It is told that in ancient times, in days of old, a poor man had three daughters who used to spin cotton. Their father would sell in the market what they spun, buy new cotton from its price, and spend the rest on buying food for his three daughters. This was his condition and that of his daughters.
The charitable poor man and the destitute beggar: One day, the poor father went to the market. He met a destitute man who complained to him about his poverty. The father pitied him greatly and gave him the price of all the spinning. Then the father returned to his daughters without cotton or food.
One of them said to him, “What shall we do now, Father? There is nothing in the house worth selling to buy food and cotton from its price.” After searching, the girl found in the house an old plate and an old jar. The father took them and went with them to the market to sell them and buy food and cotton in exchange.
The market: But after going to the market, he found that people had left the market, and no one remained except a fisherman who had one fish. The fisherman said to him, “We are now partners in poverty and worry. Will you sell me what you have, and in exchange I’ll sell you what I have?” The father agreed, gave him the jar and the plate, took the fish from him, then returned to his home.
The surprise: When the daughters saw the fish, they took it to clean it and found a large, precious pearl in its belly. The daughters were greatly pleased and told their father about it. The father said to them, “If the pearl is drilled, it’s not yours, my beloved daughters. But if the pearl is sound and not drilled, it’s lawful provision from God that He has sent to you.”
The pearl and the merchants: Early in the morning, the father went to the merchants’ market. He showed the pearl to some merchants. They told him it wasn’t drilled and was completely sound, and its value was worth thousands of pounds. One of the merchants bought it from him. The father was very pleased with the money God had blessed him with. Then the father took the money to his home.
The father and the beggar: On the way, before the father reached his home, a destitute beggar came to him on the road, saying to him, “Give me from what God has given you.” The father said, “Yesterday I was poor like him. Take half of this money.”
The angel: But the beggar’s image immediately changed, and he said to the charitable poor man, “I am an angel from heaven. God sent me to test you. So be content with what you have, and thank God for what He has given you.”
Change of condition: The father returned to his home. His daughters rejoiced at what God had given them and their father. The father lived after that with his daughters a happy, quiet life.