The Golden Rice
A Parable
Once upon a time, there was a village.
Its people believed it was bigger and better than all the other villages, with big fields, big craftsmen, and granaries so big that they must have stretched beyond the ends of the earth.
And so, they called their village Big Village.
Big Village’s people were skilled traders. They bartered — rice for fish, fish for hooks, hooks for rice. But barter was slow. Some days, the rice farmer had grain, but the fisherman had no need for it. Some days, the blacksmith needed fish but had no hooks a ready.
Deals broke down.
Then, one day, a particularly cunning farmer in Big Village had an idea. He offered rice even though the fisherman didn’t need it.
“You can keep it,” he said. “Trade it later.” After all, rice lasted for months, even years. It stored value — unlike fish.
And so, rice moved from the fisherman to the blacksmith, then back to the farmer. Soon, everyone used rice to trade. It became Big Village’s money.
As Big Village prospered, it met other villages.
Some had cloth. Others had salt. Trade expanded. But every village had its own way of trading. Some used beads. Others used silver. Others continued to barter — the old way.
Deals broke down.
But Big Village had something special — its rice.
Unlike ordinary rice, the rice in Big Village was golden. It grew in abundance, thriving only in Big Village’s mountainsides and curvaceous slopes.
The Bug Villagers were convinced this wasn’t just because of their land but also because of their superior intelligence, their grand walls, and their ability to store the rice in granaries that surely no storm, curse, or wandering witch could ever breach.
And so, Big Village suggested, persuaded, and ultimately demanded that other villages trade using its Golden Rice.
Gradually, other villages accepted this, for Golden Rice came from a land of strong walls, skilled farmers, and wise elders who, while often napping, had declared it the most trustworthy grain.
Over time, Golden Rice became more than just a trade good — it was the measure of value itself. Even those who didn’t live in Big Village wanted to store their wealth in Golden Rice, because they trusted Big Village’s ability to protect its granaries from thieves, fires, and witches, and because the wise elders swore that “Golden Rice shalt always be golden.”
Eventually, Big Village no longer needed to trade as others did.
With Golden Rice in demand everywhere, it could buy goods more easily than others. At first, this wasn’t merely luck — Big Village had built the most skilled markets, the safest roads, and the most trusted magic spells, all of which were, coincidentally, written in a language only Big Village fully understood.
Villages sent their best artisans, builders, and scholars to Big Village’s grand bazaars, where knowledge and opportunity thrived.
Yet, all was not peaceful.
Some villages grumbled, saying, “Why must we trade for their Golden Rice? Why not trade directly with each other?”
Some tried. A few villages began bartering again; others minted their own beads and silver coins. But time and again, these new systems struggled to match the strength of Golden Rice. Their silver coins were sometimes mixed with tin. Their beads lost value when traders discovered them in abundance elsewhere. Their ledgers and promises were trusted only within their own walls, while Golden Rice was trusted everywhere.
And so, Golden Rice remained the grain of trade. Even when some villages sought new ways, Big Village’s roads, granaries, and laws made it hard to replace.
The wise elders reminded all who doubted: “Golden Rice is eternal. To question it, is to question the witches.” And the other villagers nodded sagely, despite the fact that none could quite explain why.
One day, a man called Big Man became king of Big Village. Big Man loved Big Deals.
Big Man noticed that some villages sold more goods to Big Village than they bought in return. To balance the scales, he built a Big Wall at the market gates, demanding extra Golden Rice for every trade.
The other villages grumbled. Trade slowed. Some merchants found new paths. A few even started using silver again.
Deals broke down.
In response, Big Village accused them of rice laundering.
But even as the merchants tried, many still held Golden Rice in their stores. For when a storm came, or when witches cursed their silver, or when traders doubted their accounts, they turned again to the grain that had long anchored trade.
Yet, whispers of change spread.
Some villages grew stronger, forming new alliances, building their own granaries, and planting different grains. One village even devised Invisible Beans, a currency that existed only in ledgers.
This was declared blasphemous by Big Man — until Big Village itself adopted an even more invisible system called Invisible Rice.
The trust in Golden Rice remained, but cracks had begun to show.
Would Big Village adapt and renew its power, or would its dominance slowly fade as new ways of trade took hold?
The answer, like the seasons, was uncertain.
And so, while the village that once controlled trade faced new challenges, its future no longer seemed guaranteed. The Golden Rice still held value, but for how long?
Only the witches could tell.
