The Mouse Merchant

Dadi: "Guddu, do you think you could build something from nothing?"

Guddu: "From nothing? That's impossible, Dadi!"

Dadi: "A poor boy once built a fortune starting with a dead mouse. Want to hear how?"

Guddu: "A dead mouse?! That's gross... but also interesting!"

Dadi: "*laughing* In a city long ago, there lived a young man with his widowed mother. They were very poor, but his mother had taught him reading and arithmetic."

Guddu: "Education is important, right Dadi?"

Dadi: "Very important, beta. One day, his mother said, "Son, there's a rich merchant in town who lends money to hardworking young people. Go ask him for a loan to start a business.""

Guddu: "Did the merchant help him?"

Dadi: "When the young man arrived at the merchant's house, he overheard the merchant shouting at another young man: "I gave you money and you wasted it! A capable person could build wealth from something as worthless as that dead mouse on the floor!""

Guddu: "Ooh, that's harsh!"

Dadi: "But our clever young man saw an opportunity. He picked up the dead mouse and said, "Sir, I accept this dead mouse as a loan from you!" He even wrote a receipt and attached it to the merchant's ledger!"

Guddu: "*laughing* A receipt for a dead mouse?! The merchant must have thought he was crazy!"

Dadi: "The merchant was very confused! But the young man had a plan. He traded the dead mouse to a family with a hungry cat, and for it, he received two handfuls of chickpeas."

Guddu: "Just two handfuls? That's not much."

Dadi: "Wait, beta. He ground the chickpeas into flour and took a jar of water to a shady spot by the road. At midday, when woodcutters passed by tired and thirsty, he offered them free food and water."

Guddu: "He gave it away for free?"

Dadi: "Sometimes giving is the best investment. The grateful woodcutters gave him some of their wood as thanks. He sold the wood, bought more chickpeas, made more food, and got more wood from the woodcutters the next day."

Guddu: "So it kept getting bigger and bigger!"

Dadi: "Exactly! Then heavy rains came. No one could find dry firewood anywhere - except our young man, who had stored plenty! He sold it for a large sum, started a shop, and soon became wealthy."

Guddu: "All from a dead mouse! That's amazing!"

Dadi: "But here's the beautiful ending. When he was rich, he had a golden mouse made and sent it to the merchant. The merchant was shocked to receive such a fine gift from someone he barely remembered - just a crumpled receipt in his old ledger!"

Guddu: "The young man remembered his start!"

Dadi: "Always, beta. The merchant invited him to dinner, and there he met the merchant's daughter. They fell in love and married. For the rest of his life, people called him "Mousey the Merchant"!"

Guddu: "*clapping* He never minded the nickname?"

Dadi: "Not one bit! He was proud of his humble beginning. You see, Guddu, it's not about what you start with - it's about what you do with it."

Guddu: "But Dadi, I don't have anything to start with either."

Dadi: "You have everything you need, beta. You have education, you have ideas, you have energy. Look at what the young man really had - he could read and write, he could think cleverly, and he was willing to work hard."

Guddu: "And he was generous too - giving food to the woodcutters."

Dadi: "That's the secret ingredient! When you help others, they help you back. The woodcutters weren't his employees - they were his friends, grateful for his kindness."

Guddu: "So I should be kind and clever and hardworking?"

Dadi: "And never look down on small beginnings. Today's dead mouse could be tomorrow's golden fortune. The boy who shares his crayons today might become the generous businessman of tomorrow."

Guddu: "I'm going to start looking for my "dead mouse," Dadi!"

Dadi: "*laughing* You already have many, beta. Every small opportunity, every little idea, every chance to help someone - these are all dead mice waiting to become golden ones. Now sleep, my little Mousey Merchant!"

Guddu: "*giggling* Goodnight, Dadi!"