Cooper

A beautiful old legend tells of a cooper -- a barrel maker --who was notorious for his meanness and greed.

One day an old man, dressed in rags, stood at the door of the cooper's workshop and asked for a drink of water.

"Go to the well in the village if you want water," snarledthe cooper. "I never give to beggars."

He expected the beggar to shuffle away, but instead, to his astonishment, the old man drew himself to his full height and in ringing tones cried,

"Cooper! You shall be punished for your meanness. Take a
barrell to the well and fill it with water."

As the cooper hesitated, his visitor added in tones that
could not be disobeyed, "Now!!" The cooper rolled his barrell
to the well, but though he sank it in the water it refused to fill. Time and time again he tried to no avail and at last he realised that this was the punishment his strange visitor had prophesied. This was the consequence of his meanness.

He began to shed tears of sorrow and penitence. One of his
tears fell into the barrell, which suddenly filled to the
brim and overflowed.

He was forgiven.