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Edited on Sat Sep-04-10 09:50 AM by MineralMan
Many, many years ago, there lived a old tinker, who made his very modest living repairing pots and pans. He traveled through the countryside in his horse-drawn wagon, stopping in small communities and farmyards, repairing everything from teakettles to laundry boilers. For his work, he was paid small amounts by the grateful owners of the items. Often his pay was nothing more than a hearty meal with a farmer's family.
This tinker had decades of experience at his trade and was very skilled. His repairs made old wares better than new, and he always finished his jobs by polishing the entire item until it glistened in the light. His pride in his work was bested only by his invisible repairs.
One day, while busy repairing pots and pans in a small mining town in Colorado, he was summoned to the home of the mine owner, who lived in a very large house, almost a castle, in the foothills near the town. So, he hitched his horse to the wagon and made his way to the mine owner's home. When he got there, he was directed to an outbuilding by the footman who stopped him short of the house. Inside, he found hundreds of pots, pans, drinking vessels and more. All were in need of repair. The footman told him, "Repair these as well as you can, and you will be paid handsomely."
So, the tinker set to work, patching with his invisible techniques, then polishing each item until it reflected the light like a mirror. He wanted to do the very best job he possibly could for this rich man, and hoped that the amount he received from the man would enable him to stop his travels and set up a small shop in a nice town somewhere. It took him almost a month to complete his work, but when he was done, the outbuilding was full of gleaming items, all repaired with all the skill he could muster from his long experience at his trade.
He walked the pathway to the mine owner's home to report that the job was done. Again, he was met by the footman, who told him that the mine owner was quite busy. The old tinker told the footman that his work was finished and that he was ready to be paid and go on his way. The footman accompanied the old tinker to the outbuilding, where he saw that the work was indeed finished, and said, "My employer has directed me to pay you $100 for your work." This was not as much as the tinker expected, but what was he to do? He took the five gold pieces the footman held out, then hitched his horse to the wagon and left the mansion on the hill, dejected that he would not yet be able to settle down.
Many months later, the tinker found himself in Montana, where he was plying his trade as usual. On a windy morning, as he was traveling from one small town to another, he was suddenly surrounded by men on horseback, led by the Sheriff of the town where he had previously been. He was quickly whisked away from his horse and wagon and taken to the town jail. "Why am I arrested," he asked the Sheriff? "For fraud," the Sheriff said, showing him a Wanted poster with a drawing that was an excellent likeness of the old tinker. "Fraud?" the tinker asked. "Yes, you made bright pots and pans in Colorado, which were then sold by a mine owner there as fine silver. It was discovered that they were not silver at all, but mere tin, and the mine owner identified you as the maker." As the tinker tried to explain that he had never done such a thing, but had only repaired the rich man's damaged items, the Sheriff said, "It's not my concern. You were tried in absentia in Colorado, after the mine owner sold all of the items in Denver. You are guilty of fraud, and will be hung by your neck until dead at sunrise." And so it was done.
Moral: It is better to do honest work for ordinary people than to do fine work for the rich.
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