Once a grocer came to a new place where he found a greedy and dishonest fruit seller as his neighbor. One day, the fruit seller said to the grocer, "Can I borrow your balance and weights?" "My balance and weights have been too old to serve my purpose", he told the grocer. "I'll return it as soon as possible." The grocer smilingly gave the fruit seller the balance and the weights.
After a few days, the grocer was wondering why the fruit seller was not returning them. So, he went to the fruit seller and asked, "Can you, please, return my balance and weights; actually, it's been a few days since you took it." He further told the fruit seller, "As a grocer, I need them now and then."
As the fruit seller was very dishonest and greedy, he gave a lame excuse to the grocer, "I'm unable to return your scales and weights because the mice have stolen them." The grocer not only became surprised and shocked at his words but also became very angry. He somehow managed to calm himself and returned to his shop. However, he just nourished his anger in the depth of his heart. So, he was looking for an opportunity to teach the fruit seller a good lesson.
His anger resulted in a good plot. After a week, he went to the fruit seller again and asked him, "As I'm going to town tomorrow, it'll be a great assistance for me if you let your son go with me." The fruit seller agreed to send his son with the grocer.
The grocer came back from the town, but the son of the fruit seller wasn't with the grocer. "Where is my son", the fruit seller asked the grocer. "Is he coming with more goods?" The grocer replied that a crow had picked his son away. Hearing this illogical reply, the fruit seller shouted loudly: "It's impossible for a tiny crow to pick my son away; tell me where is my son?" The grocer replied, "If a mouse can steal my balance and weights, a crow can pick your son."
Now, realizing the trick he did against the grocer, the fruit seller felt ashamed and returned the scale and the weights to him. In return, the grocer sent the son to his father. This is how the grocer taught a great lesson to the fruit seller and showed us an example of tit for tat.
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