The king was to pass by a beggar's hut and the man was beside himself with excitement, not because he was about to see the king but because the king was known to part with expensive jewels and huge sums of money when moved by compassion.
He saw the king's chariot just as a kindly man was filling his begging bowl with uncooked rice. Pushing the man aside, he ran into the street, shouting praises of the king and the royal family.
The chariot stopped and the king beckoned to the beggar.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"One of the most unfortunate of your subjects," said the beggar. "Poverty sits on my doorstep and follows me about like a dog. I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon!"
"Have you nothing for your king except a tale of woe?" said the ruler, putting out his hand. "Give me something."
The beggar, astonished, carefully picked up 5 grains of rice from his bowl and laid them on the king's outstretched palm.
The king drove away. The beggar's disappointment was great. He raved and ranted and cursed the king again and again for his miserliness. Finally, his anger spent, he went on his rounds.
When he returned home in the evening he found a bag of rice on the floor.
"Some generous soul has been here," he thought and took out a handful of rice from the bag. To his astonishment there was a small piece of gold in it. He realised then that the bag had been sent by the king. He emptied the rice on the floor, feeling sure there would be more gold pieces in it, and he was right. He found 5, one for each grain of rice he had given the king.
"It is not the king who has been miserly," thought the man, sadly. "If I had been generous and given him the whole bowl of rice, I would have been a rich man today."
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