The Gold Pan

Part 1: Lucky Henry

It was during the days of the California Gold Rush. Lucky Henry had just arrived in town after a few days in the Mountain. He is a gold prospector just like many of the men in the makeshift town. He is called Lucky Henry not because he is always lucky, but because he is a terribly unlucky man.

He has been prospecting for two years but so far, he has not found even a speck of gold. His savings was almost all gone. He barely has any money for food and most of the time he has to forage food from the mountains just to be able to eat.

But he is a simple man, this is why he survives. While the other prospectors who found gold mostly gamble it all away or spend it all on alcohol and women, he would rather quietly continue prospecting.

In the first year of his prospecting, he was still able to have a drink from time to time in the local salon. As times progressed however, he would merely content himself by staying outside the salon, hearing the laughter and the singing of the other prospectors who celebrated because they found gold.

Lucky Henry never dared enter the salon. He knows what would happen if he ever enters the salon. The other prospectors would ask him if he found gold already. Then he would answer that he hasn’t. This would be enough for the other prospectors to laugh at him and call him “Lucky Henry.”

What perhaps hurt Lucky Henry the most is that he prospects day and night and almost everyday, but he sees other prospectors who are lazy getting lucky and finding gold while doing almost no work.

Part 2: The Old Man

It was during another one of those unlucky days when he was sitting outside the salon that he saw an old man. The beard and the hair of the old man were so long that they reached his stomach. His hair was also all white and disheveled.

The old man walked up to Lucky Henry and told him: “Hey mister, why are you outside the salon? You should be having a good time with the other men who have found gold.” Lucky Henry replied: “Sorry sir, but I’m an unlucky prospector. I have been prospecting gold for two years and so far I have found nothing.”

The old man said to him: “Well, this is your lucky day. Today I would make you the luckiest man who ever lived.” Then he opened his bag and took out a dirty and rusted gold pan. “This gold pan is lucky to me. It always finds me gold. I am willing to give this gold pan to you in exchange for food.”

Lucky Henry frowned. He thinks that the old man is playing a trick on him. The gold pan he presented was so old, dirty and rusty to be of any value. Besides, Lucky Henry already has a gold pan of his own which is still in good condition.

Part 3: A Kind Heart

But Lucky Henry saw the condition of the old man. He was so thin that he looked like he has not eaten for days. His clothes were also dirty and tattered. The old man also had very wrinkled skin. He looks like an old magician without the magician’s robes.

Lucky Henry took pity on him and said: “You don’t have to give me your gold pan sir. I would give you food without asking you for anything.” Then he gave the old man some fruits he foraged from the mountain as well as clean water.

The old man saw his small loaf of bread that was in his bag. The old man said: “You’re a lucky person. There are many people who can’t even afford bread.” Lucky Henry saw this as a hint from the old man that he wanted some bread too.

Lucky Henry saw the old man was smiling. This must be because the old man thinks that Lucky Henry would also give him bread. He was right. Lucky Henry was a good man at heart. He cannot bear to see another person suffer.

He gave the old man half of his loaf of bread and together they ate. The old man said to him while they ate: “You are a good person. I have tried asking for food from many people in this town, but no one would give me any.”

Part 4: Kind Intentions

When they have finished eating, the old man asked him: “What do you intend to do when you find gold and become rich?” He answered: “I think I would never find gold and become rich, but if ever I become lucky I would buy a property where I can raise my family.”

The old man said: “Nothing more? Any man with money can do that.” He said: “If I have some more, maybe I can use it to help other people. I don’t really need a lot of money.” The old man smiled and said: “But you will have a lot of money.”

Then he put his rusty and dirty gold pan in Lucky Henry’s hand. “I think my lucky gold pan has found a new owner. You might not believe it, but this gold pan of mine finds gold!” Lucky Henry smiled. “You really think this gold pan is lucky? I can’t seem to believe you, seeing how unlucky you are yourself.”

The old man laughed. “This is my disguise. I travel from town to town trying to fulfill my promise to my gold pan that I would find it a rightful owner now that it has served me well and made me rich.”

Lucky Henry then said: “Can you prove to me that you are indeed a rich man sir? I don’t like to think that I have just helped a liar.” The old man then gave a signal to a parked stagecoach which looked expensive. The stagecoach moved towards them.

When it arrived, the door opened and the old man entered it. “It’s up to you if you want to believe me kind lad, but I suggest you give it a try just to see if my gold pan is indeed lucky.” Then he closed the door of stagecoach as it slowly sped away.

Part 5: Gold In The Mountains

Lucky Henry took one long look at the rusted and dirty gold pan the old man gave him. There was nothing special about it. It looked like any other cheap gold pan you can buy. But the sight of the old man being driven away in an expensive stage coach made him interested in the gold pan.

He immediately went to the mountains and when he reached his latest prospecting site, he tried using the gold pan given to him by the old man. He went to the stream where he has still not found any gold.

He buried the gold pan in the bottom of the stream and then took it up to the surface of the stream. He looked at what is in the gold pan. As usual, there was sand and soil and pieces of small rocks.

He becomes disheartened. He thinks the old man might be playing a joke on him. “Old man, you really got me fooled.” He wasn’t hoping for anything more than his usual luck of not finding gold.

Then as he slowly drained the contents of the gold pan, he notice something shining. His eyes widened. Gold! It was gold. They were small amounts of gold in the gold pan. Then he looked to the sky and said: “Thank you old man.”

He tried again and again to find gold using the gold pan. Everytime he tried, he found gold. It’s as if the stream is filled with gold. Then he tried something different. He tried his gold pan on a piece of dry land next to the stream. He was also able to find gold in it.

Part 6: Lucky, Finally

After selling the gold he found, he went to the salon to celebrate. The other prospectors were surprised that he was able to afford the most expensive alcohol in the salon. He also bought alcohol and food for some prospectors who are down on their luck.

There was news all around that Lucky Henry had finally become lucky. But many of the other prospectors considered his luck fleeting. This is especially when they heard that instead of spending his money, he put it in a bank.

They think that the reason why he was putting his money in the bank is because he himself considers his luck a one time occasion that would never be repeated again. Secretly, there are other prospectors in the salon who wished that his luck would never happen again.

But it happened again, and again, and again. Lucky Henry kept finding gold and kept getting richer. He became a celebrity in town known for helping people in need especially those who have no food to eat.

Part 7: Envy

There are many now who wish for his continued success. But he is aware that there are many who wanted to know his secrets. Whenever he goes to the mountains he now makes sure that he is not being followed.

But he got careless one time and two of the other prospectors were able to follow him. They followed him to where he was prospecting and knocked him unconscious. When he awakened, he found himself tied up while the two prospectors were busily prospecting for gold but can’t find any.

One of them pointed a gun at him and said: “Where’s the gold? We’ve been prospecting for hours, but we can’t find any. Where is your secret gold location? Tell us or we’ll kill you.” Then the man started kicking him.

They continued beating him until he finally told them the secret of the old man’s gold pan. One man said: “And you expect us to believe your story? You think we’re stupid? Anyway, we’ll find out.”

They untied him and ordered him to use the old man’s gold pan to prospect for gold which he did. The two men’s eyes widened with greed as they saw the gold appearing in the gold pan. They took the gold pan away from him and decided to pan gold themselves using the old man’s gold pan.

They too were able to pan gold using the old man’s gold pan. The two men’s greed intensified. They begin to argue as to who would own the gold pan. Eventually one of the men shot the other.

Then he turned his gun at Lucky Henry. “Your gold pan is mine now. I’ll be rich! Rich! Rich! I don’t need you now Lucky Henry.” Then he pulled the trigger the gun, but his trigger finger won’t move.

In fact, he is not able to move his entire body. Then the ground from underneath him moved. It started to cover his entire body as he stood. It all happened very fast. Soon the man was covered in soil and rocks that he resembled a crude statue of a man carved in soil and rock.

Part 8: It Keeps On Giving

After the incident, Lucky Henry left town and bought a large house for himself. He busied himself by opening a business. He however was unlucky and lost a lot of money in the business.

He thought of using the old man’s gold pan again to prospect for gold, but he thinks of the danger to him if ever other prospectors find his secret. He then saw his garden and had an idea.

He used the old man’s pan to see if he can find gold in his garden. To his surprise, the gold pan again produced gold for him even though he was just prospecting in his garden. Everyday he used the old man’s pan to find gold in his garden. Like always, he never failed to find gold.

He became so rich that he eventually became the richest man in his place. He married and had a family. He tested whether his wife or children would also find gold if they used the gold pan. No one in his family found gold except him.

His family kept the secret of the gold pan. He continued finding gold in his garden which is more than enough to give a comfortable life to his wife, children and to his children’s families.

Part 9: The End Comes

With the fortune the gold pan gave him, he also started helping the needy. With the agreement of his family, he started a foundation whose main focus was to find people in need and to help them. He was so rich that his foundation could continue to exist even if he dies.

He soon grew very old, but he still continued using the gold pan to find gold. Then one day, the gold pan suddenly found no gold for him. Days turned into months but the gold pan did not produce any more gold.

Then he remembered the old man. He remembered what the old man said: “The gold pan would need a new owner.” Lucky Henry knew what to do. He said goodbye to his family and traveled to find the gold pan’s new owner.