The koala bear¹²

In one area of a variety store I saw a chandelier for $10, and nearby was a very tiny koala bear. There was no price anywhere on the koala bear, but since it was in the same place as the chandelier, I thought perhaps everything in that area was $10. So I decided to buy the koala bear, and I gave the lady $10.

She said, “It is $13. Can’t you see the price?”

I said, “It doesn’t have a price.” I really got disgusted. She was so rude.

She looked at me and said, “All right, you can have it for $11.”

I said to myself, “I am not going to get it,” and I walked away. But then I thought; “These are very old people. Perhaps they are senile.” So I went back again.

When I went back in, the lady said to her husband, “There! I told you he was going to come back.”

Again I got disgusted. I said, “I am only going to buy the chandelier, not the koala bear.”

From:Sri Chinmoy,I love shopping, part 2, Agni Press, 1986
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/ls_2