History Main / OldBeggarTest

* In ''Literature/WhereTheMountainMeetsTheMoon'', a beggar asks Minli to buy him a peach. She does, spending the last of her money on it. He then reveals himself as the king.

* In "Literature/WhereTheMountainMeetsTheMoon", a beggar asks the main character to buy him a peach. She does and spends the last of her money on it. He then reveals himself as the king.

* In the third ''Literature/TheQueensThief'' book, Gen is told a story of the king who promised the moon goddess to free a slave and [[WillNotTellALie never to lie]] while the moon was out. Years later, after the promise has been forgotten, the king himself is pulling a KingIncognito and is about to lie to cover his identity just as the moon is rising, while an old beggar woman stands by watching... [[spoiler:fortunately the slave he freed, now his best friend, belts him with an amphora of wine to shut him up]].
* In the ''Literature/TalesOfTheFiveHundredKingdoms'' series, this is one of the Traditional ways that Godmothers test Questors. The first book ''The Fairy Godmother'' kicks off the second act by having Godmother Elena test three princes this way in the guise of an old beggar woman. The oldest brother rode past her and was cursed to wander for a year and a day. The middle brother tried to run Elena down with his horse and was turned into an ass. The youngest brother passed the test by sharing his food with Elena and offering to give her a ride and was given the clues he needed to successfully complete his quest for the hand of a princess.

* In ''Literature/MufarosBeautifulDaughters'', two sisters are on their way to meet the king in hopes of marrying him. They are both stopped by a beggar and one is kind to her but the other one isn't. It turns out the beggar was the king in disguise and he marries the one who was nice to him.

* In EgyptianMythology, Isis lived in a beggar's disguise while in hiding with her infant son Horus. When she went to a rich woman's house to ask for shelter, the woman insulted her and refused. After Isis took refuge with a poor woman instead, a group of seven scorpions responsible for guarding Isis snuck into the rich woman's house and stung her son in revenge. Atypically for this trope, Isis forgave the rich woman and healed her son instead of further punishing her, and the rich woman gave all her jewelry to the poor woman out of remorse.

** "Busy Bakers" does a variation of the "Elves and the Shoemaker" story. When a baker's bakery is going under, it's visited by an old beggar man asking for food and the baker gives his him his last doughnut. The beggar turns out to be a little baker man in disguise and rounds up the other little baker men who bring ingredients and bake some goods while the owner is asleep. At the end the shop is filled with baked goods and the baker's business is saved. The original little baker man returns disguised as a beggar again asks for food again and the baker gives him a pie; but after he leaves with it the baker jokingly tells him there's a 5 cent deposit on the pie pan; [[PieInTheFace and gets pied in the face for it.]]

** "Busy Bakers" does a variation of the "Elves and the Shoemaker" story. When a baker's bakery is going under, it's visited by an old beggar man asking for food and the baker gives his him his last doughnut. The beggar turns out to be a little baker man in disguise and rounds up his the other little baker men who bring ingredients and bake some goods while the owner is asleep. At the end the shop is filled with baked goods and the baker's business is saved. The original little baker man returns disguised as a beggar again asks for food again and the baker gives him a pie; but after he leaves with it the baker jokingly tells him there's a 5 cent deposit on the pie pan; [[PieInTheFace and gets pied in the face for it.]]

Under their cloak, there's something much, MUCH MORE powerful than you can imagine. They can be members of the FairFolk, a PhysicalGod, sometimes a WickedWitch that wants to screw your life with either a spell or a taste of [[EvilIsSexy her beauty]], or a KingIncognito.

* TheUnfavorite hero of "Literature/TheGoldenGoose" shares his humble lunch with a hermit, after [[YoungestChildWins his two older brothers]] snubbed the same hermit [[LaserGuidedKarma and suffered nasty wood-cutting accidents]]. Not only does the hermit turn the hero's dry bread and water into cakes and wine as a sign of gratitude, but he tells him where to find the eponymous golden goose.