On a cloudy day that didn’t suggest anything unusual, a merchant with a strange appearance entered a quiet village suffering from a small disaster… rats!
They were roaming the alleys, jumping between houses, and living without fear of anyone. But this strange man changed everything with just one word.
He stood in the middle of the market and shouted at the top of his voice:
“I’ll pay $100 for each rat!”
There was silence for a few seconds, then whispers rose…
Is he crazy? Or is he joking? But soon, some began to try their luck. And sure enough, the man was paying cash for each rat presented to him!
The village began to turn into a hunting ground. Old men, young men, children, even women left their jobs and began chasing rats!
Every corner, every hole, every hole became a target… Today, a rat is worth a fortune!
With the dust still rising from the frenzied hunt, the merchant reappeared with a fiery announcement:
“I’ll pay $200 for a rat!” Excitement exploded, and the village turned into a sleepless hive. People climbed roofs, dug up the ground, and turned houses upside down, all for the precious mouse.
A few days later, a third announcement rang out:
“$500 for one mouse!”
The real madness began. No one slept anymore. The sounds of chases were endless, and night turned into day.
People began dreaming of mice, as if they saw them as the keys to palaces!
And sure enough, the mice disappeared. Every mouse was caught and sold… The end of the story.
But the merchant wasn’t done playing the game yet.
He came out to them with a sly smile and said:
“I’m going on a business trip, and I’ll be back in a week… I’ll buy the mouse for a thousand dollars!”
He left his assistant behind to guard the mice he had collected.
The village turned against itself!
A thousand dollars!?
The mouse became more valuable than gold! But there wasn’t any left… And that’s when the real plan began to unravel.
The assistant began whispering here and there:
“I know you want the mice… I can sell you some, secretly… for only $700.”
The news spread like wildfire.
People flocked to the place like crazy, selling their jewelry, mortgaging their homes, borrowing from each other, all to buy the mice in the hope of making a profit.
“I want ten!” “Give me twenty!” “I’ll pay 800 if necessary!”
Quietly, the assistant collected the money, sold everything he had… and left.
As the days passed, people waited for the merchant’s return. A day… two days… a week… a month…
But he never returned. And he never will.
Lesson:
Not every tempting deal leads to riches. In a world of greed, those who don’t use their minds… are sold illusions at the highest price.