Household Tales · Chapter
The Poor Man and the Rich Man explained
The Lord, walking among men, seeks lodging for the night.
What happens
The Lord, walking among men, seeks lodging for the night. The rich man turns him away, but the poor man and his wife welcome him warmly. In gratitude, the Lord grants the poor couple three wishes: eternal happiness, health and daily bread, and a new house. The rich man, seeing the transformation, pursues the Lord and secures three wishes for himself, but his greed and impatience lead him to waste them—first wishing his horse dead, then wishing his wife stuck on a saddle, and finally using the last wish to free her, gaining nothing but trouble.
Themes in this chapter
Virtue Rewarded and Vice Punished
The poor couple's kindness is rewarded with lasting blessings, while the rich man's selfishness leads to loss and frustration.
Greed and Its Downfall
The rich man's greed for more wishes results in the squandering of all three, leaving him with nothing but regret.
Characters to notice
- the rich man
Refuses lodging to the Lord, then greedily seeks wishes but squanders them through impatience and selfishness.
- the poor man
Hospitably welcomes the Lord and receives three generous wishes, leading to lasting happiness.
- the Lord
Disguised as a weary traveler, tests the hospitality of both rich and poor, granting wishes accordingly.
- the rich man's wife
Initially curious about the poor man's good fortune, later becomes the unintended victim of her husband's second wish.
Key passages
“Then the rich man looked at the traveler from head to foot, and as the Lord was wearing common clothes, and did not look like one who had much money in his pocket, he shook his head, and said, 'No, I cannot take you in, my rooms are full of herbs and seeds; and if I were to lodge everyone who knocked at my door, I might very soon go begging myself.'”
The rich man judged the traveler by his humble appearance and refused him shelter, fearing he would lose his own wealth.
Highlights the rich man's materialism and lack of compassion.
“Then the man said, 'What else should I wish for but eternal happiness, and that we two, as long as we live, may be healthy and have every day our daily bread; for the third wish, I do not know what to have.'”
The poor man's wishes are modest and selfless, focused on spiritual and physical well-being rather than riches.
Contrasts the poor man's contentment with the rich man's greed.
“So he got nothing by it but vexation, trouble, abuse, and the loss of his horse; but the poor people lived happily, quietly, and piously until their happy death.”
The rich man ended up with only frustration and loss, while the poor couple enjoyed a peaceful and blessed life to the end.
Summarizes the moral outcome of the tale.