Krishna and the Fruit Seller

One morning in Vrindavan a fruit seller came up to the house of Nanda Maharaja and called out loudly: “Fruit, fruit! Come and buy my fruit!”

Krishna heard her voice, jumped up and began to look for something to pay with. He ran to the butter pots — and they were empty.

“Mother must have made ghee out of it, and the new butter is not churned yet,” the little boy said sadly.

Nearby stood the sacks of grain. Krishna ran over and took as much grain as His two small palms could hold. Out He ran into the street, to pay the fruit seller for her fruit with this rice.

Krishna smiled and held out His palms with the little grain that was left. The fruit seller looked at Him kindly and said: “What a lovely boy! You are sweeter than all my sweetest mangoes!”

“How I would love to taste them!” said Krishna. The woman smiled and said: “Hold out Your hands! Here are sweet mangoes for You, juicy yellow pears, ripe grapes, fuzzy peaches and fragrant oranges!”

The fruit seller gave Krishna as much fruit as He could carry. And at that very moment her basket filled up with precious stones and gold.

When she came into her house she looked into her basket and gasped: “What is this? My basket is full of beautiful jewels!”

She called her whole family to show them the wonder. “Husband! Daughter! Come quickly and see what I have!”

The daughter ran in first and saw the jewels. “Mother, how beautiful they are!” “Yes, my darling, but that little boy was many times more beautiful,” said the fruit seller, remembering little Krishna.

Her husband saw the basket full of such riches and could not believe his eyes. “Where did you get so many jewels? All our lives we have been poor… and now we are rich!”

But the fruit seller did not hear her husband any more. She was thinking about Krishna. “Oh, how beautiful that sweet boy was!” was all she could say.

And meanwhile Krishna came home with His hands full. He went to mother Yashoda and showed her what He had bought. “Krishna, where did You get this fruit?” Yashoda asked. “The auntie brought it and traded it to Me for some grain,” Krishna answered.

Yashoda said tenderly: “How grown-up You have become! You made the trade Yourself and carried it home Yourself!” Krishna was very pleased that His mother praised Him.

“Mother! Let us call Father, and Balarama, and everybody, everybody, and give them this wonderful fruit!” said Krishna. “Of course! Run and call them all, and I will get everything ready,” answered Yashoda.

The whole big, happy family gathered at the table: mother Yashoda, father Nanda Maharaja, brother Balarama, and Rohini, the mother of Balarama.

Everyone was glad and ate the treat with pleasure. But however much they ate, the fruit never came to an end.

“Just look at that!” Yashoda wondered. “I have given out so much, and the dish is still full! How can that be?”

She looked at her son in amazement — and Krishna sat there very pleased, smiling His sly little smile, with both cheeks full!