The Snake and the Gold Coins

Once upon a time there was a farmer who made his living by growing wheat in his field. Sadly, the harvest was getting poorer and poorer year by year despite him always working hard. Too little rain and too much sun made the farmer’s field dry all the time, and the wheat often withered before harvesting.

One afternoon he was resting under a tree after a long day of hard work. Suddenly, he saw a giant snake slithering out of a hole in the tree! It occurred to him then that this snake, shimmering and otherworldly as it appeared, must have been sacred - and the farmer had never worshipped it. So droughts and parched crops were his punishment.

The next day the farmer brought a bowl full of milk to the field. He placed it right next to the snake’s hole and started chanting: “Oh, holy guardian of this field, I was not aware that you were dwelling here. That is why I didn’t bring you any gifts and offerings. Please, accept this bowl of milk as a gesture of respect.” Then the man got down to work.

In the evening, he came to check on the bowl. The milk was gone and instead there was a gold coin inside!

So from that day on, the farmer would leave a bowl of milk next to the hole in the morning, and find a gold coin in it on his way home.

Before long, the man had to travel to a nearby town for a few days. He asked his son to bring a bowl of milk to the field every day to pay honour to the sacred snake.

So the son did as he was told. He took a bowl of milk to the tree every morning, and…