The Clever Daughter

A small merchant borrowed money from a moneylender but couldn't repay it on time. The moneylender was old and ugly, but he had his eye on the merchant's beautiful, young daughter.

The moneylender told the merchant that if he married his daughter to him, he would forgive the debt, including the interest.

The merchant and his daughter were distressed by the moneylender's offer.

The moneylender said to the merchant, "I will put one white and one black pebble in an empty bag. Your daughter will draw one pebble from the bag without looking. If she draws the black pebble, she will have to marry me, and your entire debt will be forgiven.

If she draws the white pebble, she will not have to marry me, and your debt will also be forgiven.

But if your daughter refuses to draw a pebble from the bag, I will have you thrown in jail."

At this time, the moneylender, the merchant, and his daughter were standing on a path in the merchant's garden that was covered with a mixture of white and black pebbles.

Then, as per the agreement, the moneylender bent down and picked up two pebbles from the path and put them into the empty bag he was holding.

While the moneylender was picking up the pebbles, the daughter, with her sharp eyes, noticed that the dishonest moneylender had picked up two black pebbles from the path and put them into the bag.

Then the moneylender told the girl to draw one pebble from the bag.

So, if you were that girl, what would you do?

Or if you were asked to give that girl the right advice, what advice would you give?

There are three possibilities:

1. The girl will refuse to draw a pebble.

2. The girl will expose the moneylender's dishonesty and say that he put two black pebbles in the bag.

3. The girl will draw a black pebble, compromise her life, and save her father from debt and jail.  This story features a strange battle between good and evil, heart and mind, fate and chance.

Finally, the girl reached into the bag and pulled out a pebble. Then, without looking, she threw it into the gravel lying on the ground. The pebble from the bag blended in with the black and white gravel, making it impossible to tell which pebble the girl had thrown.

Then the girl said, "Oh, sorry! How foolish of me, I threw the pebble without even looking. Well, never mind, there's still one pebble left in the bag, isn't there? By looking at it, you can tell which color pebble I took out of the bag. If there's a black pebble left in the bag, it means I took out the white one."

The moneylender, knowing about his own cheating, knew that there was only a black pebble in the bag, but he couldn't admit his dishonesty.  Therefore, it was clear that the girl had taken out the white pebble from the bag.

The moneylender was disappointed, and his face fell. With her intelligence, the girl had turned an impossible situation to her advantage.

Read more : - The King's Acknowledgment