Weekend Story- The Old Man And The Faulty Engine

There was once an engine failure on a giant ship. Many experts tried to fix the ship’s engine, but none could. Finally, after all efforts of the experts failed, the owners of the ship decided to bring in an old man who had the reputation of fixing ships ever since he was a young boy.

The old expert came in carrying a large bag of tools, and he immediately got to work. First, he started doing a thorough inspection of the ship’s engine. As the old man checked the engine, the owners discretely watched him. They were curious- “could this old man fix the engine where so many other experts failed?”

After reviewing the situation, the old expert pulled out a hammer from his bag. He then gently tapped something within the engine. After a few moments, he asked the captain to start the engine, and magically it sputtered to life. The old man gave a smile of satisfaction. The engine was fixed. Putting the small hammer back in his bag, the old man left the place, promising to send out a bill in a week’s time.

A week passed, and the ship’s owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.

The owners were Indignant- “Ten thousand dollars? Why? He hardly did anything !!” So, instead of clearing the bill, they sent the old man a note,
“Kindly send us an itemized bill.”

As requested, he then sent back an itemized bill. It read-

Tapping with a hammer………………….. $ 20.00
Knowing where to tap…………………….. $ 9,980.00**

**Knowledge fees-knowing where to tap to fix the problem.