Gold Or Grain, Which One Is Great? Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

A king was much worried
Of his daughter unmarried
As she was too choosy
To seek a groom to marry.

Lads came every day,
But were short or puny
Or with face funny,
Unsuitable to marry.

The princess was keen
That she preferred even
A poor with habits clean
And more tidy to be seen.

She announced this test
That any lad with his best
Plan to enrich the treasury
Shall have the right to marry.

With their plans baseless
Or their ideas useless
One after another lads came
And frustrated she became.

A farmer's son, one day,
With his best idea to say
Stood before her to pay
His respects to her gay.

'I shall grow, Oh princess
Any produce ten times
And give me just a piece
Of any land for my use.'

He tilled the land
That came to his hand
More deep and wide
As far as he could.

His vigil day and night
The best yield it brought
And was ten times more
Than what he was sure.

On this promising lad
High hopes she had.
She offered her hand
To him as her husband.

The produce in her country
Grew up well in bounty.
The surplus went outside
And gold flowed inside.

One cannot eat the gold
When hunger takes its hold.
Now no one need be told
Which one's great, grain or gold?