Although the reader does feel something has been lost in a retelling of the story, the message can still be seen clearly. A very simple tale, which can easily be read by first graders, has the moral of taking pride in yourself and being happy with who you are. When the poor shoe-maker is given a bag of gold, he loses his friends and his happiness. He realizes money and wealth did not make him content. The coverflaps have a lot of praise for the illustrator. He has an interesting style, but his artwork does not grab the attention of the reader and can be overly busy and erratic. It is a shame the artwork brings down this otherwise excellent fable that should be read to all children in our overly competitive capitalist society.