# The Farmer and the Moneylender explained — Indian Fairy Tales

> Chapter companion for Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs.

## What happens

A poor farmer, suffering under a moneylender, seeks out Ram and receives a magical conch that grants wishes. The moneylender steals the conch but cannot use it, then forces a bargain to get double of whatever the farmer wishes for. The farmer eventually outwits the moneylender by wishing to be blind in one eye, causing the moneylender to become blind in both and fall into a well to his death.

## Themes in this chapter

### Greed and Its Consequences

The moneylender's greed drives him to steal the conch and demand double, ultimately leading to his death.

### Cunning and Wisdom

The farmer uses cleverness to outwit the moneylender by wishing for a personal loss that doubles onto the moneylender.

## Character check-ins

### Ram

Appears as a poor man under a tree, gives the farmer a magical conch shell.

### The Jogi

A devotee who takes a cake from the farmer but offers no help.

## Key lines

> You can't squeeze water from a stone, and as you have nothing to get by me now, you might tell me the secret of becoming rich.

The farmer tells the moneylender that since he has no money left, the moneylender might as well share the secret of wealth.

_Illustrates the farmer's desperation and the moneylender's exploitative relationship._

> Remember! whatever you wish for, you have only to blow the conch that way, and your wish will be fulfilled. Only have a care of that moneylender, for even magic is not proof against their wiles!

Ram instructs the farmer on how to use the conch to grant wishes, but warns him to be wary of the moneylender's cunning.

_Sets up the central conflict and the moneylender's eventual downfall._

> He seized the conch, blew it loudly, and cried out, 'Oh, Ram! I wish to be blind of one eye!' And so he was, in a twinkling, but the moneylender of course was blind of both, and in trying to steer his way between the two new wells, he fell into one, and was drowned.

The farmer wishes to lose one eye, causing the moneylender to lose both and fall into a well to his death.

_Climactic moment where the farmer's clever wish defeats the moneylender._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/indian_fairy_tales_se/chapters/the-farmer-and-the-moneylender
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- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/indian_fairy_tales_se/chapters