The Cobbler and the Financier

Name: The Cobbler and the Financier
Author: Jean de La Fontaine

A cobbler named Gregory sings cheerfully from morning to night while working, showing a contentment greater than that of the wisest or richest people. His neighbour, a successful financier with abundant gold, sleeps poorly and sings little. When the financier tries to rest at daybreak, Gregory’s singing wakes him, and he wishes sleep could be bought and sold. The financier summons Gregory and asks about his yearly and daily earnings. Gregory explains that he does not calculate so far ahead: he works from day to day and is satisfied with daily bread. His income varies, and he especially resents the many holy days on which he cannot earn anything, since the parson continually finds more observances. Amused, the financier gives Gregory one hundred pounds, telling him to spend it carefully and promising that it will meet his needs for a long time. Gregory regards the money as an unimaginable fortune and hides it at home. Yet the wealth destroys the happiness it was meant to secure. He stops singing and sleeping, becoming consumed by care, suspicion, and imagined dangers. Every small sound, even a cat crossing the floor, seems like the approach of a thief. Unable to bear this anxious life, Gregory runs to the financier while he is sleeping and begs for the return of his former songs and sweet sleep. He offers to give back every pound.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1678 · Genre: Fable, Didactic Literature, Moral Tale · 796 words

First lines

A cobbler sang from morn till night; / 'Twas sweet and marvellous to hear, / His trills and quavers told the ear / Of more contentment and delight, / Enjoy'd by that laborious wight / Than e'er enjoy'd the sages seven, / Or any mortals short of heaven. / His neighbour, on the other hand, / With gold in plenty at command, / But little sang, and slumber'd less -- / A financier of great success. / If e'er he dozed, at break of day, / The cobbler's song drove sleep away; / And much he wish'd that Heaven had made / Sleep a commodity of trade, / In market sold, like food and drink, / So much an hour, so much a wink. / At last, our songster did he call / To meet him in his princely hall. / Said he, 'Now, honest Gregory, / What may your yearly earnings be? ' / 'My yearly earnings! faith, good sir, / I never go, at once, so far,' / The cheerful cobbler said, / And queerly scratch'd his head, -- / 'I never reckon in that way, / But cobble on from day to day, / Content with daily bread. ' / 'Indeed! Well, Gregory, pray, / What may your earnings be per day? ' / 'Why, sometimes more and sometimes less. / The worst of all, I must confess, / (And but for which our gains would be / A pretty sight, indeed, to see,) / Is that the days are made so many / In which we cannot earn a penny -- / The sorest ill the poor man feels: / They tread upon each other's heels, / Those idle days of holy saints! / And though the year is shingled o'er, / The parson keeps a-finding more! '[1] / With smiles provoked by these complaints, / Replied the lordly financier, / 'I'll give you better cause to sing. / These hundred pounds I hand you here / Will make you happy as a king. / Go, spend them with a frugal heed; / They'll long supply your every need. ' / The cobbler thought the silver more / Than he had ever dream'd before, / The mines for ages could produce, / Or world, with all its people, use. / He took it home, and there did hide -- / And with it laid his joy aside. / No more of song, no more of sleep, / But cares, suspicions in their stead, / And false alarms, by fancy fed. / His eyes and ears their vigils keep, / And not a cat can tread the floor / But seems a thief slipp'd through the door. / At last, poor man! / Up to the financier he ran, -- / Then in his morning nap profound: / 'O, give me back my songs,' cried he, / 'And sleep, that used so sweet to be, / And take the money, every pound!'

Open reader

Similar titles

Genres

Fable — The work is a brief allegorical narrative featuring contrasting social types and ending with a clear moral: wealth can destroy the peace and contentment it is meant to secure.
Didactic Literature — Its plot is constructed to teach a lesson about happiness, material possession, anxiety, and the value of modest contentment.
Moral Tale — The cobbler's loss of song and sleep after receiving money provides a direct ethical warning against equating riches with well-being.
Narrative Poetry — The story is told in verse through rhymed lines, dialogue, descriptive narration, and a compact plot.

What this Textopian page supports

The Cobbler and the Financier is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, dated 1678 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Fable
Author: Jean de La Fontaine
Date: 1678 CE
Language: English
Genres: Fable, Didactic Literature, Moral Tale, Narrative Poetry, Satire
Length: 796 words
Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

Good citation fit

Work identity for The Cobbler and the Financier by Jean de La Fontaine
Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
Readability and classroom-planning context
Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph