Mason Would Say Yes to Anything

Mason the otter is a keen, cheerful builder, and he wants to build so badly that he’ll say yes to almost any trade you offer him. Need his stone? Just ask! He’ll swap it for whatever, because all he’s thinking about is getting on with his next wall. And that — funnily enough — is exactly what makes Mason such a good teacher.

Little Fen figured it out one day. She needed Mason’s stone, and she had wood. She could have offered him a fair swap: some wood for some stone. But she noticed how eager Mason was, and a sneaky thought crept in. “What if I offer him just a tiny bit of wood for a big pile of stone? He’s so keen, he’ll probably say yes!”

And he would have. Mason looked at her tiny-wood-for-big-stone offer and started nodding right away, happy just to trade. “Sure, sure!” he said. “Let’s build!”

But Fen stopped. Because Barter’s Fair-o-meter, in her mind, was showing a worried face. The deal was good for her and bad for Mason — he’d give up loads of stone for almost nothing. Mason wouldn’t stop her. He was too eager to notice. So the fairness had to come from Fen.

“Wait,” said Fen. “That’s not fair to you, Mason. Let me offer a fair bit of wood for that stone.” And she did — a proper, even swap — and both of them came out well.

Mason blinked, then beamed. “You know,” he said, “you didn’t have to do that. I’d have said yes to the first one. I always do; I just want to build!” He clapped a paw on her shoulder. “But you kept it fair anyway. That’s the good kind of trader. Some folk will take whatever you offer — so it’s up to you to offer what’s fair to us both.”

That’s what Mason teaches, without even meaning to: when the other person won’t keep the deal fair, you have to. Being fair is a choice you make, even when you could get away with more.

I’ll say yes even to a lopsided deal — so YOU be the one to keep it fair, and only offer what’s fair to us both. That’s Mason.