Moral Story- A MERCHANT AND A BARBER

MORAL STORY:  A MERCHANT AND A BARBER

Long time ago there lived a merchant in a city with his wife. He was very rich as well as kind. There was always a long queue of city dwellers at his home. He was a good host.

Once he incurred heavy losses in business. People stopped coming to his place, even friends turned their back on him.

He thought, “No friends of mine visit me now, but it’s not their mistake, either. Even if they come here, I will not be able to offer them. Without money what can a poor man do? Now I'm jobless I have no money. I have no right to live. it's better for me to die. Oh! I'll think about it tomorrow.” He fell asleep and he dreamed of a monk talking to him.  

“You need not lose heart like this. Good people like you must live. Listen carefully! When you wake up in the morning you will find me at your doorstep in the same body. You got to hit me with a stick on my head. I shall get converted into pure gold coins. Thus, you will acquire enough wealth which will be sufficient for your lifetime.”

When he woke up the following morning, he was wondering at the strange dream and thought, “Oh, well, dreams are dreams anyway. They can never turn into reality. I shouldn't talk to my wife about my dream otherwise she will make fun of me.”

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. The merchant told his wife to open the door. She said, “It must be the barber! Who else can come so early in the morning?

It was indeed the barber. He hardly started shaving the merchant ’s beard. There was another knock.

“wait, wait, wait!” There is someone else at the door. I shall open it myself.” The merchant shouted.  

As he opened the door it was the same dream- monk and he told himself, “Oh, impossible! This is the same monk of whom I dreamed last night.”

He welcomed the monk. He picked up a baton and hit the monk on his head. The monk turned into gold coins. Everyone was flabbergasted.

The merchant decided to bribe the barber so that he wouldn't disclose the matter to anyone. He promised the barber to provide him a few gold coins. The barber thanked the merchant and his wife.

While the barber was going home, he planned something.  

The following day the barber woke up early and went to temple to find the monks. He found five monks outside the temple. He asked the monks to help them with some religious books which he didn’t understand. They agreed and followed the barber.

The monks reached the barber’s house. He closed the door. They asked the barber to open the door. As soon as they entered the house, he started hitting them on the head very badly. The five monks started screaming. At same time King’s guards happened to be close to the barber house and heard the monks’ scream.

The guards got hold of the barber. He resented going with them and pleaded that he was not guilty. He narrated the full story to the king.

The merchant was brought to the court. He said that he didn’t kill any monk and it seemed the barber had misinterpreted the incident.

The king ordered his men to put him to a gaol.

Moral: Don't be a copycat