MACATO AND THE COWRIE SHELL

Once upon a *me there was a boy whose name was Makato. He was an orphan,
for his father and mother had died when he was very young. He had no brothers, sisters,
cousins, or friends to take care of him, so he had to make a living for himself. He did
every kind of work—carrying heavy things, clearing away the forest, or feeding pigs. He
never idled over his work, and although he was paid only a small wage, he was sa*sfied.
He knew that if he did not work he would starve. Wherever he went his employers
praised him for being sensible, hardworking, good-tempered, and cheerful.

He was only 4 when his mother passed away, but he remembered some stories
she had told about the kind-hearted king of Sukhotai. Ever since he was small he
wanted to meet this king. One day, when helping a friend to find food for elephants, he
found so many branches that the friend offered him a job to become the assistant of
the King's mahout. He worked hard cleaning elephants sheds and finding food. One
fine morning Makato's pa*ence and hard work got rewarded: he was to accompany
the King's elephant an a parade. As the king mounted the beast, in his splendid, shiny
costume, he dropped a *ny cowrie shell. Makato picked it up and held it out to the king.
who told him to keep it.

Sukhothai used cowrie shells as money. Although one cowrie shell had liKle value,
Makato wanted to make as much use of it as possible, for it was the king’s giM. For a
long *me he could not think of a way to use it so that it would earn more money for
him. He went to the market to buy seeds, yet quickly realized he could not even buy
the smallest bag of seeds, while he noticed a lettuce seed stall.

"Lady, if I dip my finger into this pile of seeds, can I take those that s*ck to my
finger for one cowrie?", he asked. "Well why not", replied the sales lady, amused by his
sugges*on. Makato carefully scraped the seeds from his finger and planted them,
watering the *ny sprouts daily, un*l the garden was covered in fresh, green leKuce.
Proud as he was, he offered to king his first produce.

Makato told the king the whole story. The king was impressed with his
intelligence and industry. So much so that later on he gave Makato a job in the palace.
As the years passed Makato grew tall and handsome. He mastered every grace and
served the king well. He was so loyal that the king trusted him absolutely. He was
promoted to higher and higher posi*ons un*l he was given the *tle of Khun Wang,
which meant that he was the most important person in the king’s court. He was also
happily married to a beau*ful young daughter of the king. AMer that the king made him
the ruler of Mon. So it was that Makato, who had once been a poor orphan, became
the king of that prosperous kingdom.
 MACATO AND THE COWRIE SHELL

Once upon a *me there was a boy whose name was Makato. He was an orphan,
for his father and mother had died when he was very young. He had no brothers, sisters,
cousins, or friends to take care of him, so he had to make a living for himself. He did
every kind of work—carrying heavy things, clearing away the forest, or feeding pigs. He
never idled over his work, and although he was paid only a small wage, he was sa*sfied.
He knew that if he did not work he would starve. Wherever he went his employers
praised him for being sensible, hardworking, good-tempered, and cheerful.

He was only 4 when his mother passed away, but he remembered some stories
she had told about the kind-hearted king of Sukhotai. Ever since he was small he
wanted to meet this king. One day, when helping a friend to find food for elephants, he
found so many branches that the friend offered him a job to become the assistant of
the King's mahout. He worked hard cleaning elephants sheds and finding food. One
fine morning Makato's pa*ence and hard work got rewarded: he was to accompany
the King's elephant an a parade. As the king mounted the beast, in his splendid, shiny
costume, he dropped a *ny cowrie shell. Makato picked it up and held it out to the king.
who told him to keep it.

Sukhothai used cowrie shells as money. Although one cowrie shell had liKle value,
Makato wanted to make as much use of it as possible, for it was the king’s giM. For a
long *me he could not think of a way to use it so that it would earn more money for
him. He went to the market to buy seeds, yet quickly realized he could not even buy
the smallest bag of seeds, while he noticed a lettuce seed stall.

"Lady, if I dip my finger into this pile of seeds, can I take those that s*ck to my
finger for one cowrie?", he asked. "Well why not", replied the sales lady, amused by his
sugges*on. Makato carefully scraped the seeds from his finger and planted them,
watering the *ny sprouts daily, un*l the garden was covered in fresh, green leKuce.
Proud as he was, he offered to king his first produce.

Makato told the king the whole story. The king was impressed with his
intelligence and industry. So much so that later on he gave Makato a job in the palace.
As the years passed Makato grew tall and handsome. He mastered every grace and
served the king well. He was so loyal that the king trusted him absolutely. He was
promoted to higher and higher posi*ons un*l he was given the *tle of Khun Wang,
which meant that he was the most important person in the king’s court. He was also
happily married to a beau*ful young daughter of the king. AMer that the king made him
the ruler of Mon. So it was that Makato, who had once been a poor orphan, became
the king of that prosperous kingdom.