Moral Stories For Kids - The First Pair of Shoes

 The First Pair Of Shoes


Once upon a time, there lived a king who hated getting his feet dirty. After walking only a few yards, he would have his feet cleaned with a soft cloth or washed in rose water. He spent so much time in having this done, that he had hardly any time for any of his affairs. This worried him a great deal. Finally, one day he sent for his minister and said, "I want all the dust to be removed, from all the roads, in my kingdom. If you are not able to complete this task within a month, I will cut off your head with my sword." The minister turned white with fright. He hastened away and immediately summoned all the wise men in the kingdom and consulted them as to how he could best carry out the king's command. The wise men spent two whole days in discussing the matter before they were able to come to any decision. A hundred thousand sweepers were to be given a broom each and made to sweep the roads throughout the kingdom free of dust. The sweepers began their task, but the clouds of dust that they raised darkened the sun and set everyone, including the king, sneezing. He sneezed so much that tears began to roll down his cheeks and his nose became swollen and red. The king sent for his minister and shouted, "What have you done, man? I asked you to rid the roads in my kingdom of dust, and now you have filled the air with it! If you do not put an end to this at once I will have your head." Again the minister called the wise men together and sought their advice. They suggested that the roads should be drenched with water and thus freed from dust. A million hands drew water from all the wells in the kingdom and every road was thoroughly washed. As a result of this, all the wells in the kingdom went dry and there was not a drop of water left, even to drink.


The king realized that the drought had been caused by his minister. He was very angry and sent for him. "Minister," he cried, "it is really my misfortune to have you for my minister! In solving one problem you have created several worse ones. I will give you one more day in which to rid the roads in my kingdom of dust, without creating any other problems and if you fail, your head will roll tomorrow at sunset." The minister was very frightened and upset. Once again he summoned the wise men and this time they suggested that all the roads in the kingdom should be covered with leather. The minister went to the king with this suggestion and the king was pleased and said, "Now you speak like a sensible man. Call all the cobblers in my kingdom together." All the cobblers from all over the kingdom came to the palace. The king had them ushered into his presence and said, "Cobblers of my kingdom, how long will it take to cover all the roads in my kingdom with leather?" One of the oldest of cobblers replied. "Your Majesty, it will not be an easy task. Many cattle will have to be slaughtered. If the cows are killed there will be no milk for the babies and then the babies will die of starvation. If the bullocks are killed there will be no animals to plough the fields. If the fields are not ploughed, then there will be no food for the people." 

The king frowned and looked angrily at this minister for putting forward such a proposal. He was on the point of drawing his sword and cutting off the minister's head when a young cobbler begged permission to say something. "Your Majesty, instead of covering all the roads with leather, which will not only be very expensive, but quite unnecessary, why don't we cover the soles of your feet with leather. I will make you a pair of leather covers for your feet by tomorrow morning." The next morning the cobbler arrived at the palace with the leather covers, which were the first pair of shoes to be made in the world, and put them on the king's feet. The king walked in them and was very happy and pleased, because not only did they fit him perfectly, but they kept his feet clean and free of dust. He gave the young cobbler a very handsome reward for his cleverness and his ingenuity. And he sent the minister home in disgrace. 

Moral of the story: There is a simple solution for every difficult problem.

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