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The Perforated Coin

A long time ago, most of the coins used were not perforated. When a person did find a perforated coin, it was believed that this perforated coin would bring him much good luck.

In a small village in India, a man had a terrible job working in a factory. He was poor, not very successful and felt miserable. One day, as he was walking along a lonely street, he stepped on something hard and bent to pick it up. As he turned the item over in the palm of his hand, he realised that it was a perforated coin. Realising that it would no longer be considered legal tender, he placed the coin inside his pocket and took it home.

When he showed his wife the coin, she told him about the belief that such an incident was sure to bring him good luck and insisted that the coin be kept in a special container and placed somewhere safe. He agreed and that night, he went to bed convinced that his luck would change for the better. He was full of hope, courage and energy because he knew that since he was in possession of a perforated coin, he was sure to prosper.

True enough, his luck began to change for the better. He was offered a promotion and began to earn more and more. After a time, he had saved enough money to open his own business and from day one, he succeeded. Everyone around him said, "What a wonderful man! How well he works! How he finds all the solutions to all the problems!"

He told no one of his daily ritual of going to the safe place in his house each morning and checking to make sure that container was still there.

One day, many years later, when he was named the most successful businessman of the year, he was feeling nostalgic and wanted to see the perforated coin, which he was sure was the cause of such good fortune for him. He decided to open the sealed container and look at the coin. When he told his wife of his intention, she said, "Why do you want to see it? It's not necessary."

He, nevertheless, insisted, "I want to see the coin. Go and bring it to me."

He noted the look of trepidation on his wife's face as she brought the container to him but could not understand the reason for it. When he looked at the coin, he discovered that it was indeed, not perforated.
 

"Ah," he cried and said, "this is not my coin!" He demanded to know, "What is this? Who has changed my coin?"

With head bent, his wife looked down and told him softly, Then his wife told him, "The day after you first brought the coin back, a cat happened to walk past and accidentally knocked down the container. It broke and I did not dare tell you so I quickly bought an identical container and placed this coin in its place. I'm sorry."

The man was silent for a while and then, he burst out laughing. Surprised, his wife looked at him and wondered what it was all about. Then he told her that he finally realised that it was not the perforated coin which brought him luck. It was his faith and trust which had proved to the be the motivating factor in his success. The perforated coin gave him nothing but the will and the confidence to keep trying. It had given him the courage to realise his dreams and make what he had previously considered impossible happen.

Aneeta Sundararaj is the editor of 'How To Tell A Great Story' (http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com ).