Long ago there lived four merchants, in a village who jointly owned a big shop of grains. The four merchants were great Friends. They all used to work very hard to improve their business. Their hard work payed and their business earned huge profits. One night a group of rats were searching for food in the streets when they came across the merchants shop. They went inside and found huge bag of grains and decided to stay in the shop and feed themselves. The rats rampaged the storeroom, destroying almost a quarter of the grains.
When the four traders came to the shop in the morning they were surprised to see the damaged caused by the rats. The four merchants were worried. "This is a disaster!" said one of them. "We must find a solution to get away from these rats else our business will be ruined." "Let’s buy a cat and keep it here in our shop," suggested the other. "Great idea! agreed the other three merchants. So, they bought a cat and left the cat in the shop to guard their grains.
The merchants looked after the cat very well and the cat was well fed with milk and fish. They gave her all the attention and care she needed. The cat used to perform her duties very well. Everyday during night, the merchants, left the cat in the storeroom of their shop and used to go home. The cat used to roam freely in the shop in search of the rats. In just a short, she caught and ate up all rats. The four merchants were happy with the cats work as they always found the storeroom neat and tidy, with all the sacks intact. "Ah, it seems the cat has done her job," said the merchants, happily. They decided to take good care of the cat and keep her as a guard in their shop.
One of the merchant said we four should equally take care of the cat so that no other is burdened with extra work. One of the traders said, "As the cat has four legs, each of us should look after a leg. That will ensure we all look after the cat equally." The others friends liked the idea; so, each of the partners took charge of one leg of the cat.
One day, while searching for rats the cat accidentally hit the table and hurt one of its legs. The merchant who was supposed to look after that particular leg immediately cleansed the wound and bandaged the cat's leg. "Don't worry! You will be all right soon, dear!" he said, patting the cat, lovingly. The cat recovered within a few days. The trader thought let the bandage remain for few more days so that the cat's leg will not get any infection so he did not remove the bandage for a while. One night, as the cat was roaming in the storeroom, she went too close to a oil lamp which was in a corner and knocked it down by mistake. The lamp broke and the cat's bandage caught fire. " Meaaaoooow! Cried the cat, running around panic stricken.
The cat leg was burning and she was desperate to put off the fire, so she began to rub her bandaged leg against a sack. Now the sack caught fire too. The cat jumped from one sack to the other to rub the bandage. One by one all the sacks caught fire and soon the entire shop was in flames. In the morning, when the four merchants came to their shop they were shocked. "We are ruined!" they cried. "What shall we do now?" When they figured out the reason for the fire, they began to blame the partner who took care of the bandaged leg. "It was all because of you!" they shouted at him. "You bandaged the cat's leg that belonged to you and did not remove the bandage; the bandage caught fire and spread all over, destroying the entire shop. You must compensate us for it!"
They started fighting with each other. The villagers gathered and after hearing the whole story advised them to go to the Magistrate. The four merchants went to the Magistrate. The Magistrate, who was a wise old man, listened to the whole story, then said,” It is true that the bandage caught fire. But how did the fire spread? Certainly not because of the bandaged leg. But, because of the three sound legs that carried the cat from one sack to another, setting the entire shop on fire. So, not the fourth partner but the other three are to be blamed. You three, who own the three sound legs of the cat, must compensate your fourth partner for his loss."
The other three merchants realised their mistake and began to beg for mercy. The fourth merchant, who was kindhearted, and a good friend of theirs requested the magistrate to forgive the other three partners. The magistrate advised them, "If you trust an animal to guard your place, this will be the result." The four partners thanked the Magistrate and went home wiser and decided never to fight with each other rather stay united.
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