The Blanket Story

A rich man and a poor man once lived next door to each other. In the small town out in the country where they both lived the people always did their washing on Wednesday morning. The rich man’s fancy clothes and blanket which was made of the finest wool and linen hung side by side to the poor man next door's washing out on the washing lines in their gardens. The rich man’s blanket was embroided and was a sign of great wealth. The poor man’s blanket was made out of nothing but woolen cloth and was old and worn out by now. They hung side-by-side and talked from time to time. ‘I am so glad that I belong to a rich family and are made of the finest Persian wool,’ said the fancy woven blanket of the rich man. ‘Not some poor woolen blanket owned by a mere pauper. You look as old and worn out as your poor owner,’ it added and laughed out loud. So the years passed and the rich man’s blanket was rich and the poor man’s blanket was just poor indeed. Just like his owner. Things would never change it seemed. The rich got rich and the poor stayed poor. Yet one day the rich man lost all that he owned due to bad debt and all he had was taken by his miserly debtors. Even the fancy embroided blanket, which hung on the washing line. The rich man was made poor in an instant due to circumstance and when winter came shortly thereafter he was in dire need of something warm to help him through the cold and icy nights. ‘I say neighbor,’ he said to the poor chap ‘may I please have the use of your old woolen blanket the winter season as you and your wife each own one of your own?’ And so the poor man gave the old worn out blanket to his friend and him and his wife kept the other they owned for themselves. When the cold winter months set in the rich man slept soundly under the warmth of the old pauper’s blanket. ‘Your fancy Persian blanket once told me I was no good as a blanket, not being rich and well woven like himself,’ the blanket told the rich man one morning. ‘Hogwash.’ Replied the man ‘Any old blanket that keeps you from freezing in the cold weather is fine by me.’ And so the poor man’s old woolen blanket became a rich man’s prized possession after all. Rich man or poor man. Beggar man or thief. Pride comes before a fall.