I remember reading something a long time ago about a poor man who
lived above a restaurant, and every day he would eat a plain bowl of
rice because he could not afford any greater. I'm pretty sure it's a
Chinese story or proverb because of the rice, but I could be wrong.
The story goes this did not upset him in the least, because every day
he would eat his bowl of rice while the kitchen was cooking, and the
scent of their cooking would flavor his rice. When the restaurant
owner found out (dunno how) he took the poor man to court asking to be
paid for his losses, and the judge ruled that the only just payment
for the scent of food, was the sound of money. Can anybody find me a
link to this story/proverb? Thanks guys.

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Clarification of Question by skermit-ga on 27 Nov 2002 08:24 PST

Oh, if it's a long story, or not available online, but you can
reference it in a book, that's kewl too. I don't mind hiking to the
library.

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Request for Question Clarification by tar_heel_v-ga on 27 Nov 2002 08:37 PST

Skermit..

I have found a story that is very similar, although it is Turkish and
had it has to do with bread, smoke and kabobs.  Ending is identical. 
Could this be the story you are referring to?

-THV

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Clarification of Question by skermit-ga on 27 Nov 2002 08:55 PST

I'm sure it's rice, I don't it's the right story. But then again it
might be a reoccuring proverb in different cultures.

skermit...

Thanks for your question regarding this folktale.  It appears that
this particular tale is told in many different cultures, however, the
version you are looking for, is actually, a Japanese folktale that
comes from a children's book titled "Ooka the Wise".  The book is a
collection of stories regarding the eccentric, but extremely wise,
decisions made by Judge Ooka Tadasuke.  Here is information regarding
the book from The Library of Congress:

Ooka the Wise: Tales of Old Japan
Author: I.G. Edmonds
Illustrated by: Sanae Yamazaki
Linnet Books, 1994.

This is a reprint of the original 1961 edition

The story you are referring to can be found at
http://www.usagiyojimbo.com/comics/uy-vol1-nr36.html

As I said, the story can be found in different cultures.  You can see
the Turkish version here:
http://tenner.thinkhost.com/stories/index.php?lang=en&target=14

Thanks again for your interesting question.  If you need any
additional clarification, please let me know.

Regards,

-THV

Search Strategy:
sound of money cost of smell
"smell of food" "sound of money"

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Clarification of Answer by tar_heel_v-ga on 27 Nov 2002 09:54 PST

skermit..

Thank you for the rating and the generous tip.  Enjoy the story!

-THV

I guess I read the Japanese story, but this is interesting that you
also found a Turkish version. Thanks very much!

Oh well, this one's answered anyway. Here are some links that you
might find helpful. Both are Japanese:

Source 1
PDF version
http://www.measuredprogress.org/wycas/TestResults/2002Release/02WYO8ELA_V1.PDF
http://216.239.33.100/search?
HTML version
q=cache:IIUnFBsf0poC:www.measuredprogress.org/wycas/TestResults/2002Release/02WYO8ELA_V1.PDF+%22sound+of+money%22+rice&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Source 2
PDF version
http://www.folktales.net/pdf/webooka.PDF
HTML version
http://216.239.33.100/search?q=cache:DJj773nRr_QC:www.folktales.net/pdf/webooka.PDF+%22sound+of+money%22+rice&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

I found heard the "sound of money" first before I ate the rice. :-)

very interesting, that, about ooka tadasuke.  i grew up watching old
ooka tadasuke drama on the local japanese programming in san
francisco.  the dude that they picked to play him was quite handsome
and wise looking.  and the stories were cheesy, morally upright, but a
lot of fun!  hmmmmmm...  new question!

following on tar-heel-vs comment that the story is found in many other
cultures, there is an interesting web page that states:

"The following resources contain stories with the same general motif
as FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN [note this story may or may not be related to
the story i mentioned above!]:

Wisdom Tales by Heather Forest
Misoso by Verna Aardema
"Nuwasi as Cadi" in Myths and Legends of the Swahili by Jan Knappert
A Harvest of World Folk Tales by Milton Rugoff
"A Greedy Stallkeeper and the Poor Traveler" in A Kingdom for a Drop
of Honey and other Burmese Folktales by Maung Htin
"A Baker's Neighbor" in Stories of the Americas by Frank Henius
"The Woodcutter's Helper" in Once the Hodja by Alice Geer Kelsey
"Rich Man, Poor Man" in African Folktales by Roger D. Abrahams"

here is a link to the original page with hyperlinks to the above
mentioned stories:  http://www.geocities.com/Athens/5232/fire.html

this also reminded me of one the stories from the junior great books
anthologies from grade school.  they had two stories from two
different countries and they were very similar to the chinese
proverb/judge ooka story you relate above.

in the story i read (i only recall one of the two), some guy made a
bet with a king that he could make it though the night on the top of a
mountain (maybe it was a punishment for some crime).  the guy made it,
but only with the help of a friend who tended a fire on another
mountain top .  his friend had told him to watch the fire and imagine
that the fire was right there and to imagine that he is being warmed
by it.  somehow he made it through, but the king was dissatisfied with
the way the guy won.  i forget the details exactly, but the guy ended
up cooking dinner for the king.  but he did it by having a fire quite
aways from the kettle where he was cooking the food.  the king was
angry when he found the guy cooking the food in this weird manner, but
the guy said 'well, if i can be warmed by a fire on another mountain
top, then surely the food can be warmed with the fire over there.'

anyway, thanks for the interesting question!