Charlemagne was known to be a man of simple tastes and moderation, he often rewarded those he found to be humble and also humbled the prideful. One such occasion involved some sneakiness from a Jewish merchant and a painted mouse.
There was a certain bishop who was vainglorious and greatly preoccupied with all manner of stupid things. Charlemagne heard of this and contacted a Jewish merchant who often brought back rare and exotic objects from the Holy Land and asked the merchant to cheat and deceive this bishop.
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The merchant caught an ordinary mouse and decorated it with spices, claiming that he had brought it home from Judea, a most costly creature that has never been seen before by man.
Overjoyed the bishop offered three pounds of silver for it.
I would rather throw it in the sea than let some acquire it for just a cheap and shameful price!
The bishop upped his price
He promised the Jew 10 pounds of silver.
The merchant upped his game as well:
May the God of Abraham forbid that I should lose my labour in this way, and the cost of the transport too!
Soon the bishop offered a full measure of silver to which the merchant yielded and exchanged the mouse. As Charlemagne asked the merchant brought the silver and informed him of what had happened. A few days later the King called all the chiefs and bishops to council, requiring each to produce their silver and place it in the center of the room.
In an attempt to out the bishop Charlemagne stated the following:
Men of the church, it is you duty to minister to the or poor, or rather Jesus Christ in the persons of the poor, not waste your money on stupid objects. Nowadays you act completely contrary, and even more than regular mortals you are guilty of luxury and covetousness.
To add a final sting Charlemagne presented the silver he received from the merchant and stated:
One of you has given all this silver to a Jew in exchange for a painted mouse!
Source: Charlemagne – Notker the Stammerer (paraphrased from penguin books “The Two Lives of Charlemagne”)
(note: in the original text, it is briefly mentioned that he is a merchant, however throughout he is only referred to as "the Jew")
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