A long time ago in a small Italian town there was a small business owner who owed a large sum of money to a loan-shark. The loan-shark was a old, unattractive man that just so happened to fancy the small business owner’s attractive daughter.
The Loan-shark decided to offer the businessman a deal that would completely clear the debt and wipe clean the financial burden the man owed him. However... there was a catch. He we would only clear the debt if he could marry the businessman’s beautiful young daughter. Needless to say, this proposal was met with a look of disgust from the business man and his daughter.
The loan-shark cunningly said with a smirk on his face, he would simply place two pebbles into a bag, one pebble white and one black.
The loan-shark continued to explain that the daughter would have to reach into a bag and pick out one of the two pebbles. If the pebble was black, the debt would be wiped and the loan-shark would then marry the girl. If it was white, the debt would also be wiped, but the daughter wouldn’t have to marry the loan-shark and have her freedom.
Standing on a pebble strewn path in front of the businessman’s house, the loan-shark bent down and quickly picked up two pebbles. While he was quickly picking them up, the daughter paid close attention and noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and slipped them both into the bag. He then asked the daughter to reach into the bag and pick one, with a sly grin on his face.
The daughter, according to the agreement, had only three choices as to what she could have done:
She could simply refuse to pick a pebble from the bag.
Take both pebbles out of the bag exposing the loan-shark for cheating.
Or pick a pebble from the bag fully well knowing it was black and sacrifice herself for her father’s freedom.
The girl drew a pebble from the bag.... Before looking at it or revealing its identity she ‘accidentally’ dropped it onto the path among the other pebbles. She then cleverly said to the loan-shark...
“Oh my, how clumsy of me. Never mind, if you look into the bag for the pebble that remains, we will be able to tell which pebble I picked.”
The pebble that remained in the bag is obviously black, and seeing as the loan-shark could not afford to be exposed, he had to unwillingly play along as if the pebble the daughter dropped was white. He therefore unwillingly cleared her father’s debt.
Moral of the story: It’s always possible to overcome a tough situation with a little out of the box thinking. Often we do not have to give in to the only options you think you have to pick from.
#Steemovation short story by
