This is the story of a shoemaker who was very poor, but happy. He lived so happily that he sang all day. So beautiful was her voice and contagious her joy, that the children stopped in front of her window to listen to her melodies.

Next to the shoemaker lived a very rich man who liked to spend all night counting his money. He tried to sleep during the day, but it was impossible with the happy songs of his neighbor.

Determined to solve this situation, the rich man visited the cobbler, carrying with him a bag full of money, and said:

—I want to do you a favor, take this bag and save it for when you need it.

And he left without saying more.

The shoemaker could not believe it, never in his life had he seen so much money. As the children watched him through the glass case, he sat down on his bench and began to count it carefully.

There was so much money in that bag that the cobbler was afraid of losing it. So scared was he that he took the bag to his room and put it under his bed, but he couldn’t sleep. Very worried, he got out of bed and put the bag in a drawer in the kitchen, but he was still very worried.

After breakfast, he thought it would be safer to hide the bag under a tile. But he still felt uneasy. With nowhere else to turn, he dug a hole in his garden and just like any treasure, he buried his valuable bag.

There was no point in trying to work anymore, he was too worried about his bag. There was no point in singing either, for he felt too sad and worn out to sing a song.

The cobbler couldn’t sleep, work, or sing, and worse still, the children didn’t visit him again.

In the end, the cobbler was so unhappy that he took his bag full of money and knocked on the door of his neighbor, the rich man, and said without hesitation:

“I’ll give you your bag back.” The worry of having her is making me sick, I have lost my strength and all my friends. I’d rather be a poor shoemaker like before.

Without waiting for an answer, he headed home.

The rich man took the money but he was not surprised, he himself knew it and was very clear about it: money does not buy happiness.