A Story On A Lessons Of Thrift

A man who prided himself on his thriftiness was dismayed to learn that there was another tightward who lived more frugally than him.

“I must take lessons in thrift from this genius,” he said to his son, “otherwise I’ll continue to overspend. Go to his house and ask him if he will accept me as his student!”

It was customary to gift a goose to the guru at the time he was approached. So he drew a goose on a piece of paper and gave it to his son.

“Give this to him with my regards,” he beamed.

The boy set off, thrilled by his father’s ingenuity. A true son of his father, the thought of giving away one of their geese had filled him with horror.

It took him half a day to arrive at his destination. The man he had come to meet was not at home but his wife was there and she assured him that her husband would accept his father as his student.

The boy dutifully handed over the drawing of the goose to her. She took it and carefully placed it in a drawer.   

It was customary for the teacher to acknowledge the gift with a lesser gift of his own.

“Please take these oranges for your father,” she said, and went through the motions of handing over four oranges to him, picking them up, one by one from the table beside her. Only there were no oranges there at all.

Her husband returned shortly after the boy had left. She told him about the boy’s visit, and the exchange of gifts.

“Good, good,” said her husband. “We must not forget the social graces. But show me how you held the oranges.”

When she showed him how she had held the imaginary oranges, her husband’s brow darkened in anger.

“oh, you wasteful woman!” he shrieked. “Did you have to hold your fingers so far apart? Do you think we are millionaires that we can give away such BIG oranges!”