If It Belongs to Us, It Will Come to Us

There was once an old man and an old woman who lived in a hut near a rice field.   This was a hardworking couple. But, even though they worked hard all day long, they were very poor. They worked hard in their field. They foraged in the forest for plants, herbs, and firewood to sell. Still they remained poor.   One day, while the couple were clearing away a termite mound in the rice field, the old man struck something hard with his hoe. He dug the object up and found it to be a huge jar.  How strange.    Inside the jar was a great quantity of gold!

The jar was filled with gold. The old man called to his wife.

"Old Woman, come quickly! Someone has hidden a jar of gold in our rice field."

His wife hurried over and helped clear the dirt from around the jar. It was filled to the brim with gold. The wife was delighted.

"Old Man, find something to carry this gold home!"

The old man shook his head.

"Dear Old Woman, I do not think that is a good idea. This gold does not belong to us. We should leave it here."

The old woman argued with the old man. But he spoke calmly to her.

"Old Woman, if it belongs to us, it will come to us. We cannot take what is not clearly ours."

Reluctantly the old woman agreed. She tried to convince the old man to change his mind on this matter, but he remained firm.  When they arrived home, the old woman told her neighbors about their find.  They just laughed at her. Nobody believed her words. But one day some passing buffalo traders heard the story. They found the termite mound and dug up the jar.  Gingerly they opened it, then jumped back in alarm. "What a lie!" In the huge jar they found, not gold, but a huge snake, lying coiled inside, filling the jar with its body.

"They can't get away with telling us such a lie. Let's teach that old couple a lesson."

Finding a strong liana vine from the forest, they tied it around the jar and pulled it into their wagon. Late that night, they dropped the jar right in front of the old couple's hut.   They turned the jar onto its side, removed the cover, and nudged open the old couple's door. They they hurried away into the night, certain that the snake would enter the house and strike the old couple.

The next morning, the old woman got up before dawn as usual to prepare their breakfast.  It was still dark when she pushed open the door and stepped outside.   She stumbled over the huge jar and gave a cry of fright.   Her husband jumped from his sleeping mat and ran to see what had happened.

There was the huge jar from the field, lying on its side right in front of their door.

"Who could have brought this to our door? Who would have done such a thing?"

The old man was puzzled. He brought a candle and they inspected the jar.  It was filled with gold.

"Is this really gold?" gasped the old woman.   "Husband, does this mean the gold is ours?"

"Yes," the old man agreed. "It is as I said. "If it belongs to us, it will come to us. It has come. So it must be ours."

The old woman nodded solemnly.

"Yes, dear. I see now that it is just as you have said. 'If it belongs to us, it will come to us.'"