The sculptor

There was once a rich man who was also kind and generous. He had many friends and admirers. When he died, everybody felt sad and miserable. So some of his friends wanted to have a statue made of him to perpetuate his memory.

Unfortunately, everyone had a different opinion as to who should make the statue. One person said that a particular sculptor was the best. Another one said that someone else would be better. In this way they argued for several months. Finally they decided to take a vote. When they took a vote, they found that one person stood first. So all of them went to that particular sculptor and said, “You are the best according to us. Now please make a statue of our friend.”

The sculptor said, “He was such a great and good man. He was not only rich but great and good as well, so it is a great honour for me to be requested to make a statue of him. I can start right away if you want me to.”

They asked, “How much will you charge?”

The sculptor said, “I will charge one thousand dollars.”

They said, “One thousand dollars? One thousand! That is too much. We shall find somebody else. There are many other good sculptors.”

One person said, “Let us go to a certain young sculptor who is just rising in his career. I am sure he will ask for less money. He may not be well-established, but I tell you, he will do a much better job than this old man. Just because he is young, nobody knows him. But a day will come when he will become very well-known and famous.”

They all agreed to go to the young sculptor. The young man was very happy, delighted and excited to get this kind of job. They asked, “How long will it take?”

He said, “It will take a long time. It will take at least six months.”

They told him, “Don’t worry. Only do a good job. You don’t have to worry about your wages. We will please you.”

After six months they came back and they were quite pleased with the statue. Then they asked, “How much do you want?”

The young man said, “Two thousand dollars.”

They cried, “What! Two thousand? How dare you ask for two thousand when the old man who is so well-known only asked for one thousand.”

The young man said, “That is his business. He can ask whatever he wants. He is my teacher and I bow to him in all artistic matters. But I don’t ask him about the price. In this area I make my own decision. Whatever I feel is right, I ask for. So you have to give me two thousand dollars. Otherwise, I am not going to give you the sculpture.”

They said, “All right, what can we do? Now we have to surrender. We are very pleased with your sculpture; it is so beautiful. But before we give you the two thousand dollars, let us go and ask your teacher how much your work deserves.”

When they went to ask his teacher how much the young sculptor deserved, the teacher said, “How much did he ask for?”

They said, “He asked for two thousand dollars.”

The old sculptor said, “He is right, he is right.”

They said, “How can he be right? You are far better than he is. You are a great sculptor, an expert. You asked for one thousand dollars and he is asking for two thousand dollars. How can you say he is right?”

He said, “If I had done it, then I would have finished it in three months or even less. But he has taken six months. Doesn’t he deserve to be paid for the three extra months he has spent on it? If I had done it, I would have taken three months and asked for one thousand dollars. But he has taken six months because he is not an expert like me. He told you it would take time and he has done a good job. So now for another three months’ work you have to pay. Therefore he deserves the two thousand dollars.”