Once upon a time there lived a rich lord. He owned forests and fields, farms and meadows. Upon his land worked hundreds of peasants, poor men and women who owned no land, and who depended on him for a living.

Now the lord was a haughty and arrogant man, proud of his wealth and his riches. He would have nothing to do with the peasants. ‘They’re filthy and poor and smell of the earth,’ he would declare, wrinkling his nose in disgust. He would not let any of them come near him.

One evening, after a long day of work in the lord’s fields, a group of peasants sat chatting with each other outside their huts. They spoke of this and that, and soon the talk turned to the lord and how he wouldn’t let anyone come near him.

‘I saw him close up yesterday,’ said one man. ‘I was working in the field and he rode by.’

‘Well,’ said another, ‘the other day I carried a sack of vegetables up to the house, and I saw him standing at his window.’

‘So what is so great about that?’ laughed a third peasant. He was the poorest of them all. ‘Anyone can look at the lord on his horse or at a window. If I wish, I can sit down with him for a meal in his house!’

‘Ha!’ scoffed the others. ‘Sit down with him for a meal indeed! And that too in his house! You’ll never do that! The minute he sees you he’ll order his servants to throw you out!’ And they began calling him a liar and laughing at him.

‘I am not a liar,’ said the third peasant. ‘I can dine with the lord if I so desire!’

‘Alright then,’ cried the others, ‘if you can sit down with him for a meal in his own house, we’ll give you three sacks of wheat and two bullocks. And if you don’t, then you will do all that we tell you to do for a year.’

‘Well then, get that wheat and those bullocks ready,’ cried the third peasant. ‘Tomorrow I will dine with the lord.’

Next day, at noon, when it was close to the rich lord’s lunchtime, the peasant walked up to his house. The lord’s servants saw him coming, and rushed out to chase him away.

‘Wait, wait,’ cried the peasant. ‘I have some good news for your master!’

‘What is it? Tell us and we will let him know,’ said the servants.

‘No, I cannot tell you. It is for the lord’s ears alone,’ replied the peasant.

The servants ran to their master and told him what the peasant had said.

‘The peasant hasn’t come to ask me for anything, but says he has some good news for me,’ mused the lord to himself. ‘Maybe it will be something useful, something that will make me even richer. Perhaps I should speak to the fellow.’ And he ordered his servants to show the peasant in.

The servants let the peasant into the house and to the lord. The lord looked at him in distaste, and asked, ‘What is this good news that you have for me?’

The peasant glanced at the servants and said, ‘What I have to say is for your ears alone, my lord.’

The lord frowned, but now he was curious. What did this peasant have to tell him that was so secret and so important? He ordered the servants to leave them alone.

The peasant waited till he was alone with the lord, then leant forward and asked in a whisper, ‘Tell me, my lord, what would be the price of a piece of gold as large as a horse’s head?’

The lord stared at him. ‘Why do you ask me that?’ he asked.

The peasant looked over his shoulder to make sure they were absolutely alone, and whispered, ‘I have my reasons.’

This made the lord very curious indeed. Why did a poor peasant, dressed in rags and smelling of the fields, want to know the price of gold? It wasn’t as though he had any gold to sell. Or did he? Maybe he has dug up some buried treasure! Yes, thought the lord, that must be it! The fellow must have found some buried treasure and wants to keep it a secret! He would have his secret out of him, see if he didn’t! After all, he was the lord, and the fellow only a poor peasant.

The lord put on a kindly voice, and asked again, ‘Tell me, my good chap, why do you want to know the price of gold?’

The peasant made a sad face, and sighed, ‘If you don’t wish to tell me, my lord, I will ask someone else. And now I must go, because my lunch is waiting for me at home.’

The lord’s eyes glittered with greed. He couldn’t let this fellow go. No, he must get that gold for himself. He said as pleasantly as he could, ‘Why must you hurry home for lunch, friend? I’m about to have lunch too. Why don’t you join me?’ And he called his servants and ordered them to lay the table for lunch. ‘Ask the cook to serve us his finest dishes, and bring out my most expensive vodka,’ he commanded. ‘My dear friend must have the best!’

The servants laid the table for lunch at once and served the peasant and their master with the finest foods and drink. The lord looked after the peasant as though he was an honoured guest, piling his plate with food and making sure his glass was never empty.

‘Eat and drink your fill, my dear friend,’ cried the lord. The peasant did not refuse, and ate and drank as much as he could.

At last, the peasant had eaten and drunk his fill. He sat back with a contented sigh. The lord rubbed his hands greedily together and said, ‘And now, friend, run and bring me that piece of gold the size of a horse’s head. I’ll know what to do with it. Hurry, and I’ll give you a loaf of bread for it.’

The peasant stood up. ‘No, my lord,’ he replied, ‘I can’t bring you the gold.’

‘Why not?’ cried the lord.

‘Because I don’t have it,’ said the peasant.

‘What do you mean you don’t have it?’ exclaimed the lord. ‘Then why did you want to know its price?’

‘Oh, I was curious, that’s all,’ replied the peasant.

The lord flew into a rage. He turned bright red and shrieked and yelled and cursed. ‘Get out of my house, you fool!’ he shouted.

The peasant looked him steadily in the eye and replied, ‘I am not a fool, my lord. I’ve had an excellent meal and a good laugh at your expense. What’s more, I’ve won three sacks of wheat and two bullocks from my friends. A fool could not have done all that.’ And he walked out of the lord’s house, a big grin on his face.