The Merchant and the Foolish Barber

Once in a small town, there lived a kind and generous merchant named Manibhadra. He and his wife were well-loved by everyone because of their warm hospitality. People often visited their home and enjoyed their kindness.

But one day, tragedy struck. A terrible storm sank all of Manibhadra’s trading ships, which were carrying expensive goods. He had borrowed money from many people, and now they all came asking for their money back. To repay them, Manibhadra had to sell everything he owned. In the end, he was left with nothing.

What hurt him most was that even his friends stopped visiting him. "They were only here for my wealth," he thought sadly.

Feeling hopeless, Manibhadra began to think, “I have nothing left to give my family. Maybe it’s better if I end my life.” With these dark thoughts, he fell asleep.

That night, he had a strange dream. A monk appeared and said, “If you touch me on the head with a stick, I will turn into gold that will last you many lifetimes.” In the dream, Manibhadra touched the monk with a stick—and the monk turned into a huge pile of gold coins.

The next morning, there was a knock at the door. Manibhadra’s wife called, “The barber is here.”

Still half-lost in the dream, Manibhadra thought, “That dream can’t be real.” He sat down to get shaved. Just then, there was another knock at the door.

Manibhadra opened it—and to his shock, a monk was standing there, looking at him quietly.

In a daze, Manibhadra picked up a stick and gently touched the monk’s head. Right before his eyes, the monk disappeared and turned into a huge heap of gold coins!

Overjoyed, Manibhadra gave the barber some gold and told him to keep the incident a secret.

But the barber was greedy and foolish. He thought, “So that’s the trick! Just hit monks on the head, and they’ll turn into gold. I don’t want to be a poor barber anymore.”

He invited several monks to his home for a feast. But the moment they arrived, he picked up a stick and started hitting them on the head. The monks were terrified. One managed to escape and called the guards.

The soldiers arrested the barber and brought him to court. The judge asked, “Why did you attack these monks?”

The barber replied, “Because when Manibhadra hit a monk, he turned into gold!”

Manibhadra was called in and explained the full story. The judge quickly understood what had happened.

“Your actions were driven by greed and foolishness,” the judge said sternly to the barber. “You were punished not because of what you believed, but because of what you did.”

And so, the foolish barber learned a painful lesson—greed and blind imitation can lead to ruin.

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