The Sword of Wood

Once there was a king who wanted to find out the secret of happiness, so he dressed himself in pauper's clothing and went to visit the poorest parts of his kingdom. He came upon one of the smallest, poorest houses he'd ever seen from which he heard a curious sound. There was a fiddle and a man singing a joyous song. He knocked on the door and the man invited him in to a meal and an evening of wonderful songs. He asked what the man did and he answered he repaired shoes. By the end of each day, he would earn enough to buy food for a delicious meal. He was a man of great faith, and each day he lived earning just enough money for sustenance that day. The king was amazed at this, but secretly wondered what this man would do if he outlawed shoe repairing. The next day the king did just that. Then later that night, curious, he returned to the little house to find the man was singing and rejoicing again. He invited him in once again to share his meal. When the king asked, he found out that the man, upon discovering that his profession had been outlawed, went and found another profession- this time, chopping wood. But the king, curious to continue his experiment outlawed that profession, and the next and the next and each time he returned to the little cottage to find that the man of great faith was still happy. Finally, the man decided to talk to the king's guards and get a job there, for he thought, "The king could never outlaw his own guards." And each day, he made enough for a hot meal. Then the king, knowing he couldn't outlaw his own guards decided to tell the head guard to only pay everyone once a month. Then the king dressed again in a pauper's clothing, knowing that the man had not gotten paid at the end of the day, visited the house again. But, it was exactly the same as before. The man explained that when he got the news of being paid once a month, he decided to pawn the blade of the sword for money for food, and at the end of the month when he got paid, he would replace the blade. The king thought of what he might do, so the next day he called all his guards to the courtyard. Before him knelt a man to be executed. He called the man of great faith forward and asked him to do it. The man thought for a minute, with all the people of the kingdom looking on. Then he raised his head toward the sky and he said, "I have always had great faith. If this man is should be killed, then let him be killed. But if he should not, may my sword be turned into wood". Then he pulled out his sword and all the people were amazed to see that it was made out of wood! The king himself, knowing what had happened, couldn't help but laugh. He revealed himself as the poor man who had been visiting him night after night, then he appointed him as one of his royal advisors. When he did, the man of great faith accepted and said he only had two requests: 1. That he be paid everyday and 2. That the king never outlaw his profession again.


Best-loved Stories Told at the National Storytelling Festival. Jonesborough, Tenn: National Storytelling Press, 1991.

Chesterton, G K. The Sword of Wood: A Story. London: E. Mathews & Marrot, 1928.

Lipman, Doug. "The Sword of Wood." The Hasidic Stories Home Page. Doug Lipman, 1997.Web. 28 Apr. 2011. http://www.hasidicstories.com/Stories/Nachman_of_Bratslav/sword_wood.html

Patai, Rapheal. Gates to the Old City: A Book of Jewish Legends. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1981.

This story is great for older kids and adults. There's a bit a repetition. It would be great for the language learning classroom, with lots of potential for retelling. As an activity we could read different versions of the story and then students could create their own. Also, in re-writing the story, students would have a chance to feature the grammar points the class is covering.