Jìzi and the Sesame Oil

       

            Long, long ago, in a land far west of China there was an emissary of the Emperor of Heaven named Jìzi. Jìzi travelled to villages and other tribes teaching education to the locals there.

As he held a classroom at a village, Jìzi sees the wife of an old friend waiting for him outside the house he was at. The woman’s name was Shòushòu whose husband died several months ago.

After the lesson Jìzi met with Shòushòu. The widow bowed her head in respectful greeting.

“Please pardon my sudden visit, teacher,” she apologized.

“I’m sure there is something important you wish to discuss.”

“Yes, well, you see,” Shòushòu explained, “when my husband was alive, he went about helping the community to the point of borrowing money to assist those in need. When our sons became ill my husband borrowed even more that by the time, we were having his funeral the money collectors came. I was planning on leaving this place in the middle of the night, but my sons are still too ill to travel, I am not sure what to do.”

“There must be something that could be done,” Jìzi stroked his chin in reflection. “Do you have something of value in your house?”

“Nothing.”

“Not even a comb?”

“Well, we do have a bit of sesame oil.”

“Then, let us do this. Got to your neighbours and borrow as many jars as you can. And when I mean many, I mean lots.”

“Jars? You mean, clay jars?”

Jìzi nodded. “Now, once you have collected the jars, you and your sons will go into your house and shut the door. Take whatever sesame oil you have and pour it into one of the empty jars.”

After visiting the teacher, Shòushòu went to her neighbours and borrowed jars. Once the jars were collected, she and her sons entered their home and closed the door. Taking the bottle of sesame oil in her hand the widow began transferring it into one of the empty jars.

“What are you doing, Mother?” the younger son asked.

“I am transferring the oil into one of these jars.”

“Can we help?”

“I could change the full jar with another empty one,” the eldest offered.

“I’ll bring the empty ones,” the younger son said.

Before they know it, the little oil in the bottle kept flowing into the empty jar soon filling to the brim.

“It’s full!”

“Here’s another jar.”

“This one’s full too. Hurry, bring me another.”

“But that’s the last one,” the moment the younger son said this the oil emptied into the jar stopping just at its brim.

 

The next morning, Shòushòu visited Jìzi and told him what happened the other day.

“Our house is filled with jars of oil,” she told him in wonder.

“Take that oil and sell it. With that money pay off your debts, whatever is left buy your sons’ medicine.”

And so, with the money she made with the sesame oil, Shòushòu was able to pay off her debt and buy the medicine to help her sons. The sons, thanks to the medicine, recovered and were able to take care of their mother until the end of her days.