True... though in the version I first learned (possibly a redaction by Jane Yolan, I don't know), there's an added denouement: the man gives up basket making and becomes a storyteller -- and makes a better living.

There's an Irish proverb that states "Whoever brings you one story will take away two." One interpretation says that's because when anyone tells a story, you're expected to tell one in return, just out of politeness (so the teller leaves with the story he came with, and the story you told). My own favored interpretation is that the second story the teller takes away is the one he has about meeting you (so you'd better be on your best behavior when you have company).

If that's the case, either by protocol or simple human nature, than Brian would have better luck as a storyteller. Unlike the wood and reeds from which he made his baskets, stories are an unlimited resource -- the more he trades, the more he has, not less.

'Course, as a storyteller of sorts myself, I may be a wee bit biased... ;-)