Micrato was very young when his father and mother had died. So he has earned his own bread from an early age. He had no home to shelter himself from rain, summer and winter. He took every job he found. He never sat idle. He always wanted to do new things. For this, he always used his mind. He pleased every one with his work.
He was kept as a helper in the stable of a rich farmer. He heard someone saying that he should smile and remain busy always. He thought it was all his mother’s advice. Although he was already a very hard-working boy, he worked harder after this dream, according to the advice of an unknown person, he never stayed at one place and always went about in search of new work.
One evening he was sitting very quietly in the stable. His master came to see the horses. He saw him and took pity on him. He gave him a coin. Micrato was very pleased to get that coin. He wanted to make full use of that coin. Everyday in his leisure time, he went to a shop. He watched people buying things from the shop-keeper, but no one came to buy a thing with only one coin. So each day he returned without buying anything. One day while Micrato was looking after the horses, he saw an old woman selling seeds of some kind. He thought of buying seeds with his coin. He went to the woman and said to her:
May I buy some seeds?
The woman agreed. Micrato gave her the coin which he had carried in the pocket of his worn-out shirt.
Oh! you cannot buy anything with this, said the woman.
Then Micrato said to the woman:
Suppose I put my wet finger into the heap; will you give me all the seeds which stick to my finger ?
The woman agreed easily, thinking that this will be a good deal for her.
Micrato gave the coin to the old woman and put his finger in to his mouth and then into the heap of seeds. He kept them safely in one corner of the stable. Now he began to think how to make the best use of the seeds. He prepared a little piece of ground working daily in his spare time. When a small plot of land was ready, he made it soft and spread all the seeds on it and covered them with soil. Every morning he used to water his plot and watch the seeds growing. He did all this after he had finished his master’s work. After some days small plants came out of the seeds. He was very pleased to see his small seeds growing into large plants. Poor Micrato did not know what plants they were, still he remained busy and happy.
The plants were growing up beautifully. He thought of presenting some of them to his master. The man was surprised to see them and asked, From where did you get them? He replied that he planted them himself, His master asked him that is he sure? He replied that he can show him his little garden. Micrato took his master to the back of the stable and showed him the neat and tidy plot of land. The master told Micrato that he had salad plants in his garden. Micrato was happy to find out about this.
Salad was the only thing which was needed badly in the city. His master thought of presenting some of it to the king. He asked his men to prepare his carriage of eight horses. The horses were also well-kept and well-fed by Micrato.
When the king saw these beautiful salad plants, he was surprised. He asked the man about the plants. The rich man told him about Micrato and his honesty and hard work. The king wanted to talk to Micrato. The rich man could not refuse and sent Micrato to the king. Micrato was always ready to go anywhere in order to work. He went to the king and started his work there.
The king asked him about the seeds. He told him about the old woman and how he had purchased them for a coin, which was given to him by his master. The king was much pleased to have him in his palace. Micrato had not changed his habit of working hard and trying to do better everyday. He helped the king whenever he went hunting.
Micrato was not lazy. He slept for a little while at night and spent the rest of the night in making plans to do good work. The king came to know this and gave him a post of a guard. He had grown into a handsome young man now. He tried his best to guard the palace at night.
One night he was taking a round of the palace with other guards. He heard a very strange sound which the other guards failed to hear. It was enough to alert him. He went to check up the staircase which led to the king’s chamber. He saw something crawling up. It was a big black cobra snake. He was much worried to see it. He had to kill it in order to save the king.
There was a big tree just in front of the king’s palace. He climbed up the free without wasting a moment, He sat on a strong branch and aimed his gun at the cobra snake. He fired the gun. The black cobra snake was wounded but not killed. Micrato did not leave his place and kept on watching the wounded cobra snake.
Later that night, the guards reported to the king that Micrato was not on duty that night, The King ordered that Micrato should be brought to him. The soldiers found him sitting on the tree with his gun. They shouted and called him down but he waved his gun towards the king’s chamber. They all trembled with fear when they saw the black cobra. They killed the snake at once. The king wanted to know about this. He wanted to reward Micrato for his brave deed and the honest discharge of his duty. He made him his heir and married him to his only daughter.
A Happy End for the story Micrato.