The Four Brothers is a Financial Independence story by Doug Weller. It tells the story of how enterprise, frugality, and wise-investing may not be enough to be rich.
Stories can be powerful for illustrating the lessons of financial independence. In this series, in each financial independence story you will meet explore a familiar fairy tale world with remarkable characters and magic. There’s action, and drama, and love, and sometimes a happy ending. Enjoy each financial independence story.
You can find another Financial Independence Story here.
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The Four Brothers – a Financial Independence story – by Doug Weller
There lived four penniless brothers who wanted to be rich.
One day, the brothers all met at the home of their father to celebrate his seventieth birthday.
“Look at us,” the first brother said, sadly.
“We are all poor,” the second brother said, miserably.
“And we want to be rich,” the third brother said, sorrowfully.
“What can be done?” asked the forth brother, despairingly.
Before any of the brother’s could answer the question, their old father spoke to them.
“I have lived my whole life poor. The only things I have of value in my life are my four sons and this oil lamp,” he said.
He produced a tarnished old oil lamp from an otherwise empty cupboard.
The forth brother took the oil lamp from his father, and said, “I could not afford a birthday present for you. But the least I can do is to polish your lamp.” So, he polished the oil lamp his father. And, to the surprise of everybody, from out of the lamp burst out a genie.
“I am the genie of this lamp and I will grant a wish to any person who asks for one.”
The first brother stepped forward. “I want to be rich,” he said.
The genie nodded and waved his hand. “I grant you the great gift of enterprise. Use it wisely.”
The second brother stepped forward. “I want to be rich too,” he said.
The genie nodded and waved his hand. “I grant you the great of frugality. Use it wisely.”
The third brother stepped forward. “I want to be rich,” he said.
The genie nodded and waved his hand. “I grant you the great gift of wise investing. Use it wisely.”
The forth brother stepped forward. “I want to be rich,” he said.
The genie shook his head. “Oh, did I not mention that I may only grant three wishes?” he asked.
“No, you didn’t,” the forth brother said.
“Oh, sorry. I alway forget about that,” the genie said, and in a puff of smoke the genie vanished back inside the lamp.
“Bad luck brother,” the first brother said, now filled with the gift of enterprise.
“You live and learn,” the second brother said, now filled with the gift of frugality.
“It’s the luck of the dice,” the third brother said, now filled with the gift of wise-investing.
The forth brother said nothing, but he looked forlorn.
Their aged father rose to his feet.
“My sons, each of you must now go out into the town and use your gift to become rich,” he said.
The first brother, who had the gift of enterprise, went into the town. He discovered that he could see opportunities to sell at the market where others could not. He found he could find buyers who were willing to buy. And, he understood that he had the energy and drive to capitalise on those opportunities.
“With this power of enterprise, I will soon grow rich,” he reported back to his father.
The second brother, who had the gift of frugality, went into the town. He discovered that he was able to always find the lowest priced goods. He found himself able to haggle even when the prices were too high. And he understood that he was able to resist the temptation to buy goods he did not need.
“With this power, I will soon grow rich,” he told his father.
The third brother, who had the gift of investment, went into the town. He discovered he knew where to invest his gold coins so that they increased fast. He found how to spread his money between different lenders so not all his eggs were in one basket. And he understood how to keep his gold coins invested a long time to make the most of the return.
“With this power, I will grow rich,” he told his father.
The forth brother, who had no great gift from the genie, went into the town . And because he had no great gift, he carried on his normal work as a lowly blacksmith.
The first brother, who had the gift for enterprise soon received more gold coins that he could have ever imagined. Everything business venture he entered was a success. It felt as if his success in business would continue forever.
One day, the first brother sat in the town square and drank an ale. Whilst drinking, he told anybody who would listen about his great gift for enterprise.
A small boy came up to him.
“You are the most enterprising in our town. I wonder why your robes are threadbare and you drink only ale,” the small boy said.
The first brother did not have an answer. Why did he work so hard to earn more gold coins if he did not spend them?
The first brother asked the small boy to take him to the finest tailor in the town and then to the greatest wine merchant.
“Certainly, I can,” the small boy said.
The second brother, who had the gift for frugality soon saved more gold coins that he could have ever imagined. Every thing he bought was at the lowest possible cost, and he bought only what he needed. It felt as if his gold coins would last forever.
One day, the second brother sat in the town square and counted out his gold coins. Whilst counting, he told anybody who would listen about his great gift for frugality.
The small boy came up to him.
“You are the greatest at frugality in our town. I wonder why you keep all the gold coins you save in a bag hung by your tunic, rather than invest them,” the small boy said.
At this, the second brother agreed. Why should he save so hard to keep his gold coins if he did not invest them?
The second brother asked the small boy to take his gold coins to and invest them with the greatest stock merchant.
“Certainly, I can,” the small boy said.
The third brother, who had the gift for wise-investing soon yielded more gold coins that he could have ever imagined. Every place he invested his gold increased in value. It felt as if these gains from his gold coins would go up forever.
One day, the third brother sat in the town square and reviewed his accounts. Whilst totting up his yield, he told anybody who would listen about his great gift for investment.
The small boy came up to him.
“You are the best at wise investment in our village. I wonder why you don’t start to use this money to start a business,” the small boy said.
At this, the third brother agreed. Why should he invest so successfully to earn more gold coins if he did not speculate on new business ventures?
The third brother asked the small boy to take him to the newest business in the town.
“Certainly, I can,” the small boy said.
The forth brother, who had no great gift from the genie, sat alone in the town square. He told anyone who would listen that he tried hard to earn more gold coins, and tried hard to control his spending, and tried hard to invest his money wisely, but at none of these was he as successful as his brothers.
The small boy came up to him.
“You enjoy your work, and you earn enough to support yourself and your father, and have gold coins left at the end of each week, I wonder why you are unhappy,” the small boy said.
At this, the forth brother agreed. Why should he not continue to live complaining about having fewer gifts than his brothers? He had so much that was good in his life. All needed was to choose to be happy.
The forth brother asked the small boy if he would like to take a gold coin to spend as he chose fit as a way of saying thank you.
“Certainly, I can,” the small boy said.
Some years later, the four brothers all met at the home of their father’s eightieth birthday.
“Look at us,” the first brother said, downcast.
“We used to be poor,” the second brother said, dejected.
“And we wanted to be rich,” the third brother said, desolate.
Before the forth brother could speak, the genie appeared again from the oil lamp in a puff of smoke.
“I granted three wishes to help you to become rich. Tell me, how have you all done?” the genie asked.
“I make so many gold coins through my enterprise, but I spend every coin that I make. So I am not rich,” said the first brother.
“I save every gold coin I earn, but I have invested so badly that I never keep the money. So I am not rich,” said the second brother.
“I invest every gold coin I have, but I have gambled away all the profits. So I am not rich,” said the third brother.
“And what of you,” the genie asked the forth brother.
“I could not make as much gold as my first brother, nor save as much as my second brother, nor invest as wisely as my third brother,” replied the forth brother.
The other three brothers commiserated the forth for he must also be poor.
“But, I am rich,” said the forth brother, delighted.
The other three brothers grew angry with the genie.
“You have cheated us. You must have granted our brother a secret wish. Tell us what you did,” they said.
The genie shook his head.
“Your brother has followed a path that any good man or woman can follow. He has worked hard for his gold, not wasted the gold on things he did not need or investments without good returns. Had any of you followed your brother’s example you too would now be rich.”
The first, second and third brothers turned to the forth brother.
“Oh brother. We have been fools. Please can you teach us to be rich?”
“Certainly I can,” replied the forth brother. “All I ask is that you promise to take time to look after our father, because family is even more important than being rich.
And so each brother followed the example of the youngest brother, and in time, they were all rich and lived happily ever after.
THE END
The Four Brothers – a Financial Independence story – Coda
In this story, the first three brothers have the gifts of enterprise, frugality, and wise investing. These are the three keys levers to financial independence. Make more money, reduce your spending, and increase your investment returns.
But the three brothers learn that being exceptional at one of these three levers is not enough. If you do not have a hand on each of the other levers, you can lose all the benefits these skills would otherwise accrue.
The forth brother doesn’t have any special skill for enterprise, frugality, and wise investing. But he does enough to keep money coming in, to spend less than he earns, and to invest wisely enough. In the end, he becomes financially independent just by sticking to these rules.
Want to read another Financial Independence Story?
Each Financial Independence Story is written to teach lessons about mastering your money in a fun way. Sometimes, reading dry financial advice can be a little dull, or too complicated at first glance. These fairy stories aim to refresh the parts that other types of money advice miss.
You can read another Financial Independence Story here. Why not start with The Young Man with Red Hair – a financial independence story?
And while you’re here – why not learn more about the building blocks of financial freedom?
You could also read why Medium thinks Financial Freedom is not a fairy tale.
I hope you enjoy this Financial Independence Story. You can let me know your thoughts in the comments below. My plan is to keep writing these stories similar to this Financial Independence Story – so if you find them useful, or you think they could be improved, let me know.