This story teaches that honesty is always valuable, even when it seems it won’t bring a reward. Truth and fairness always triumph over greed.
Never before had such good fortune befallen the poor tailor! He was walking down the road when suddenly he saw a sack lying under a bush, and to his great joy, it contained two hundred (200) gold coins.
But the happiness didn’t last long. That evening, he heard the announcement that the richest man in that town had lost his sack of coins and was asking whoever found it to return it, as required by the law, and he, in turn, promised a generous reward. 💰
All day, the poor tailor wrestled with his conscience.
“Nothing will happen to the rich man! He won’t become poor! And your wife and children are about to die of hunger,” said the evilwithin him.
“No,” said the good within him, “This isn’t your money, and the Torah (Holy book) says: If you find someone else’s property on the road, return it to its owner.”
With a sigh, the poor tailor knocked on the rich man’s door, handed him his sack with a trembling hand, and said, “Here’s your money. I need it more than you, but I can’t break the commandment. Take your sack and give me my reward.” 💰
“What a fool this tailor is,” the rich man thought to himself. “To return such money! It’s not worth rewarding him.”
So he said out loud, “Reward? You’re not entitled to any reward. There were three hundred (300) gold coins in the sack, and now, I see, there are only two hundred. You stole a hundred. You’re a thief.”
“And you’re calling me a thief for my honesty!” the poor tailor cried.
The next day, the judge was already examining the poor tailor’s complaint. The offender and the offended stood before him, and the entire village gathered to hear the judge’s ruling.
“You claim there were three hundred gold coins in the sack?” the judge asked the rich man, looking him straight in the eye.
“Yes,” said the rich man, “There were three hundred coins in the sack, and he only gave me back two hundred. He stole the rest!”
“So then,” said the judge, “The sack you lost contained three hundred coins, and the one the poor tailor found only contained two hundred. That means the sack that the tailor found was not yours!
And by law, if the owner of the lost sack can’t be found, it goes to the finder. And so here is my ruling: The sack goes to the tailor, and that’s the end of it!”
Play with Clever Hedgehog: Can you answer this quiz? (for kids aged 6–10)
Feel free to go back and look for the answers! Have fun!
1. What did the poor tailor find on the road?
2. What did the tailor do when he heard about someone having lost their sack of coins?
3. What did the judge decide at the end of the story?
Check your answers
a) A sack of coins
b) Returned the sack to the rich man
a) Give the sack to the tailor
The Tailor’s Gold: A Math Activity for 2-3 grades
The Tailor’s Gold: A Math Activity (2–4rd grades)
This activity is based on the “Reward” story and is perfect for practicing simple addition, subtraction, and comparison. Type your answer in the box for each question!
Word Problems
The rich man claimed his lost sack had *** gold coins (find the number in the story).
coins
The poor tailor found a sack with *** gold coins (find the number in the story).
coins
Subtract the amount found from the amount claimed: 300 – 200 = ?
