The Nail

Once upon a time, a merchant had done very good business at the fair. He had sold all of his merchandise and filled his moneybags with gold, silver, and jewels. He wanted to travel back home and sleep in his own bed. So he packed his riches in his trunk and put it on his horse and rode away.

At noon he rested in a town. When he wanted to move on, a stableboy brought out his horse and said, “A nail is missing, sir, in the shoe of its near hind foot.”

“Oh don't bother me with these little things,” answered the merchant impatiently. “The shoe will certainly stay on for the six miles I have still to go. I am in a hurry!”

In the afternoon, when he once more climbed on his horse and had the animal fed, another stableboy went to him and said, “Sir, a shoe is missing from your horse's near hind foot. Shall I take him to the blacksmith?”

“No,” answered the man. “The horse can very well hold out for the couple of miles that remain. I am in a big hurry.”

So, he continued on, but before long the horse began to limp. It had not limped long before it began to stumble, and it had not stumbled long before it fell down and broke its leg.

The merchant was forced to leave the horse where it was, unbuckle the trunk, take it on his back, and go home on foot.

He didn't arrive there until quite late at night.