The Rice Cakes

Moral: Every problem has a solution.

In Japan many years ago, there was a widow who lived with her
young daughter Maia in a little house in a busy, bustling town. They
didn’t have very much money and so, in order to make ends meet, the
mother made rice cakes which she and her daughter sold each day in the
market. The rice cakes were quite delicious, and all the other market
traders made a point of buying them as snacks to eat while they worked
on their stalls. Most of the people who came to the market to shop also
made a point of visiting the cake stall to chat to Maia who was sweet and
friendly little girl. Naturally, they always bought a cake at the same time,
so Maia and her mother usually sold all the rice cakes they made.

One morning, when Maia awoke she was surprised to find that her
mother was still in bed. She ran to her side and tried to wake her. To her
horror she realised her mother was ill with a fever. Too Maia’s immense
relief her mother finally opened her eyes.
“I’ll run and fetch the doctor,” said Maia.
“No,” replied her mother in a faint voice. “We have no money to
pay him until we’ve sold our cakes and I’m too weak to get up. You’ll
have to make the rice cakes and take them to the market on your own
today.”

So, Maia set about making a fresh batch of rice cakes. She had
watched her mother make them a hundred times, but she had never had to
bake them herself before. Her hands were trembling as she mixed the
ingredients and she tipped too much oil into the mixture.
“Never mind,” said her mother patiently. “I’m sure no one will
mind if the cakes are a little bit greasy today.” Then when she was sure
her mother was comfortable, Maia put all the rice cakes onto a tray and
went off to market.

At first the Traders were surprised to see that Maia was alone on
her stall but when they found out why they all bought a cake and said that
they hoped her mother would soon recover her health. Not one of them
mentioned the fact that the cakes were rather oily. Soon the word was all
around the town that the rice cake maker was ill and that her daughter,
little Maia, was selling, for one penny each, rice cakes she had made
herself. People flocked to her stall and by the end of the afternoon Maia
had sold all but one of the cakes.
Maia smiled happily as she looked at the tin where she kept all the money
she had made. It was piled high with bright, shiny pennies.
“Now, if I can just sell the last cake I’ll have enough money to pay
for the doctor to come and make my mother better,” she thought to
herself.
At that moment a man walked up to Maia’s stall. He wore a broad
straw hat which was pulled down over his eyes so that his face was
hidden in shadow.
“Would you like to buy a rice cake, Sir?” asked Maia politely.
“No,” answered the man, “but I would like to rob you of your
money!”
Then, quicker than a snake can strike, he snatched up the tin from
the stall and dashed away out of sight down a nearby alleyway.
“Stop thief!” shouted Maia but by the time people realised what
had happened the thief had vanished. Maia burst into tears and, try as
they might, the kindly folk of the town could not make her stop.
“That money was to pay for the doctor and medicine for my
mother,” she wailed. “Now she’ll never get better.”
The people shook their heads in sorrow, but no one had any idea as to
how they might catch the crook and recover the stolen pennies.

However, as luck would have it, the mayor of the town looked out
of the window of his office in the town hall and saw the commotion.
Quickly he made his way down to the square and across to Maia’s stall.
When the market traders saw him they explained what had happened and
asked him if he could do anything to help? The mayor stroked his chin,
then he reached out and picked up the last rice cake. He tasted it.
“Hmm,” he muttered, “it’s good but rather oily.” Suddenly he raised his
eyebrows sharply and a crafty look came into his eyes. He handed Maia
a penny and then said that he was going to make an announcement.
When everyone fell silent he climbed up on a large crate and said in a
loud, clear voice that at dawn the next morning everybody in the town
was to gather in the market square and give one penny each to Maia.
“We are happy to help the little girl and her mother,” said the
people, “but it is a shame that the thief can’t be caught.”
“Oh, I’ll catch the thief all right,” replied the mayor.
“But no one saw his face,” said one man. “He could be anybody.
It’s a problem that has no solution.”
“There’s a solution to every problem,” said the mayor. “If you just
think hard enough.”
The people begged the mayor to tell them how he meant to catch the
criminal, but he merely smiled and told them to wait and see.
 The next morning everyone gathered in the market square just as
the mayor had ordered. The mayor and Maia were already there sitting
behind a large table. On the top of the table was a big bucket filled to the
brim with water. The mayor told the townsfolk to line up in single file
and, one at a time, to come up to the table and put their pennies in the
bucket. The puzzled crowd obeyed the mayor’s instructions.

One by one they dropped their pennies into bucket and waited
while the mayor looked at the water. After each inspection he nodded,
and the next person stepped forward. At last there was only one man left.
He smiled, marched smartly up to the bucket and dropped his penny into
the water with a flourish. The mayor glanced at the water and then
shouted, “Guards, arrest this man! He is the thief.”

The crowd gasped, and the guards pounced on the surprised fellow
before he could run away.
“How did you know it was me?” he demanded.
“It was quite simple really,” explained the mayor. “You see the
rice cakes were very oily so when Maia’s customers took them and then
handed over their pennies to her, some of the oil rubbed off from the
cakes onto the money. The thief never actually tried one of the cakes, so
he had no reason to know this. Now it is a fact that oil floats in water, so
I knew that when one of the stolen pennies was put into the bucket, the oil
would float to the surface. Obviously, the man who put that penny in the
bucket had to be the thief.”
Everybody burst into applause at the mayor’s cleverness while the guards
dragged the scowling thief off to jail.

The mayor allowed Maia to keep all the money in the bucket and,
what with this and the stolen money the guards found in the thief’s house,
there was plenty of cash to pay for the best doctor to treat Maia’s mother.
She was soon well again and back at the stall selling her rice cakes in the
market. Everybody was delighted not least because, although Maia was a
good daughter she was a terrible cook and her mother’s return meant they
didn’t have to eat Maia’s oily cakes ever again.

© Roger Hurn 2012

www.roger-hurn.co.uk
 Key Questions
 What would you have done if you had been Maia and you woke up
to find that your mother was ill?
 Do you think it is right that the doctor would only treat Maia’s
mother if they could afford to pay?
 For how many years has it been free to visit the doctor in this
country?
 Why do you think everybody bought Maia’s cakes even though they
were greasy?
 Do you think it would have made any difference to the thief if he
had known why Maia needed the money from the sale of her cakes?
 When do you think the mayor had his idea for catching the thief?
 How fair was it of the mayor to make everybody give up a penny to
Maia?
 Why did the mayor say every problem has a solution?
 Why is it important to keep trying to find solutions to problems?
 Do you think people give up too easily when confronted by
difficulties?
 What things can you do if you are faced with a tricky problem?