The Boy Who Sold Wisdom English in Summary

This story conveys a message how a little of common sense, wisdom

and intelligence can win power and position. Nagendra was an orphan
boy. He wanted to earn his living hence he opens a small shop in a
town for hire at a cheapest price. With some meager amount he
bought paper, ink and a pen. On a placard he wrote ‘wisdom for sale’
and hung it on his shop. All around his shop there were merchants
who owned large shops. People laughed at his shop and no even one
bought a piece of wisdom.

One day, Babu, the son of a rich merchant Gupta bought wisdom
worth a nickel. The wisdom written on the piece of paper was ‘It is
not wise to stand and watch two people fighting’. Knowing this
Babu’s father was furious. He threw back the piece of paper on
Nagendra and demanded the nickel back. After some argument
Nagendra made them sign a document that stated Babu would never
make use of Nagendra’s advice and would always stand and watch
people fighting.

The king of that land had two queens who hated each other thereby
their maids also hated each other. The maids on the order of their
queen had come to the market to buy a pumpkin. Both had come to
the same shop and as there was only one pumpkin. As there was only
one pumpkin both fought for it Babu was witnessing this. The maids
went back and complained to their queens regarding the quarrel and
also said that Babu was the witness of their fight.

The queens sent word to Babu that his head would be chopped off if
he didn’t support each one of them. Babu’s father went to Nagendra’s
advice for rupees five hundred. The advice was that Babu had to
pretend to be insane and behave as if he didn’t understand anything of
what he was asked. And there by Babu was saved. But Babu’s father,
Gupta, did not want his son to pretend like insane and was worried of
the dire consequences if the King comes to know the truth.
Hence he paid another five hundred rupees for the wisdom. This time
Nagendra advised him to meet the King when he was in good mood
and to tell the whole story. And the King will find it amusing and
forgive Gupta and his son Babu. The wisdom sold by Nagendra had
become the talk of the town and the King sent ward for him. The King
asked Nagendra if he had more wisdom to sell, Nagnedra demanded
rupees one lakh for a piece of advice. He wrote on a piece of paper
‘think deeply befpre you do anything’.

The king made his advice his motto and got it embroidered on his
pillows and engraved on his cups and plates, so that he would not
forget it. Months later he fell ill. One of his queens and a minister
intrigued to kill him by giving him poison along with the medicine.
As the king was about to drink he read the advice engraved on his cup
and delayed drinking it, looking at the medicine in the cup. The
doctor who was watching this felt nervous and confessed the guilt and
begged for forgiveness. The king punished the guilty and appointed
Nagendra his minister and honored him with wealth.

The boy who sold wisdom by A. K. Ramanujan

Nagendra was an orphan. He had no job. He was very clever and had
learnt many things by observing his father. One day a brilliant idea
struck him. He went to the town and hired a small place to set up a
shop. He hung a board over his shop which said ‘Wisdom for sale’.
He called out that all kinds of wisdom were available at reasonable
rates. But, people who heard him laughed at him and did not buy even
a single piece of wisdom. One day, Babu, the son of Gupta, a rich
merchant, passed by Nagendra’s shop. He heard Nagendra’s shouts.
Babu was a foolish boy. He did not know the meaning of wisdom. He
thought it was a vegetable or a thing. He asked Nagendra what it
would cost per kg. Nagendra replied that he did not sell wisdom by
weight, but he sold it by quality. Babu put down a nickel and asked
Nagendra to give him a nickel’s worth of wisdom. Nagendra wrote,
“It is not wise to stand and watch two people fighting” on a piece of
paper and gave it to Babu. Babu went home and showed his father
what he had bought for a nickel. His father scolded him for wasting
money on a useless thing. He went to Nagendra, scolded him and
demanded his money back for he had cheated his son. He even
threatened to call the police. Nagendra said he would return the
money if Gupta gave back his wisdom. Gupta threw the scrap of
paper at him and asked him to give back the money. Nagendra said, it
was only a piece of paper and not the advice he had given Babu. He
told Gupta that if he signed a document to the effect that his son
would never use his advice and that he would stand and watch people
fighting, he would return the money. Gupta did so and went back. The
King of that land had two queens. There was a rivalry between them.
Their maids also hated each other. One day the two maids went to the
same shop and wanted to buy the same pumpkin. A quarrel started and
it became very fierce. Babu, who wanted to honour the contract, went
there and stood watching the quarrel. The two maids saw him and
each of them asked him to be her witness. The maids went back to the
palace and reported the matter to their mistresses. The queens
complained to the king. Each of them sent word to Babu that he was
the witness on her side. They even threatened to get his head chopped
off if he did not speak in their favour. Babu and his father were
frightened. They went to Nagendra and asked for his wisdom.
Nagendra took five hundred rupees and advised Babu to pretend
insanity. When the king sent for him, Babu went to the court. He
behaved as if he was mad. When questions were asked he uttered
nonsensical words. The king lost his patience and sent him away.
Babu was very happy. He told everyone about Nagendra’s wisdom.
Nagendra became very famous. Gupta was worried that his son had to
behave like a mad boy always. If not, the king would find out the
truth and punish him. So, he went with his son to Nagendra and
sought his help. Nagendra took another five hundred rupees from
them. He advised Babu to go to the king when he is in a good mood
and tell him the truth. Babu found the king in a happy mood and told
him everything. The king laughed and forgave him. The king, who
came to know about Nagendra, sent for him and asked him if he had
any wisdom to sell. Nagendra replied he had plenty of wisdom and
would sell it to the king for a hundred thousand rupees. The king paid
him the money. Nagendra wrote on a paper ‘Think deeply before you
do anything’ and gave it to the king. The king got the advice
embroidered on his pillow and engraved on his cups and plates. After
a few months the king fell ill. The minister and one of the queens had
been planning to kill the king. They bribed the doctor and asked him
to poison the king’s medicine. The doctor mixed poison in the
medicine and brought it to the king in a golden cup. The king lifted
the cup and saw the words engraved on it. He looked at the medicine
thoughtfully for a long time. The doctor felt nervous. He thought that
the king had come to know of his treachery. He fell at the king’s feet
and begged for mercy. The king, who came to know about the
conspiracy, banished the doctor and awarded death sentence to the
minister and his queen. He realised that Nagendra’s advice had saved
his life. He made Nagendra his minister and honoured him. Swami
knew that if he had to be exempted from drill for a whole week, his
pretence of illness alone wouldn’t suffice. He knew that he needed a
more authentic proof of his illness. That is why he decides to go to a
doctor before going to school to get a medical certificate. With the
doctor, however, he is honest. He tells him about the cricket match
and the need to get time for practice sessions. He hopes that the
doctor would understand his predicament and give him the false
medical certificate

Introduction

The story ”The boy who sold Wisdom” is about a clever boy named
’Nagendra’ who was an orphan. One day he thought of setting up a
shop and sell wisdom to earn money.He hung a board over his shop
which said ‘Wisdom for sale’. He called out that “All kinds of
wisdom for sale! Reasonable prices!”. The people laughed at him
because they could not see anything in his shop.

One day the son of Gupta,Babu,came to the shop of Nagendra. Being

a foolish boy, Babu did not understand wisdom and thought it was a
type of commodity. He asked Nagendra what it would cost per kg.
Nagendra replied that he did not sell wisdom by weight, but he sell it
by quality. Babu put down a nickel and asked Nagendra to give him a
nickel’s worth of wisdom. Nagendra wrote, “It is not wise to stand
and watch two people fighting” on a piece of paper and gave it to
Babu.Gupta, Babu’s father scolded him for wasting money on a
useless thing and went back to Nagendra to return back the money.
Nagendra said he would return the money if Gupta would return his
wisdom. He further told Gupta to sign a document saying
that “Your son should never use my advice and that he will always
stand and watch people fighting”. Not understanding the future
consequence of signing the bond, Gupta agreed to the condition and
thought that it had been easy for him to undo his son’s foolish
bargain.

Plot twist

A fews days passed.The king of that land had two queens who hated
each other and quarrelled amongst each other. Their maids also hated
each other. One day the two maids went to the same shop and wanted
to buy the same pumpkin. After few moments, they both started
fighting with each other. Babu, who knew that he could not use
Nagendra’s advice of wisdom, went there and stood watching the
quarrel. The two maids saw him and each of them asked him to be her
witness. Each of them sent word to Babu after reporting the matter to
the King and Queens. They even threatened to get his head chopped
off if he did not speak in their favour. Being scared and
confused,Babu and Gupta went to Nagendra and asked for his
wisdom. Nagendra took five hundred rupees and advised Babu to
pretend as if he was insane so as to escape from this tough
situation.When the king sent for him, Babu went to the court. He
behaved as if he was mad. When questions were asked he uttered
words,which were senseless. The king lost his patience and sent him
away. Gupta was worried that his son had to behave like a mad boy
always. If not, the king would find out the truth and punish him. So,
he again seeked help from Nagendra. Nagendra took another five
hundred rupees from them. He advised Babu to go to the king when
he is in a good mood and tell him the truth. Babu followed his
instructions and was ultimately saved from the danger.
Triumph of Wisdom

The king, who came to know about Nagendra, sent for him and asked
him if he had any wisdom to sell. Nagendra replied he had plenty of
wisdom and would sell it to the king for a hundred thousand rupees.
The king paid him the money. Nagendra wrote on a paper “Think
deeply before you do anything” and gave it to the king. The king was
so delighted by the advice that he made it his motto and engraved on
his cups and plates. After a few months the king fell ill. The minister
and one of the queens had been planning to kill the king. They bribed
the doctor and asked him to poison the king’s medicine. The doctor
mixed poison in the medicine and brought it to the king in a golden
cup. The king lifted the cup and saw the words engraved on it. He
looked at the medicine thoughtfully for a long time.

Being nervous, the doctor thought that his crime had been noticed. He
fell at the king’s feet and begged for mercy. The king, who came to
know about the conspiracy, banished the doctor and awarded death
sentence to the minister and his queen. He realised that Nagendra’s
advice had saved his life. He made Nagendra his minister and
honoured him with wealth.

C. Answer the following questions in two or three sentences each:

1.Why did Nagendra open a shop?

Answer: Nagendra’s parents died when he was young. He was
jobless and had to earn for his living. Hence he opened a shop.

2.Why is the merchant’s son called a stupid boy?

Answer: The merchant’s son was not aware of what was sold in
Nagendra’s shop. He thought it was a vegetable or a thing. He told
Nagendra to give him wisdom worth a nickel.

3.What did Nagendra sell for a nickel?

Answer: Nagendra sold wisdom/advice saying “It was not wise to
stand and watch to people fighting’’ that was written on a piece of
paper.
4. Why was Babu’s father angry?
Answer: Babu’s father felt that paying a nickel for a nonsense advice
was foolish. Hence he was angry.

5.How did Nagendra make Gupta realize the value of wisdom?

Answer: Gupta gave back the paper of advice and asked Nagendra to
return the nickel. Nagendra told him that he would return the nickel
on a condition that they should sign a document that stated his son
would never use the advice and would stand and watch people
fighting.

6.Why did the two maids quarrel?

Answer: The two maids quarreled over the same pumpkin from the
same shop.

7 Why did Babu and his father go to Nagendra twice?

Answer: As babu was the witness to the maids quarreling in the
market place he was called by them to speak in support or else his
head would be chopped off. Hence to escape the wrath of the king
Babu and his father went to Nagendra once. Next time to prove that
Babu was not an insane.

8.Why was Babu very happy?

Answer:As the advice given by Nagendra. Babu babbled and littered
nonsensical syllabus in front of the king for the questions asked. The
king lost his patience and sent him out of the courtroom. Babu was
happy for the success of the trick.

9.What is the meaning of the expression, “Think deeply before you do

anything”?
Answer: The expression means that one has to think wisely before
doing any action. Do not take hasty decisions listening to others.

10.Why did the king make Nagendra his minister?

Answer: Nagendra’s wise advice saved the life of the King hence he
was made the King’s minister.