Once there lived a rich merchant. His life’s mission was to hoard wealth. He was a miser on account of which he had no friends. The tailor who stitched his clothes for many years met with a sudden death. The merchant was also ailing. His relatives came to know that his end was near and started coming to see him. The tailor’s son thought he would pay him a courtesy visit as his father had had a long association with him. He brought a needle and gave it to the merchant. He told him that his father forgot to take the needle to heaven and would he be kind enough to take it with him?
The merchant took the needle assuring him that he would fulfill his wish.
The needle then became his major preoccupation. Should he keep it in his shirt? But it didn’t seem a wise idea. Wouldn’t the clothes burn when they would cremate the body? Then he thought he would pin it up in his hair or may be in the bulge of his cheek. He realized that every part of the body would burn to ashes. So how on earth was he to take the needle with him?
The more he thought about it the more confused he was. He then called the tailor’s son and said, “I’m sorry I won’t be able to take your needle to heaven.” The boy laughed at this and said, “If you can take all your riches to heaven why not a small needle?”
The merchant was ashamed. He realized his folly and donated all his wealth to the needy.