Rambharosey’s old mother gave him a pot of honey before leaving for Varanasi and asked him to keep it carefully. “Guard it well,” she said, “this is good honey, it will keep me healthy after I get back.”
Rambharosey kept it in the corner of the barn. Next morning, when he went in to get some hay, he saw that the pot had cracked and some ants had found their way into the honey. “Oh dear,” he said, “now what should I do?” He stood in the barn and thought hard. Then he got a big, shallow pan from the kitchen, filled it with water, and put a flat stone in the middle. Then he stood the pot on it. “There,” he said, pleased, “I have created a moat around the pot. Now the ants cannot get at it.”
So much thinking put such a strain on Rambharosey that he forgot to cover the pot.
The next morning, he came into the barn and saw some dead flies around the mouth of the pot. “Oh dear,” he said, “now what should I do?” And he stood in the barn and thought hard. Then he brought his finest fishing net from the house and covered the mouth of the pot with it.
“There,” he said, “now let’s see how the flies get at it.” All this thought put such a strain on Rambharose that he forgot to shut the window of the barn. That night, maddened by the smell of honey, a bear came to the barn and tried to break down the door.
The next morning, when Rambharosey saw the scratched and battered door, he sent for the village carpenter and locksmith who built him a new door and fixed a shiny new lock on it.
That night, a band of thieves passing by saw the shiny new lock and thought, “Rambharosey must be rich. He keeps his money in the barn.” So they broke open the lock and entered the barn. Finding nothing, they went away, disappointed. The next day, Rambharosey saw the broken lock and said to himself, “This won’t do.” So after getting the lock fixed, he posted a lathi-wielding guard in front of his barn door. The people went and told the King, “Rambharosey has hired a guard to look after his barn.” “Hmmm,” said the King, “Rambharosey must be rich.” And he increased the tax Rambharosey had to pay.
“Rambharosey is rich,” everybody said, “do you know how much tax he pays to the King?” The richest merchant in town heard this and he was so impressed that he quickly went and got Rambharosey married to his daughter.
But the barn door is locked, and the guard is still guarding the door, and Rambharosey refuses to open the door until his mother gets back.