Story of the cobbler and a banker
“The Cobbler and a Banker” is an important story with a good moral message. By reading the story we can understand that money is not all in our life. To lead a happy and beautiful life we do not need a huge amount of money. Rather, a large amount of money may raise our tension and cause unhappiness. From the story, we easily can understand that happiness lies in contentment.
This is a must-read story for the students of schools and colleges. This story is also important for different public and competitive examinations.
(Story-1): The Cobbler and a Banker
Once there lived a cobbler in a small town. He was poor but happy……………………………
There was also a rich banker in that town. The house of the banker was not far away from the house of the cobbler. The banker used to come to the cobbler to mend and polish his expensive leather shoes. The banker felt sorry to see the shabby dress and shop of the cobbler.
One day the banker said to the cobbler, “How much do you earn in a day?” The cobbler replied to the question putting a smile on his face, “I earn enough and I am happy with what I have.” The banker requested the cobbler to take some money for his personal and family expenditure. The cobbler politely refused to take any money from the rich banker. Instead of taking the money, the cobbler requested the banker to keep him (cobbler) in his (banker) prayers so that he could pass his life with peace and happiness. The banker left the shoe repair shop of the cobbler.
After a few days, the banker came to the shop of the cobbler. He handed over a bag full of money to the cobbler. The banker requested the cobbler to keep the bag to him for a few days and spend as much as he needed. The cobbler was sweating seeing the huge amount of money. He had never seen such a big amount of money in his life. He was in a fix on where to keep the money safely.
Coming back home the cobbler dug a hole in his house and kept the bag there. At night he could not sleep. He was always thinking about the money. He was in a fear that someone might steal the money. His tension was rising and thus his happiness went away.
The next day he even could not take food because he became sick. The bag of money snatched away his normal happy life. He could not work with full attention. Because he was visiting his house again and again to check the bag. As he could not work his earnings decreased sharply. His normal course of life came to a standstill.
Finding no other way the cobbler went out in search of the banker. He reached the house of the rich banker. The cobbler requested the banker to take back the bag so that he could have his normal life again. The banker smiled and accepted the request of the cobbler. Returning the bag of the money the cobbler breathed a great sigh of relief. He got back to his normal life and became happy.
(Story-2): Money can’t bring happiness
Once there lived a shoemaker in a small town. He had a small shop to work in. He opened his shop early in the morning and worked till late at night. His job was to fix and brighten the shoes of the people.
He did not earn a good amount of money. But with his little income, he used to lead his life with happiness and peace. He did not have a shortage of anything because his demand was limited. The shoemaker was happy with his work and lifestyle. The bootmaker worked, earned, and spent. He had immense pleasure in his mind.
There lived a kind-hearted and generous man in that small town. He was an executive officer of a bank. The bank of the executive officer was close to the shop of the shoemaker. The bank officer used to furbish his shoes from the bootmaker.
One day the officer asked the cobbler, “How is your earning? Do you earn enough to meet your expenses? Can you run your family smoothly?” The shoemaker replied, “I do not count. But I can meet my expenses with my income.” The bank officer said, “It seems to me that you cannot eat good food because of the shortage of money. Your dress is not good. Now it is the winter season but you don’t have warm clothes. I would like to give you some money to buy food and warm clothes because you are a good human being and a good bootmaker. I would like to support a good man.”
The bootmaker replied politely, “Thank you sir for your generosity. But I don’t need money. I am happy with my earnings. If you and your friends come to me regularly to have the service I provide, it will be enough for me. This is a great support for me because you all are my honorable clients.” The officer thanked him and went away.
The next day, the bank officer again came to the shoemaker to polish his shoes. He again requested the bootmaker to take some money. The gentleman told the shoemaker, “I may not be rich but I have enough money to support someone a little. I want to help you. Please take some money for your expenses.” This time the bootmaker agreed to take money. The generous officer gave one thousand dollars to the bootmaker. The bootmaker was astonished to see this huge amount of money. The officer told the shoemaker to spend the money according to his will.
The bootmaker put the dollars in his pocket. At night he was thinking about the huge amount of dollars in his pocket. So, the whole night he could not sleep to the slightest degree. He was worried about the safety of the dollars because he had never owned such an enormous amount of dollars.
The next day he could not work properly because he could not sleep well the previous night. He was feeling unwell. The bootmaker even did not feel hungry for food. He was having a look at the dollars frequently in his pocket. Sometimes he was checking his pocket with his hand to make sure that the dollars were not missing. The shoemaker refused to polish the shoes of customers because his physical and mental condition was not good. That night he also could not sleep. Hearing the sound of a cat he thought that it was a thief who came to steal his money. He spent the whole night awake.
The next day at lunchtime the shoemaker went in front of the main gate of the bank where the bank officer worked. The shoemaker requested the security person to inform the officer that someone wanted to meet the officer. The officer came to the gate. Seeing the shoemaker he said, “Good afternoon. Is everything good?” The bootmaker said to the officer, “Sir, this is your money. I did not spend a single buck. Please take your money and let me live a happy life. Because this money has taken away my happiness, my smile, and my sleep. I do not need this money.”
Returning the money to the officer the shoemaker heaved a euphoric sigh of relief. Because he could realize that money can’t bring happiness. He wanted to lead a happy and peaceful life.
Moral of the story: a. Money can’t bring happiness. b. Happiness lies in contentment.
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