The Kid with a Stolen Rod

 **2003**

Ice-candy sellers prefer to barter ice candies with grain, metal scrap and throwaway glass bottles, as well as newspapers, old books and copies (notebooks).

Why? Because the margin in bartering is big. In simple monetary terms, the margin left with them is fixed. But here they can elongate it almost freely in their lopsided bargaining with the children.

And most often, the children can't raise too much voice against the loss in the deal because, most of the time, they have somehow, through dubious means, laid their hands upon these petty articles. So, in fear that lest they get caught, they want to shut up the matter at the earliest without raising too much fuss about it.

A thief, however petty he is, is after all not the rightful claimer of the true value of a thing. So these mute, hesitant bargainers settle for anything the vendor proffers.

A six-year-old arrived with a big, twisted rod of iron worth at least twenty rupees in the hot noon.

The street was desolate and empty.

The boy showed it and asked the ice-candywala, "How much for this?"

The look of confidence in his voice instantly told the candy man the story behind it. So he greatly decreased the gain to the boy.

"Only four ice candies for this," he said.

"Only four?" the boy almost shouted.

The ice-candywala said, "Then go and ask your mother, or you can bring your mother."

"Mother is not at home," the boy replied.

"I am sure you have stolen it," the ice-candywala said with a mischievous smile.

The boy tried to sound confident.

"I haven't stolen it. I found it on the way by the school."

Taking a look at the area around, the vendor opened the mouth of the sack tied to the box at the back of his tricycle.

The boy dropped the thing into it.

Both of them understood the point. The ice-candywala knew it was a stolen item. The boy knew he could not get more than this.

The deal was done.

Both went their ways hurriedly.