Tale 97: The Magic Moneybag (Misty)

(real tale: Don Giovanni de la Fortuna)

"In a far away land, there was once a girl whose name was Tomiko." Misty begins. "She lived in a beautiful house that her father had built, and lived it up in there, spending a great deal of money in the process. In fact, she spent so much that she soon ran out, and she was forced to wander the world begging her bread."

"Moral of the story--live within your means." Brock muses.

"One day, she was walking down the road when she met a handsome man." Misty continues "Little did she know that it was Arceus in disguise."

"So what did Arceus ask her to do?" Ash is interested.

"Arceus asked if she wanted to live a comfortable life, as she once did, and Tomiko said yes." Misty replies. "He gave her a little drawstring bag, and instructed her to sing to it..." Misty pauses to sing Rou iitsa ron selga vichii... "and she would get as much as she needed or wanted. "However..."

"There's always a catch..." Brock smiles.

"The spell would only work if Tomiko would go three years, three months, and three days without washing, without combing, and without changing clothes as a sign of her faithfulness and willingness to live within her means." Misty goes on, to some "Ew"s from the boys. "Now, Tomiko was a girl who never worried about the future. She did not even think about how very uncomfortable she would be all those three years--she only wanted to have back some things she had been forced to do without. She joyfully put the purse in her pocket and went on her way."

"And then?" Ash is intrigued.

"She soon began to ask for money for the sake of it, and there was always as much as she needed. For a little while, she even forgot to notice how dirty she was getting." Misty continues. "But this did not last long--her hair became matted with dirt and hung over her eyes, and her already ragged dress was even more of a mass of horrible rags and tatters."

"Ew!" Melody winces as she imagines the awful smell.

"One morning, she happened to be passing by a fine palace." Misty goes on. "She sat down on the steps and tried to shake off some of the dust which she had picked up on the road. But then a maid saw her, and informed her master about the supposed beggar who was sitting on the steps."

"So what did the master do?" Brock wonders.

"The master went out and called for Tomiko to leave from some distance off, for he was really afraid to go near her." Misty replies. "Tomiko called back that she was not a beggar, and if she wanted to, she could have forced him and his wife to leave his house."

The boys laugh at this, but Misty goes on Tomiko then asked the man of the house to sell her the house--she would pay any price. "The master thought Tomiko was nuts, and decided to accept her offer as a joke." So he agreed, and they went to the magistrate to hammer out a deed. Tomiko followed him, and they agreed to sell the house, with the gold being paid down in eight days."

[This is getting interesting...] a Meowth smiles.

"Then Tomiko went to an inn, where she paid for two rooms." Misty continues. "She stood in one of them and sang Rou iitsa ron selga vichii.... When the eight days were up, it was so full you could not have put in another coin."

Ash whistles in awe at this. "When the man of the house came to take his payment, Tomiko led him into the room and told him to take as much as he needed." Misty continues. "The master was stunned at the astonishing sight; but he had given his word to sell the house, so he took his money, and went to look for somewhere else to live. Tomiko left the inn and dwelt in the beautiful rooms, where her rags and dirt looked sadly out of place."

"So did Tomiko ever get to bathe?" Brock is beginning to feel sorry for Tomiko.

"Word of Tomiko's riches reached the royal ears of the king, and, since he too was always in need of money, he sent for Tomiko, as he wished to borrow a bit of it." Misty explains. Tomiko readily agreed to lend him what he wanted, and sent a huge wagon filled with sacks of gold to the palace."

"And then?" Melody wonders.

"The king took as much as he needed, then ordered the rest to be returned to Tomiko." Misty assures Melody. "However, Tomiko refused to receive it, saying the remaining gold was also his to keep."

"Aw..." Ash smiles at this.

"Tomiko's learning what it means to be humble and generous." Brock agrees.

"When the servant told the king this, the king wondered more than ever how anyone could be so rich." Misty continues. "He told the queen about Tomiko's generosity, and how he wanted to offer her the hand of their eldest son, the prince. The queen loved the idea, and another messenger was sent to Tomiko, offering her the hand of the eldest prince."

"How did the prince react when he saw how grimy Tomiko looked?" Brock asks, a smile forming on his face as he pictures the prince's reaction.

"The prince was horrified at the picture of Tomiko, and vowed he would never marry a beggar--he even went so far as to say he would rather die." Misty goes on. "As they argued, the youngest prince broke it up by saying he would marry Tomiko instead--as he believed a person's beauty came from the heart."

[A wise lesson.] Mai purrs.

"They agreed to wed in three months." Misty concludes. "When her vow to Arceus had ended, Tomiko bathed for several weeks, put on splendid clothes, and set out for the palace, where she and the youngest prince were wed."

[And they all lived happily ever after.] Korra fills in the ending.

Misty smiles as everyone applauds. "Yes, that's right."