One day, when Jim was eight, he was informed by his father that from that day on he would have to buy his own clothing. Today that seems almost cruel, but in those days it was not an outrageous act. Jim worried about it for a while. His shoes already had holes in the soles and would need to be replaced. How could he do it? He began running errands and collecting rags and bones for the junk man, but a great deal of this activity only made the holes in his shoes larger, while earning only pennies.
That summer brought a change in his fortune. An older brother had hired out to their father to help bring in the hay. He had forgotton that he had also promised to help at a neighboring farm. The promise to the neighbor had to be kept, so Jim begged for a chance to replace his brother in bringing in the hay. His father agreed, and paid him the going rate of 25 cents a load. Fourteen loads later Jim had earned $3.50.
Jim had kept his eye on the prices of shoes in the store, and $3.00 would buy a nice pair. But when he went to make the purchase, the clerk–upon hearing the eight-year-old was buying all his own clothing–showed him a pair for $1.00. Jim thought they seemed more sturdy and would last longer than the $3.00 shoes, but they were ugly, they had big buckles, and his peers would laugh at him if he wore them. But Jim decided that he could take the buckles off and use the holes from their attachment as eyelets, and he bought the shoes.
$3.50 minus $1.00 leaves $2.50. What should he do with the rest? Buy more clothes? He certainly could use them. But the budding merchant already showed keen insight into money management. He decided to invest the $2.50 in a pig, fatten it up, and sell it for a profit. But pigs need to be fed and Jim had no money left over for feed. So he went to several neighbors and contracted to take their slop buckets and return them clean. Of course the slop fed the pigs, and after a few months Jim realized his profits when he sold the pig.
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