The Clever Girl
Once upon a time, in a quaint little town in Italy, there lived a humble merchant who owed a substantial debt to a ruthless moneylender. The moneylender was an old and unattractive man, known for his sharp wit and even sharper deals. He had a strikingly beautiful daughter, who was well aware of her father’s unscrupulous nature.
One day, the moneylender decided to gain control over the merchant’s fate. He approached the merchant with a proposal: if the merchant's daughter agreed to marry him, he would clear her father's entire debt. The merchant felt desperate but helpless; refusing the proposal would mean losing everything he had worked for. However, his daughter was horrified at the thought of marrying such a man and refused to accept this dreadful bargain.
The moneylender devised a twisted solution to ensure he could trick the merchant’s daughter into compliance. He announced that he would place two pebbles into a bag—one black and one white. The daughter would reach into the bag and choose one pebble. If she drew the black pebble, her father’s debt would be forgiven, but she would become the bride of the moneylender. If she drew the white pebble, her father’s debt would still be cleared, and she wouldn’t have to marry the old man.
As the moneylender bent down to pick up the pebbles from the gravel path in the garden of the merchant's house, the daughter noticed something alarming. He had picked up two black pebbles instead of one black and one white. Panic filled her heart as she realized that she had been set up for an impossible choice.
When the moneylender asked the girl to choose a pebble from the bag, she found herself cornered. The weight of her father’s future pressed down on her, and she recognized that she had three potential options:
1. She could refuse to pick a pebble, which would leave her father’s fate uncertain.
2. She could reveal the moneylender’s trickery by exposing the selection of two black pebbles, which could lead to grave consequences for herself and her father.
3. She could pick a pebble from the bag she was sure contained a black stone, sacrificing her own freedom for her father's sake.
However, the clever girl chose to act differently. With a graceful smile, she reached into the bag and pulled out a pebble, making a show of her clumsiness as she accidentally tossed it into the pile of pebbles scattered on the ground. "Oh dear, how clumsy of me!" she exclaimed, feigning a lighthearted demeanor. “It doesn’t matter now. You can check the remaining pebble in the bag. It will reveal which pebble I picked!”
The moneylender, now visibly anxious, peered into the bag. The only pebble left was clearly black. Knowing that he could not risk revealing his deceit, he had no choice but to accept the girl's ruse. Reluctantly, he declared that she had chosen the white pebble. The girl had outsmarted him, securing her father's freedom without marrying the old and greedy moneylender.
The townsfolk soon learned of the incident, and the merchant’s daughter became renowned for her intelligence and cunning. She had not only saved her father but also thwarted the moneylender’s schemes. The moneylender, embarrassed and humiliated, retreated from the town, while the merchant and his daughter lived on, free from the grasp of deceit.
Through her bravery and quick thinking, the merchant's daughter taught the community that sometimes, the strength of wit is mightier than the strength of gold, leaving a legacy that would be spoken of for generations to come.
