The Fortunate Friend (IP)

Once upon a time a Cautious man set out for a walk with his Clumsy friend and the Cautious man saw a hole up ahead and avoided falling into it but the Clumsy man didn’t see it and fell right in.

 

Fortunately, at the bottom of the hole, the Clumsy man found a purse full of gold that someone had dropped.

 

The Cautious man helped the Clumsy man out of the hole but was secretly envious that he had not found the purse of Gold.

 

“Still I suppose it’s only a fluke”, said the Cautious man, “A Clumsy man, in general, must have far more misfortune than a Cautious man who avoids it. My way is still best I think”.

 

But then, as they continued walking along, the Cautious man saw the low hanging branch of a tree and avoided walking into it.

 

The Clumsy man, however, did not see it and walked right into it; not only bumping his head but knocking a birds nest out of a tree. Fortunately, the nest was filled with golden eggs, that though they each landed painfully upon the Clumsy man’s already sore head, made him six times richer.

 

“Well what do you know?”, said the Clumsy man, smiling as he picked up each of the eggs and added them to the gold coins in his purse, “I suppose it is true what they say, wherever Mishap goes, Fortune follows”.

 

The Cautious man smiled but inside his pride ached as much as the bump on the Clumsy man’s head,

“Why could that not have happened to me?”, he thought to himself, “I’m the one who should have that gold; I would spend it cautiously and wisely, not like that Clumsy buffoon who will no doubt fritter all that wealth away on some foolish frippery”.

 

But the Cautious man was still certain that his way was the best,

 

“If you don’t look where you’re going then look where you end up”, he thought, remembering the words of his always Cautious father the first time that, as a little boy, he had tripped over; words that had never left him.

 

But then, suddenly, running towards them came a young man carrying a golden chain in his hands and the Cautious man, seeing him, stepped out of the way to avoid him but the Clumsy man because he did not see him bumped right into him and they collided with so much force that both were knocked to the ground.

 

And, certain that the Clumsy man would get into trouble; that the young man he had bumped into would be angry with him, the Cautious man felt secretly pleased.

 

Just then however, to the Cautious man’s amazement, he saw a policeman and the lord mayor coming running up to where the Clumsy man was lying and, the policeman arresting the young man who had been holding the chain, the lord Mayor thanked the Clumsy man, helping him to his feet.

 

“Oh thank you”, said the Mayor, shaking his hand, “I don’t know what this town would do without brave citizens like you. That young man had stolen and made off with my chain of office and if it had not been for you, he never would have been caught”.

 

Then the Mayor told the Clumsy man that he would see to it that he would be rewarded for his bravery and even get his name in the newspapers.

 

Now, after the Mayor and the policeman had gone on their way, the Cautious man began to get very angry; so angry in fact that he started to shout at the Clumsy man.

 

“It’s not fair”, he said, “It’s just not fair. You’re a clumsy oaf. Why do you get all the good luck. I’m the one who should get the good luck. I’m the one who does all the things that you’re supposed to. I’m the one who makes the effort”.

 

But then, however, much to the Cautious mans surprise, the Clumsy man handed him half of his golden eggs and half of the golden coins in his purse.

 

“Why are you giving those to me?”, asked the Cautious man.

 

“Well if you had been a better friend then I never would have had all my good luck”, said the Clumsy man.

 

The Cautious man was just confused.

 

“If you had warned me about stepping into that hole, like a good friend, I never would have fallen into it and then I never would have found those gold coins. If you had warned me about that branch, I never would have bumped into it and I wouldn’t have the golden eggs and if you had warned me about the thief I never would have bumped into him and I wouldn’t have a reward. You’re as much responsible for my good luck as I am so you deserve half the gold”, said the Clumsy man.

 

The Cautious man felt ashamed of himself.

 

“I am lucky”, he said to the Clumsy man, “I am lucky that even though I am such a terrible friend, I have a friend as good as you”.