Week 5 Storytelling: The Baker's Apprentice

This is a story of karma and revenge.

So stay a while and listen, friend.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,

Because in this world there are kindness in few.

The young lad kicked a rock down the road, shuffling his poorly dressed feet. He had just finished his handy work at the mill, sifting flour for the town baker. It did not pay well or keep his family fed, but it was the only work he could find at the time. Every penny counts, his mother was always saying.

Every day he took this path, walking past the more expensive homes made of brick, chimneys peeping from the tops of the roofs and horses in the stables. If only his father could afford a horse, the perhaps his feet would not hurt so much from this walk to and from town. Perhaps the baker would find new work for him soon, work that would allow him to sit down and relax until the blisters healed.

As the boy arrived home, he dumped his coins into the funds bucket and piled his dirty clothes on the porch. Mother would take care of them in the evening. Exhausted, he threw himself on the hard couch and fell asleep after a long day.

The next morning, the young lad returned to his routine, but today was a special day because a traveling merchant had ridden into town. The baker nearly shook the boy to death with excitement.

“Lad, you look after my shop! I’m off to find riches!” The baker exclaimed.

The Baker's Bread.

(Image Information: Breads by Scott Bauer, U.S. Department of Agriculture (2013). Web Source: Wikimedia Commons.)

Knowing this was his chance, the lad put his best effort forward in keeping the shop tidy and welcoming customers as they stopped by. Luckily his mother taught him a few tricks of the trade, such as reading, writing, and counting money. The day went by smoothly, but the baker did not return.

“I wonder where he is,” thought the lad.

He closed the shop and set out to find the man. Surprised to find him nearly drowned near the river, he pulled the baker to safety and took him home, helped him to bed and sat nearby after lighting the fire.

“Sir, what happened?” The lad asked curiously.

“That old Merchant took me for a fool, lad… He left me to die in a valley and only by the mercy of the little fish I feed with our leftovers did I manage to survive the river.”

The lad was stunned that someone so cruel could come to their town. The baker was a hardworking man and the lad was ashamed that anyone would take advantage of him. He left the baker to rest with warm soup and a blazing fire. While hatching a plan, he took off towards home. Revenge could wait until morning.

The next day, the young boy found the hotel the rich Merchant slept in for his stay. He knocked at the man’s door three times and waited patiently.

“Who are you?” The Merchant asked suspiciously after he cracked the door.

“Sir, I know you are brave and cunning. The townsfolk are all talking about your adventures! I heard about a place where treasures can be found, but I don’t have the means to travel there.”

The Merchant quickly welcomed the lad in and began packing for their immediate departure. The boy knew that he would not be able to resist the temptation of gold and treasure.

After traveling for an hour, the two rounded up the path the baker had described with the valley where he had been left for dead. The Merchant was at the edge of his seat on the trolley, nearly bursting with the excitement of another scheme. When the valley came into view, he seemed puzzled.

“Where are the treasures, boy?” He snapped.

“There is no treasure,” the lad responded. “This is where you took all of it yesterday and left my baker friend to die.”

The lad smiled and suddenly pushed the Merchant off the side of their transportation. He watched the man tumble down the slope and into the river, where the fish could always use a meal.

After turning to the hotel where the man kept his belongings, the lad scooped up all the treasure and took it to the baker. There, without any questions asked, the baker and the lad rejoiced and the Merchant was never heard from again. The townsfolk assumed he had moved on to his next adventure.

Least to say, the Merchant got what he deserved.

Author’s Note: In The Story of the Baker and the GratefulFish, the Baker is the main character and he is deceived by a traveling Merchant into helping gather treasure. The Merchant leaves him for dead and the Baker decides death by drowning would be easier. Fortunately, the Baker always fed the fish in the river with his burnt foods and so the fish considered him a friend and saved him. The Baker tricks the Merchant and takes him back to the place where the treasure is, tells him the only way back is the river, and the Merchant drowns. In my version, I put an outside character into the story and changed it up. I felt like it would be fun to have another perspective to read it from.

Bibliography: “The Story of the Baker and the Grateful Fish.” Persian Tales translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer and illustrated by Hilda Roberts (1919). Web Source: Persian Tales.