Extra Credit Reading Notes: The Measure of Rice

 Source: The Measure of Rice

by Ellen C. Babbitt

A dishonest king with a valuer to decide prices of things, I can only imagine that the valuer is dishonest as well. However, the valuer was a just man who gave good prices for the goods being sold.

The dishonest king did not appreciate his just valuer and wanted more money, the greedy always get greedier. The king finds a peasant in the village to make the new valuer.

Since the peasant did not know the price of any of the goods, he just chose a random price. In which all people would have to pay.

The valuer would price 500 horses to the measure of rice, so the king would get 500 horses and the horse owners would only get the measure of rice.

This upset the horse dealer (as it should), so he sought out the true valuer who understood the prices and told him what had been happening.

The valuer tells the horse dealer to give the peasant a present and ask him to defend the measure of rice. He also told him to have the peasant do it in front of the king, in which the honest valuer would be present as well.

So the horse dealer obeys and the plan worked as the honest valuer said, they went to the king. The man has the king ask the peasant what five hundred horses are worth, in which he replies the measure of rice. The king then asked what a measure of rice is worth, and the peasant says his whole kingdom. 

This embarrassed the king and he fired the peasant valuer. The valuer got the negative remarks from the people when it was not his fault. The king purposefully chose a man who did not know values for his own selfish gain.

The poor valuer