Once upon a time a merchant earned a large sum of money by selling his goods. He had to go a long way to reach home. He went to an inn to get his horse. The stable men brought out his horse and said, “Sir, your horse has lost a shoe nail. You better wait and have it put in.” The merchant said, “Sorry! I have no time now. Moreover, one nail more or less in shoe does not matter much.” Saying so, he got on his horse and galloped it towards his destination.
After some time, another nail from the shoe of the horse came off. The horse began to limp. Being in a hurry, the merchant did not stop to repair the damage. After some time, the horse began to stagger. Very soon darkness of the night prevailed everywhere. This further decreased the speed of the horse.
The darkness was falling. He was getting late. At last he got down and led the horse. In the meantime, a gang of robbers appeared from the forest. The merchant could not speed away his horse and save his money. He was at the mercy of the looters. They thrashed him thoroughly and snatched his money. The merchant returned home with a lame horse and empty pocket. His carelessness had cost a heavy price.
Moral Lesson: A stitch in time saves nine.
