The Men Who Had Their Wishes
Once there was a merchant who sold cloth, but whose business was not very prosperous. At last, he was so poor that he decided to travel to another part of the world and see if he could make his fortune. So, he packed up all that was left of his cloth and set out.
On his way, he met a carpenter. The two fell into conversation, and the merchant found that the carpenter’s plight was just as bad as his own.
“I do fine work,” said the carpenter sadly. “There is not a better carpenter, but the people at home do not appreciate good work. Like you, I am off to make my fortune elsewhere.”
“Let us travel together, then,” said the merchant.
A little while later, they met a woodchopper, going the same way. The woodchopper told them he was tired of chopping wood all day.
“My back aches, and it is getting more and more bent,” he grumbled. The woodchopper sighed and said, “It’s not worth it. I make hardly enough money to keep myself. I am told that fortunes are easier to make in other parts of the world, so I am off to try my luck elsewhere.”
The merchant and the carpenter invited him to join them, and he agreed.
They walked and walked until, at last, they felt very tired. They decided to sit down for a rest by the side of the road. The woodchopper cut some wood, and they made a small fire to warm themselves.
Before long, an old woman came along. She, too, sat down by the travelers and listened to their conversation.
“What a pity,” said one, “that people cannot have what they wish.”
“Perhaps it is better that they cannot,” said the old woman. “After all, if we all had what we wished for, it might be a very bad thing for us and for other people, too.”
“You say that only because you have seen nothing of the world,” said the merchant. “Now if I had everything I wished for, I should soon be rich and happy.”
“What would you wish for?” asked the old woman.
“I would wish that everything I pull should grow long,” said the merchant. “Then I should always have plenty of cheap cloth to sell, and my fortune would be made.”
“As for me,” said the carpenter, “I should wish that everything I put together might remain so tightly fixed that it would never come apart. Imagine the fine, hard-wearing furniture I would make. Everyone would want it.”
“If everything I struck fell to pieces at once,” said the woodchopper, “think how much wood I could cut. I would have plenty of wood to sell without all that hard chopping.”
“You see,” said the merchant to the old woman. “These are all simple enough wishes. If only they could be granted, we should all be rich and content.”
The old woman smiled knowingly. “I am sure you are wrong,” she said. “You have not stopped to think about your wishes at all. If they were granted, you would be the most miserable of men.”
“Nonsense,” cried the three travelers at once.
“Very well, then,” said the old woman, standing up. “You shall have your wishes, and we shall see who is right.” With that, she walked off down the road.
“She seemed very sure of herself,” said the merchant. “How strange it would be if we truly had our wishes.”
“There is one way to find out,” said the carpenter. “Let us each wish our wish. If they come true, then our fortunes would surely be made.”
The three men made their wishes, then got up to continue their journey. The woodchopper, however, struck his hand against a tree stump, and immediately it split in two. “Look at that,” he called to the others. “Perhaps our wishes really have come true.”
Eagerly, the carpenter took the two pieces of wood and put them together again. Instantly, they were fastened so tightly that nothing could separate them. Then the merchant took a length of cloth from his pack and pulled it. The cloth grew longer and longer until it was ten times its original length.
“Hurrah,” he cried. “Our wishes have come true. Now we shall be rich for life.”
Thinking of his good fortune, the merchant began to stroke his face with his hand. Without realizing what he was doing, he gave his nose a little tug, and it began to grow longer and longer until it was three or four times as long as it had been before.
At first, he could not believe that anything unusual had happened. Then he felt his nose again. It was so long that he thought he must be dreaming, until the others caught sight of it and burst out laughing.
The woodchopper laughed until tears ran down his face and, bent almost double, he slapped his knees with his hands. But to his horror, his legs split in two, and he was unable to straighten up again.
The carpenter looked on in bewilderment. “Perhaps the old woman was right after all,” he cried, clapping his hands together in despair. At once, they grew together so firmly that, tug as he might, he could not pull them apart.
“Here’s a pretty kettle of fish,” said the merchant, fingering his long nose. “We should, after all, have listened to the old woman and thought more carefully about our wishes. If we had stayed at home and worked hard, as she said, instead of grumbling, we would not have been in this plight now.”
They began to realize just how foolish they had been to become so discontented with their lot when, after all, they had at least been strong and healthy.
As they sat there, musing on their foolishness, they saw the old woman coming down the road toward them. “Well, how are you getting on?” she called to them.
The travelers told her that they realized how foolish they had been and that if they could return to how they were before, they would no longer be discontented.
“We would be quite happy to work hard for our money,” said the merchant, “however little we earned.”
“Well, well, if you feel like that, your wish shall be granted,” said the old woman, and she walked off down the road.
The merchant felt his nose, and it had returned to its former size. The woodchopper found that he could get to his feet once more, and the carpenter clapped his hands for joy when he realized they were free again.
All three men turned around and went home. From that time on, nothing was too much trouble for them. They went happily back to work and lived useful and contented lives.