Sir Walter the Ski Maker

This is a tale of a noble man.  I think he was living in the 1980s in Great Britain.  Sir Walter the Ski Maker  was a strong creator of the very skis that many of the children sought to play on the icy slopes of life.   It was a beautiful way to operate.  Walter opened a shop and soon every young child was giving him the child's business.  Sir Walter prospered very quickly, but Sir Walter was really prosperous to begin.  Sir Walter made a million dollars in the national lottery and did not know how to spend it.  In fact, his shop was handed down to him by his father and the million dollars sat in the sack that he picked it up from the lottory commission.  Sir Walter did not trust the banks and he did not think he needed to gain any interest so he just buried it under a base board in his floor.  Pretty soon, Sir Walter's Ski Making business prospered and the only money that Walter used was the money that he obtained with the sale of skis. 
This was exciting for Sir Walter.  Pretty soon, he had forgotten which floor board he put the money under and he decided it really did not matter because that money was not a necessity.  I spoke to Sir Walter once and asked him for a loan however and poor Sir Walter professed to me that he could in fact loan no money. Sir Walter subsisted on his income and he just did not know anymore where that floorboard was and he in fact refused to tear up his flooring.  The money Sir Walter had sequestered would not be used in his lifetime and likely would not be inherited unless someone else tore up the floor boards which Sir Walter was sure to tell them to explore.   I did not like Sir Walters approach, but it was his money and he could do as he wished.  The years went on and Sir Walter lived a formidable life.  He was blessed with children in his shop every morning and every evening he would take rest with a bottle of scotch.  He was happy and he knew it.  But I was living in a fancy house that needed shudders and I could not afford to put the shudders on my home.  Perhaps Sir Walter might have not wished to search his floor for his sack of money, but Sir Walter did not care, he never knew that my house needed shudders.  One day when Sir Walter was old, he could no longer make skis and he realized that he no longer had the income he had once had.  Walter was also surprised to learn that he no longer had the physical strength to ply up the floor boards in his home. This is not a big deal since one of the children he made skis for was now an older adult and could ply up those boards and look for Sir Walters sack of money, but the sad thing is that the King of the Kingdom passed an ordinance saying that no person who is not the owner of the house that he lives in could pry up the floorboards of any house he did not own.  It was a death sentence for any person to transgress.  Poor Sir Walter did not know what to do.  He went out of his house and came to my home.  He told me his story and that he could no longer afford his daily diet.  I must say that I was pleased to help Sir Walter, but sadly, his loan that I had asked for would have been there to repay him and had he given me that loan, I would not be repaying the loan to him.  I lived well, but I never got to fix my shudders on my windows.  I was glad to see Sir Walter smile when I was able to help him with his diet, but that did not last forever for I was older and I soon was plagued with the sickness that would be the end of my days.  I don't know what happened to Sir Walter but I can say this, if you can help a friend in his time of need and dont want to do the simplest of acts to do so, its not a major failing of yours, but that said, I must say that you can not expect that every day of your own life is going to be perfect so believe in the goodness of plenty and share with your friends and family.  It may be your day someday to be the one they share with and in that day, their house may no longer be as shiny and beautiful when you go to visit them to ask them for a carrot or a piece of cake.