Yesterday I was hunting for a folktale about a man who exhausted himself in trying to find treasure among a large quantity of non-treasure, in a limited time.

An honest-to-goodness folktale is probably out there, but I couldn't find it. So of course I turned to Bing's ChatGPT tool and gave it my outline. The AI was pretty good at the medieval setting and some character traits, but weak on sticking to the plot. 

Its graphics cousin, DALL-E 3, did do a good job in picturing what I had in mind.

After a bunch of editing, here's A Tale of Wood and Wealth:

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"Inthe heart of the Whispering Woods, by the mighty River Alterflow,there lived a man named Thaddeus. Thaddeus was no hero, nor was he avillain. He was simply a man who yearned for more—a life beyond themundane. Each day he worked in the woods for his living. Each nighthe visited the village tavern, then stumbled homeward to his darkenedcottage, too restless to find sleep for hours.  

Thisthought would not let him rest:  Others in town, less worthy,had found success. Why not he?

Onenight, as he left the tavern, Thaddeus encountered a wizard namedElowen. The wizard’s eyes held the secrets of long-agoconstellations, and his voice carried the weight of eons upon eons.

(Image by DALL-E3)

“Thaddeus,”Elowen whispered, “listen well. Your wish will be granted. Soon, ona night when the moon is full and no clouds veil its face, you mustwait on the riverbank and keep close watch. On that night, a magicalnight never to be repeated, the River Alterflow shall bear giftsbeyond your imagination. Baskets, many scores of them, will float bythis very village on its mighty stream. All baskets will look alike,but a precious few of these baskets will hold gleaming coins. Otherswill bear fine-crafted goblets of silver. And still another,figurines of solid gold, crafted by a people long ago.

“Andmark my words, there will just one basket, the most fabulous of all,holding the emerald-studded diadem of a queen.  A Queen out oflegend but real nonetheless. I knew this royal family well.

“Butharken to this: most of the baskets you will see in the river shallhold naught but kindling wood, of the kind you split and sell forfirewood each day.”

Thaddeus’sheart raced. The prospect of wealth danced before him like fireflieson a summer eve. Soon he would be a man of stature in the town. No,in the city!

Thena thought. Humbly, so as not to give offense, Thaddeus held out his hands.“But the river is wide, master, and you tell of many baskets. Howwill I know which of the baskets hold the riches, the fine thingsthat we agree I deserve?” His eyes were wide with anticipation butalso a little concern.

Elowen’sgaze seemed to plunge into Thaddeus’s needy soul. “To know whichis wealth and which is wood, you must reach inside each basket,” hesaid. “But remember this: any basket you fail to catch and searchshall drift downstream, lost forever.”

Andso, Thaddeus waited. He kept the wizard’s secret close, slippingout of his cottage each night as the moon approached full. Thevillagers came out to wonder why he paced the riverbank, squintinginto the darkness. They whispered of moon-cursed souls, but Thaddeuspaid them no mind. After two nights they left him to his vigil.

Thenthe night finally arrived when the moon was completely full.Muttering, Thaddeus waited for the high clouds to move away. Wouldthe sky never clear?

Andthen the moon and stars were unleashed in glory. Now he saw manybaskets scattered across the silver-touched water, moving downstreamwith the flow, their woven sides catching the light of stars andmoon.

Now!There was no time to spare. Thaddeus leaped into the water, swimmingto the middle of the river, splashing from basket to basket, tearingtheir tops open. The first ones revealed nothing but sticks of wood.Finally he found a basket with a handful of silver coins and two goldpieces. The wizard had not deceived him. Thaddeus pushed thewonderful basket to shore and flung it to rest safely high on thebank.

Hisdesire flaring, Thaddeus vowed to pull in every valuable basket. Thechallenge was as broad as the river itself. Hour after hour, Thaddeusswam to shore, gasping for breath, to push another precious find ontothe muddy bank. Cold gnawed at his bones, yet Thaddeus could notrelent. The fear of missing a single treasure-laden basket hauntedhim. Even as he shivered in the shallows, the river’s currenttugged at him, urging him back into its embrace.

Asthe sky was showing the first signs of dawn, Thaddeus found himselfclinging to one more floating basket. He had not yet found thequeen’s diadem of emeralds and diamonds. This must be the one! Hereached inside. But it was filled with nothing but scrap wood. Helooked left and right. This was the last of the baskets!

Cryingout with rage, he dumped the worthless contents into the river andtossed the basket away.

Toolate, and too exhausted to swim any more, he realized that the humblebasket, when filled with light-floating wood, could have kept himsafe above the water however exhausted he might be.

TheRiver Alterflow had become his prison, and the desire for treasure,his shackles. The current bore his form away from his home,downriver, leaving his little pile of wealth on the riverbank for thevillagers to find, and to think of their neighbor’s long nights ofvigil on the riverbank.

Tothis day, whenever the moon is full and the sky is clear, thevillagers gather by the river, their eyes scanning the water’ssurface, but they see nothing but the moon’s reflection.

Butthey remember Thaddeus—the man who reached for wealth and foundonly the river’s cold embrace.