A Measure of Rice: Jataka Tale Rhymes

A king hungry to hoard his treasure replaces a wise valuer with a gullible fool, and the market tilts overnight. Then a caravan thunders in with five hundred gleaming horses, only to be priced at a single measure of rice. Outrage meets comedy as the court tries to swallow a verdict that would then trade a city for a grain sack.Into this chaos walks a calm mind with sharper tools than gold scales. Teeth, legs, temper, training, purpose, and proof become the real measures, and every sentence tightens the noose on nonsense. Laughter bursts from ministers, the crowd leans forward, and the truth lands with the clean snap of a banner in wind.Framed by a raucous morning at Jetavana where rice checks go wrong, the tale shuttles between monastery and palace with brisk clarity and sly humor. Rhyming quatrains carry the beat, while illustrations bloom with indigo, madder, turmeric, and leaf green around horses, grooms, coins, and a brimming bowl. If you love folklore that tests the mind, prizes fairness, and still crackles with spectacle, this one will make you grin and think on the same page.