Jereminum and the Shopkeepers

Long ago in a village there lived a man named Jereminum. Jereminum was a woodworker who made toys for children at the edge of a valley. He had always wanted children of his own, but he knew he would never have time, so he had a soft spot for them. But he was also good at lying and tricking people, for he had done it all his life. One day he was at the market buying fruit for his wife, and an idea struck him. He could trick the shopkeepers to get free goods!

So when it came time for him to pay, he told the good greengrocer, “Oh! I seemed to have lost my coins!” The greengrocer (a man called Quinn who was good of heart and very trusting,) replied, “Never mind that! You can take them free of charge.” Jereminum kept swiping away goods like this until Quinn (the greengrocer) came up with a plan.

Quinn remembered that Jereminum lived and worked at the other edge of the valley, and a plan quickly formed in his mind. Before he knew it, Quinn had called a meeting with all the shopkeepers Jereminum was swindeling, and they all came to discuss Quinn’s plan.

Over the next few weeks the shopkeepers, knowing Jereminum couldn’t bear refusing a child’s request, sent their children across the valley to Jereminum’s shop to make some “deals” of their own. Most times the conversations between Jereminum and the children went like this:

“I think I want this one,” they would say, pointing at a trinket or a doll.

“Ok, that will be 12 silver.”

“I only came with 10. Can I get this one for 10 and pay you back later?” they would ask shyly.

“Mmm... I suppose so,” he would reply nervously, “Just make sure to bring more next time.”

"We will!” And they would scamper off.

And so Jereminum, without knowing it, lost more and more coins to the sneaky shopkeeper’s children. Eventually Jereminum was losing double what the shopkeepers were. In the backs of the shopkeeper’s heads the guilt grew and grew. Soon they stopped their children from swindling Jereminum and traveled across the valley to confess. When they got there, Jereminum was kneeling, looking sadly into the fire. They cast each other knowing glances. They had done the exact same thing when Jereminum had negotiated half their profits away.

“Jereminum,” they said, “we have come to confess to you. We have been sending our children here to barter. We meant no harm in this, for we noticed you have been doing the same to us for quite some time, but it got a tad out of hand. We are here to apologize for what we have done.” All of this time, Jereminum had still been looking down-cast at the fire. But at this he looked up.

“No,” he croaked, and clearing his throat said in a firmer voice, “No. I should be apologizing. I have been taking advantage of your kindness. I have been tricking and swindling all my life, and I am afraid it got the best of me. I shouldn’t have tricked you like I did. I suppose I just let habit take over and I couldn’t stop. From now on I will try my hardest to resist the temptation to trick anyone.” The shopkeepers were shocked. They had always known Jereminum was a good man, but he never took responsibility for his trickery and never ever apologized. That night they slept soundly knowing that Jereminum had turned a new leaf.

And Jereminum kept his promise. From then on, he never swiped another coin, took another fruit, or swindled another unfair deal.

While he had been so preoccupied with his urge to constantly trick people, he had never noticed a space in the back of his head feeling unsatisfied. But now, as he committed to living an honest life, he discovered a weight was lifted from his shoulders. He was free to live a fulfilling life full of joy as he had always wanted.