This Chinese folktale tells of two friends who would do anything for each other. One day they decide to go for a walk in a forest. During the walk, the friends see a gold nugget on the path. Unable to decide who should have it, they leave it where it is so as not to cause trouble between them. They later tell a greedy farmer about the nugget. He goes to get it, and becomes angry when he finds something unpleasant in its place. The two friends go back to look, and are well rewarded for their trouble.
Our source for The Golden Nugget was A Chinese Wonder Book, a collection of classic Chinese folktales by educator and author Norman Hinsdale Pitman, first published in 1919. Like many stories that have been passed down through the ages, this one has a logic flaw that may have arisen because of omissions through frequent re-telling: Why didn’t the friends think to sell the first nugget and share the money?
Original Text / PDF (1,073 words)