Episode 1

A merchant called Antonio lived in Venice. He had plenty of money, but he was not a very happy

person. He was very kind, however, and many people turned to him for help when they were in

trouble. He was always willing to lend people money when they needed it. People were happy to

borrow money from Antonio because he never charged them interest. The people of Venice liked

and respected Antonio, but his best friend of all was Bassanio. Bassanio was younger than Antonio

and came from a good family. He did not have much money, but he had expensive tastes. Antonio

was always happy to lend Bassanio money whenever he needed it. Bassanio had borrowed a lot of

money from his friend over the years, but Antonio did not mind. Anything Bassanio wanted, Antonio

would give him.

The only person that Antonio did not get on with was Shylock, the moneylender. Shylock’s job

was to lend people money, and he charged them interest because he had to make a profit. People

did not like paying interest, so they often borrowed money from Antonio, instead of Shylock.

Naturally, this made Shylock angry. Antonio thought that it was wrong to charge interest. They did

not like each other at all. Whenever they met, they argued.

One morning, Antonio was walking by the canal when he met his friend Bassanio.

“Antonio, my friend, I must ask for your help again,” Bassanio said,

“Of course,” replied Antonio. “You know I will help in any way I can.”

"I know I've borrowed a lot of money already,” Bassanio said. “But now I have a plan. If it

succeeds, I will be able to pay you all I owe.”

Antonio smiled. He knew his friend had met a beautiful woman.

“Please tell me all about your plan,” he said.

“in Belmont, there is a very wealthy lady,” Bassanio said, “Her name is Portia. She is beautiful, and I know she loves me.”

“But do you love her, too?” Antonio asked.

“Oh yes, I do. I want to marry her,” Bassanio replied. “That’s why I need to borrow money. I want to

go to Belmont to propose. When we marry, I will be very rich. I will pay you back everything I owe.”

“Oh Bassanio, I am not worried about that,” Antonio said sadly. “But at this moment I have no

money to give. All the ships I own are at sea, and I have no money until they return.”

“Oh, I see. Of course, I understand,” Bassanio said.

He tried to smile because he didn’t want his friend to see how sad he was.

“But I want to help you, and I will,” said Antonio, more cheerfully. “You can use my name to borrow from a moneylender. Let us go and see what we can find.”