall have his five hundred."

　　"Alas," said the peasant, "they no longer belong to me. I gave two hundred of them to the sentry, and the Jew has changed three hundred for me, so rightfully nothing more belongs to me."

　　In the meantime the soldier and the Jew entered and demanded what they had received from the peasant, and they received the blows carefully counted out.

　　the soldier bore it patiently, for he already knew how it tasted, but the Jew cried out pitifully, "Oh my, oh my, are these the hard talers?"

　　the king had to laugh at the peasant, and when his anger had subsided, he said, "Because you lost your reward even before you received it, I will replace it for you. Go into my treasure chamber and take as much money for yourself as you want."

　　the peasant did not need to be told twice, and he stuffed as much as would fit into his big pockets. After that he went to an inn and counted out his money.

　　the Jew had crept after him and heard him muttering to himself, "That rascal of a king has cheated me after all. If he himself had given me the money, then I would know how much I have. Now how can I know if what I had the luck to put into my pockets is right?"

　　"God forbid," said the Jew to himself, "he is speaking disrespectfully of his majesty. I will run and report him, and then I shall get a reward, and furthermore he will be punished."

　　When the king heard what the peasant had said he fell into a rage, and ordered the Jew to go and bring the offender to him.

　　the Jew ran to the peasant and said, "You are to go to his majesty the king at once, and just as you are."

　　"I know better than that what is right," answered the peasant. "First let me have a new coat made for myself. Do you think that a man with so much money in his pockets should go before the king in this tattered old coat?"

　　the Jew, seeing that the peasant could not be moved without another coat, and fearing that if the king's anger cooled, he himself would lose his reward, and the peasant his punishment, said, "Out of pure friendship I will lend you a handsome coat for a little while. What people will not do for love!"

　　the peasant was satisfied with this, put on the Jew's coat, and went off with him.

　　the king confronted the peasant with the evil things the Jew had accused him of saying.

　　"Oh," said the peasant, "what a Jew says is always a lie. No true word ever comes out of his mouth. That rascal there is even capable of claiming that I have his coat on."

　　"What are you saying?" shouted the Jew. "Is that coat not mine? Did I not lend it to you out of pure friendship, so that you could appear before his majesty the king?"

　　When the king heard this, he said, "For sure the Jew has deceived one of us, either myself or the peasant." And once again he had the Jew paid out in hard talers.

　　the peasant, however, went home wearing the good coat and with the good money in his pockets, saying to himself, "This time I made it."