There was once a farmer who suffered much at the hands of a money-lender. Good harvests, or bad, the farmer was always poor, the money-lender rich. At the last, when he hadn't a farthing left, the farmer went to the money-lender's house, and said, "You can't squeeze water from a stone, and as you have nothing to get by me now, you might tell me the secret of becoming rich."

"My friend," returned the money-lender, piously, "riches come from Ram—ask him."

"Thank you, I will!" replied the simple farmer; so he prepared three girdle-cakes to last him on the journey, and set out to find Ram.

First, he met a Brahman, and to him he gave a cake, asking him to point out the road to Ram; but the Brahman only took the cake and went on his way without a word. Next, the farmer met a devotee, and to him, he gave a cake, without receiving any help in return. At last, he came upon a poor man sitting under a tree and finding out he was hungry, the kindly farmer gave him his last cake, and sitting down to rest beside him, entered into conversation.

"And where are you going?" asked the poor man.

"Oh, I have a long journey before me, for I am going to find Ram!" replied the farmer. "I don't suppose you could tell me which way to go?"

"Perhaps I can," said the poor man, smiling, "for I am Ram! What do you want of me?"

Then the farmer told the whole story, and Ram, taking pity on him, gave him a conch shell, and showed him how to blow it in a particular way, saying, "Remember! whatever you wish for, you have only to blow the conch that way, and your wish will be fulfilled. Only have a care of that money-lender, for even magic is not proof against their wiles!"

The farmer went back to his village rejoicing. The money-lender noticed his high spirits at once, and said to himself, "Some good fortune must have befallen the stupid fellow, to make him hold his head so jauntily." Therefore he went over to the simple farmer's house, and congratulated him on his good fortune, in such cunning words, pretending to have heard all about it, that before long the farmer found himself telling the whole story—all except the secret of blowing the conch, for, with all his simplicity, the farmer was not quite such a fool as to tell that.

Nevertheless, the money-lender determined to have the conch by hook or by crook, and as he was villain enough not to stick at trifles, he waited for a favourable opportunity and stole the conch.

But, after nearly bursting himself with blowing the conch in every conceivable way, he was obliged to give up the secret as a bad job. However, being determined to succeed he went back to the farmer, and said, coolly, "Look here; I've got your conch, but I can't use it; you haven't got it, so it's clear you can't use it either. Business is at a stand-still unless we make a bargain. Now, I promise to give you back your conch, and never to interfere with your using it, on one condition, which is this,—whatever you get from it, I am to get double."

"Never!" cried the farmer; "that would be the old business all over again!"

"Not at all!" replied the wily money-lender; "you will have your share! Now, don't be a dog in the manger, for if you get all you want, what can it matter to you if I am rich or poor?"

At last, though it went sorely against the grain to be of any benefit to a money-lender, the farmer was forced to yield, and from that time, no matter what he gained by the power of the conch, the reap without sowing money-lender gained double. And the knowledge that this has so preyed upon the farmer's mind day and night so that he had no satisfaction out of anything.

At last, there came a very dry season,—so dry that the farmer's crops withered for want of rain. Then he blew his conch, and wished for a well to water them, and there was the well, but the money-lender had two!—two beautiful new wells! This was too much for any farmer to stand; and our friend brooded over it, and brooded over it, till at last a bright idea came into his head. He seized the conch, blew it loudly, and cried out, "Oh, Ram! I wish to be blind of one eye!" And so he was, in a twinkling, but the money-lender, of course, was blind of both, and in trying to steer his way between the two new wells, he fell into one and was drowned.

Now, this farmer finally got the better from the blood-sucking money-lender—but only by losing one of his eyes.

提 要

這個關於「耕作者」與「投機者」的寓言故事，敘述「位高權重」或「買空賣空」的既得利益者，把別人辛勤工作得到的成果奪走、吃相難看，終究惹得天怒人怨，得到雙倍的嚴懲。

解 說

曾經有一個農夫，總是必須忍受放貸人的剝削，十分痛苦。無論收成好還是不好，窮的總是農民，富的總是放貸人。最後，當窮到底時，農夫去放貸人家拜訪，他說：「你從石頭上榨不出水的，現在你什麼也得不到，你還不如告訴我致富的祕密。」

「我的朋友，」放貸人狀似誠懇地回答：「財富來自拉姆，去問他吧。」

「謝謝你，我會去的！」單純的農夫回答。於是他為旅行準備了三塊烘餅，啟程去找「拉姆」。

首先，他遇到了一個祭司貴族，獻給他一塊餅，請他指出尋找拉姆的方向，但祭司只拿走烘餅，一句話沒說就走了；接下來，農民遇到了一位奉獻者，又給了他一塊烘餅，還是沒有得到任何幫助；最後，他走到一個坐在樹下窮人的面前，發現他餓了，好心的農夫給了他最後的一塊烘餅，坐下來在他身邊休息，開始交談。

「你要去哪裡？」窮人問農夫。

「哦，我的前程茫茫，因為我要去找拉姆！」農夫說：「你大概不能告訴我，該往哪兒去吧？」

「也許我可以，」窮人微笑著說：「因為我就是拉姆！你找我有什麼事？」

於是農夫敘述了整件事的來龍去脈，拉姆很同情農夫，給了他一個海螺，並教他如何以特定的方式吹它，拉姆說：「記住！無論想要什麼，只要這樣吹海螺，你的願望就會實現，只是要提防這個放貸人，因為即使魔法，也擋不住他們的詭計！」

農夫歡天喜地回到村裡。放貸人立刻就察覺他的情緒高昂，自言自語地說：「這個蠢傢伙必定有些好事發生，讓他如此地高興。」所以他去了單純農夫的家，以狡猾的言詞祝賀他，假裝知道所有事、套他的話，農夫發現自己和盤托出，只保留吹海螺的祕密。以農夫的單純程度來看，沒有說出全部的祕密，還不算太傻。

話雖如此，放貸人決定或偷或騙弄走海螺。這個無所不用其極的歹徒，耐心地等待著最佳機會，得手了。

但是，在用盡所有可以想到的方式吹海螺、幾乎把自己吹爆之後，放貸人不得不放棄這個吃力不討好的動作。然而，不甘願的他回到了農夫身邊，冷冷地說：「看，我有你的海螺，但我不能用它；你沒有得到它，所以很明顯，你也沒的用；除非我們協商，否則誰都得不到好處。現在，我答應還你海螺，也不干涉你怎麼用，但有一個條件，就是無論你得到多少，我要得到雙倍。」

「決不！」農夫哭喊：「那又走回老路了！」

「完全不會！」這狡猾的放貸人回答：「你會分到自己的一份！現在，別占著茅坑不拉屎了，如果你得到了想要的，我是窮是富，與你有什麼關係？」

最後，雖然結果絕對有利放貸人，農夫只好屈服，而且從那時起，無論他由海螺的魔力獲得多少 ，不勞而穫的放貸人都獲得雙倍。知道這種不公平的消息，日夜折磨農夫，所以他無論獲得任何東西都沒有滿足感。

最後，一個非常乾燥的季節來臨，乾旱使農民的作物因無雨而枯萎。農夫吹了他的海螺，希望有一口井讓大家灌溉澆水，於是一口水井出現了，但放貸人立即有了兩口井，兩口美麗的新井！這下子，超過所有農民的忍耐極限了，農夫不停地憂悶地沉思著，直到終於有一個聰明的念頭出現。他抓住海螺，大聲地吹起來，喊道：「哦，拉姆！我希望一隻眼失明！」於是他瞬間變成獨眼龍，當然，放貸人變成雙目失明，而且試圖在兩口新井之間前進時，掉進入了其中的一口井。

現在，農夫終於從「吸血」的放貸人那裡得到解脫，代價是失去了一隻眼睛。