The Moneylender

A moneylender extended credit to anyone who asked.

"Trust builds business," he said.

When a drought came, many borrowers defaulted at once. The moneylender couldn't cover his own debts. He lost everything.

His apprentice started her own practice with a different rule: when defaults rose above a threshold, she stopped lending entirely until conditions improved.

"You're turning away good customers," merchants told her.

"I'm staying in business long enough to serve them next year."