Salem and the Nail

Once upon a time in a small but prosperous village, there lived a very successful businessman named Salem. Salem made his money selling carpets. He was known for his impressive inventory, with rugs from all corners of the world. There were magnificent wool rugs from Belgium, there were intricate silk rugs brought from distant China, and there were brilliantly colored cotton rugs imported from India.

Salem was a good merchant. Although he drove a hard bargain, he never cheated any of his customers. Though a customer might wander in, requesting a small rug, by the time Salem was finished, the customer might leave the shop with half a dozen large rugs. But Salem was never dishonest, just clever — and convincing.

All went along in this manner for many, many years. Salem prospered and became famous, both for his rug selection and for his sales technique. Then, tough times came to Salem and his business.

One night, as he lay sleeping, tucked in under one of his softest carpets, he heard an urgent knock at the door.

“Who is there?” cried Salem in alarm.

“Come quickly,” said one of the villagers. “Your shop is on fire.”

Salem jumped out of bed, racing to the shop in his slippers and pajamas. It was of no use, though; by the time he arrived at his rug shop, it had burned to the ground.

A dejected Salem surveyed the damage and then slowly walked home, trying to decide what to do with his now dismal-looking future. But by the time he returned to his snug bed with its special blanket, that clever Salem had come up with a plan for his future. “Tomorrow,” he thought as he drifted off to sleep, “I shall put this plan into action.”

The next day, he went from merchant to merchant in the village and announced that he would be selling his house, since it was all he had left in the world and he needed to raise some money.

Salem did not ask a high price for his house, though. The merchants all wondered why he wasn't asking for more. However, Salem made a most unusual request of all the prospective buyers. “I'll sell you this fine house, including all of its extremely fine furniture and exceptional carpets. I'll sell everything in the house, except for that nail in the wall. That remains mine!”

Each prospective buyer walked off, shaking his or her head, muttering and puzzling over what the savvy Salem meant by this strange request.

Finally, after interviewing many would-be buyers, Salem believed he had found a buyer for his house. Abraham, this would-be buyer, was a rather stingy fellow, so he was pleased with the low price Salem was asking. But, even though he thought the price for the house was quite fair, he bargained ardently for an even lower price. Salem played along with him, haggling and arguing until finally they agreed on a price. Abraham was pleased, feeling that he had bested the famous merchant at his own bargaining game.

So the new owner took over the whole house, except for the nail. Although Abraham was puzzled by this provision, he decided not to worry about any possible complications caused by it.

He spent the first week in the house, enjoying all of the beautiful furnishings and feeling quite gleeful about his new surroundings.

His glee was short-lived, however. After just one week, the wily Salem knocked at Abraham's door. “I've come to hang something on my nail. I know you won't mind, since, after all, it's my nail,” he said.

Abraham chuckled as he let him in. He thought Salem must feel rather wistful, walking into a house that he no longer owned. Salem, though, didn't seem to notice Abraham's manner. He hung a large empty bag on his nail and said a chipper good-bye. Then he left.

Abraham was a bit puzzled by this behavior and, truth be told, started to feel a bit uneasy about just what Salem had in mind. But Abraham decided he wouldn't worry about this odd nail situation. “After all,” he thought, “what possible harm could come of Salem owning a single, simple nail?”

So, Abraham continued to enjoy the beautiful home, luxuriating in his beautiful surroundings and raiding the abundant pantries and wine cellar of what had once been Salem's home.

A few days later, Salem reappeared at Abraham's door.

“What are you here for?” asked Abraham.

“Oh, no big deal, really,” said Salem. Then, he walked through the door and hung a tattered, rather unsightly old coat on the nail.

“Well,” said Salem, “I'll be seeing you.” And, off he went.

Now, Abraham really was starting to get nervous about the meaning of this nail. But try as he might, he couldn't conceive of any possible plan Salem might have devised. So Abraham tried to relax and enjoy the spoils of what was left of the pantry.

A day or two later, though, Salem reappeared, this time with a pair of old boots to hang on the nail. These really were rather nasty boots that were filled with holes and had a bit of an odor.

And, from then on, so it went. Salem's visits became regular. Just when Abraham thought that he'd seen the last of Salem for the day, Salem was back, rapping at his door. In fact, Salem was forever coming and going, taking things off the nail or hanging other things up in their place.

This went on for several weeks, annoying Abraham to no end but causing him little other discomfort.

This all ended one evening when, much to the astonishment and shock of Abraham and his family, Salem arrived dragging a dead donkey.

“What are you doing, Salem?” asked Abraham.

Salem didn't answer. Instead, he dragged the donkey through the door, and with a struggle, he hoisted it up and roped it securely to the nail.

Abraham and his family complained about the terrible smell and the dreadful sight of the dead animal, but that clever Salem calmly stated, “It is my nail and I can hang anything I like on it!”

Abraham and his family, naturally, could no longer live in the house under such conditions. The smell was overwhelming. In fact, even the neighbors began to complain as the smell wafted out the windows to their homes.

But Salem refused to remove the donkey. “If you don't like it,” he said, “you can get out of my house, but I'll not pay you back a penny!”

Abraham did his best to persuade Salem to take the donkey down, for it smelled so terrible that it was making him and his family ill. But Salem refused to budge, saying he was acting in a fair manner.

In the end, Abraham and his family were forced to leave, because they couldn't stand the sight and smell of the dead animal. And Salem, the savvy salesman, got his house back without paying a penny for it!