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Once there was a potter (Potters made clay pots). He had a daughter who was very intelligent and wise. People tried to make fun of her by calling her 'Ati Chatur" (Over Wise). The potter's daughter was not unduly concerned by the behavior of these persons. She never lost her temper or complained and always had a smile on her face.
The king of the region held court every day where his subjects were allowed to come subject to availability of space. They could put up their grievance if they had any or listen and see how the King ruled his kingdom. One day a debate started in the king's court about, " Who is superior? A wealthy man or a learned man?" Some believed that a learned man was superior whilst others believed that a wealthy man was superior. The question could not be resolved even after a long debate.

The potter and her daughter were present in court that day, and after hearing all that was being said in the debate, the potter's daughter got up and requested the king to allow her to give her opinion. On receiving the king's nod of agreement, she said, " Your Highness, neither is superior. In fact both are equal. Both a wealthy man and a learned man can contribute equally to the welfare of the people."
The king highly satisfied and impressed with this answer called her near him, " My dear little girl, I will be happy to see you in my court every day. I invite you to join my courtiers every day."

The chief minister smelling a shift of favorites did not like this. Jealousy prompted him to instigate the king against her, " Your Highness," he said, "The potter's daughter seems to be clever and wise. It is however possible that she is repeating what has been taught to her by someone else, as she seems too young to have formed opinions of her own. And don't you think that this could be a plan to degrade the court?"
The king used to hearing advice from his chief minister was puzzled. He thought for some time and said, " Can you tell me how to solve this problem and find out her actual merits?"
The Chief Minister said, "Of course, Your Highness. I have an idea. Let us ask her a very difficult question, which she will not be able to answer. This will be humiliating for her and she will not come to this court any more."
The king liked the idea and it was decided that the next day the King would put up a specific question to the potter's daughter.
The next day when the court assembled the potter's daughter came in with her father and took her seat.

The King after arriving in court looked at the potter's daughter and said,
" My girl, may I ask you a question? There are diamonds, pearls, rubies and many other precious stones in my treasury. Can you tell me the value of all these treasures?"
The potter's daughter could sense that the King was testing her intelligence and wisdom. She also knew that she would have to be very cautious about the answer she gave.
She looked at her father sitting beside her and leaning towards her whispered some thing in his ear. The potter got up and left the court. The little girl requested the King to wait for her fathers return.
The chief minister was happy as he thought that her father and not she would be answering the question.
After some time the potter returned with a covered plate in his hands. The plate was covered with a piece of cloth, which the potter placed before the king.

The little girl looked at the King and said, "Your Highness, please take off the cloth covering the plate. Your answer lies in the plate."
When the King took off the cloth covering the plate, all that he could see was a grain of wheat, a small lump of clay, a small cotton ball and a bowl filled with water. This annoyed the King, as he was not able to understand the little girl's answer. Raising his eyebrows he asked the girl, " What is all this?"
The girl answered, "Your Highness, the value of all you precious stones is not even as much as the grain of wheat. Only useful things have value. A grain of wheat means food grains. We cannot live without food; therefore food grains have immense value.
The lump of clay represents soil on this earth without which we would all perish. The water in the bowl represents water that we use for cultivation and many other things, without this also life cannot exist on earth. We grow cotton to make clothes, which protect us from the weather. Also the air that we have around us and the Sun's rays are equally important to sustain life on Earth. Any one of these are far more valuable than all the treasure in your treasury."

" Your royal treasury may be full of diamonds, pearls, rubies and many other precious stones. We can however, easily live without them. Therefore they are not at all useful to us. They may be useful as ornaments, but are not necessary for living. So the treasures mentioned by you have no value at all.
The whole court was stunned into silence after hearing her reply.
The praise for her intelligence made the Chief Minister's face go red.
The king smilingly rose from his throne and blessed the child with all his heart.

Geandpa's Note: In the year 1978 a flood struck Bengal. My wife was stuck in Calcutta about 125 miles away from our hometown. After a few days the trains started as the platforms and railway lines were constructed on raised ground and the breeches in them were repaired. I was in a train going to Calcutta to bring back my wife. The train halted at a small station where hundreds of people had taken shelter.
They all ran up to the train window, a old lady came to mine and I took out my wallet and tried to give her a substantial amount of money. She withdrew her hands laughed and said, " May god bless you , but we want food. What will I do with the money as there is no food around to buy! I just cannot eat the money, can I?"
IF THE OLD BARTER SYSTEM COMES BACK, I WONDER WHAT WILL BE MORE VALUABLE, THE KOHINOOR DIAMOND, FIREARMS AND BOMBERS,
DOLLARS------------------------------------------
OR JUST A PLAIN BAG-FUL OF WHEAT?