Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1900-07-05
DEAD MOUSE HIS ONLY CAPITAL
From this Small Beginning the Lucky
Man Builds q Fortune.

EESnh tnhh S1h1lh tuo AuCAy
Man Builds Fortune.
Once upon O time several rich Hin.
doc merchants were Willing aWsy
the time talking over their affairs Al
except one were of the opinion that
,, in business no one could gathes
wealth who had not q solid capital to
begin with. Then he who held differ.
emily and who was the richest OF
them all spoke up and said:
of a truth it is very easy to ac-
quire great fortune when one has
but to add treasure to treasure. As
for me, 1 earned my riches without
30 much as groat to begin upon.
Listen, and 1 will tell you my story.
my father died before was born.
He had been very rich, but my moth.
er was only poor widow without
support or protection. All the
wealth that her husband had left her
was taken from her by greedy rela-
tives, and, as she even feared for her
life, she sought refuge at the home
Of friend of my dead father.
There 1t was that l was brought
into this world. My dear mother, Of
| whom later l became the sole sup
port, was then obliged to gain her
livelihood as best she could. She had
to work very hard for very small
wages. Notwithstanding, she man
aged to save enough from her scanty
earnings to pay for a master who
taught me to write and to figure.
"On the day when i completed
these humble studies my mother
called me to her and said: As your
father was a merchant before you, so,
also, should you be a merchant.
There is in our town a rich banker
who is called Wisakhila. This gener-
Gus man makes practice of lending
capital to sons of merchants who
have lost their means. Go and pray
him to open his purse unto you as
he has done unto Others
mo sooner said than done. But
when 1 entered the private office of
the banker he was in a very bad
humor. l found him scolding rough
ly young man, the son of q mer-
chant, who stood before him with
bowed head.
"'Do you see that dead mouse on
the floor there% he exclaimed angrily
to him. There is a piece of merchan-
disc out of which a smart man might
make fortune. AS for you, good
for-nothing, l have already lent you
an ample sum. Not only have you
failed to add to your capital, but by
your folly you have squandered it
ALL At these words advanced
toward the banker and spoke:
"'Allow me- said i, to borrow
from you the piece of merchandise
of whNh you spoke So saying /
picked up the mouse and went my
way. notwithstanding his anger the
good man was SO struck with my
simplicity that he could not restrain
smile.
''In the street I came across .
grocer standing in the doorway of
his shop, stroking a beautiful cat.
offered him my mouse. He accepted
it, and in exchange gave me a few
handouts of peas. 1 carried them
home, roasted them and made my
way to the outskirts of the town,
taking care to bring with me water
jar filed to the brim with fresh cold
water Arriving at a cross road /
seated myself in the shade of a great
tree. l was scarcely settled when
along came a party of wood cutters,
their shoulders bent beneath their
loads and their faces tanned by the
sun. arose, and bowling humbly
before them set forth my peas and
refreshing drink. As a reward each
gave me present of two bundles Of
faggots, which carried to the mar.
ket. l sold them, and with the
money made in this way I bought
some more peas, a larger quantity
this time, and / repeated my course
Of the previous day. Soon was able
to set aside the greater part of my
faggots, and Notwithstanding by SELL
ing the remainder quickly earned SO
much money that at last l could buy
up all the stock of the wood cutters,
/ continued selling some and saving
some until had collected a consider
able quantity.
THE rainy season was approaching,
and in due course the rain fell in tor.
rents, and dark clouds obscured the
sky. As for several weeks it did not
cease raining, the roads leading to
the woods were soon quite impass-
able. The weather, too, was very
cold, and soon there was . great
scarcity of fire wood, which, in con-
sequence, rose in price. This was the
time to sell stock. 1 made a neat
profit. I rented stall at the market
and stored it with different kinds of
merchandise. BY prudence and fore
thought 1 succeeded in my enter
prise. My trade extended from day
to day, SO that after awhile I was
able to retire with a competence, re-
spected by all my fellow citizens.
Then I ordered from skilled
goldsmith a golden mouse, which I
sent to .Wisakhila the banker from