The Rope Maker
Traditional | Middle East
A poor rope maker, becomes wealthy after receiving a piece of lead that leads to discovering a diamond.
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Once upon a time, in a small village, there was a rope maker. Every day, he twisted small cotton strings into strong ropes. Even though he worked very hard, he earned very little money. He was very poor and struggled to feed his family.
He had two friends who were much richer than him. They felt sad seeing their friend work so hard but still be poor. They decided to help him. "We are giving you a hundred gold coins," they said one day. "Use this money to buy a shop. Work hard, and you will become successful. We will return in six months to see how you are doing."
The rope maker felt both happy and worried holding the gold coins. He had never had so much money and didn't know what to do with it. He watched his two sons playing outside and had an idea—he decided to treat his children first. He spent ten gold coins on new clothes and sweets for them.
He was worried about keeping the rest of the money safe, so he hid ninety gold coins in his turban and wore it on his head.
As he walked home, thinking about which shop to buy, a large bird saw the box of sweets he was carrying. The bird tried to grab the sweets but couldn't, so it went for his turban instead. In a moment, the bird flew away with the turban and the gold coins inside.
The rope maker shouted for help, "Catch that bird!" But the people nearby, not knowing about the gold in the turban, only laughed. He lost all the money his friends had given him and remained poor.
Six months passed, and he continued to make ropes. When his friends returned, they were sad to see that he hadn't become successful. "It seems our gift did not help you become rich," they said. "This time, we will give you something that seems useless—a piece of lead."
His neighbor was a fisherman. One evening, the fisherman came to him, needing a piece of lead for his fishing net. The rope maker happily gave him the lead. The fisherman promised, "I'll give you the first fish I catch tomorrow morning."
The next day, the fisherman brought him a big fish. When he cut it open, he found a shining diamond inside! He sold the diamond and used the money to buy a silk shop. He worked hard and over time, he became a rich and respected merchant.
When his friends visited six months later, they were happy to see him doing well. They were amazed at how a simple piece of lead had changed his luck and helped him become rich and happy.
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