Barnaby the merchant was in a terrible rush one morning. He had very important business in the next town, and he needed to get there fast! He saddled his trusty horse, ready to go.

Just as he was about to hop on, the blacksmith, who lived next door, called out, "Wait a moment, Mr. Barnaby! One of your horse's shoes is missing a nail!"

Barnaby glanced down. "Oh, just one tiny nail?" he said, tapping his foot impatiently. "It'll be fine. I really must dash!"

The blacksmith shook his head. "A small nail can make a big difference, sir."

But Barnaby was already climbing onto his horse. "No time, no time!" he called, and off he trotted.

At first, everything seemed okay. The horse trotted along, clip-clop, clip-clop. But after a little while, the horseshoe without that tiny nail started to wiggle. Wiggle, wobble, wiggle, wobble.

Then, with a little clink, the horseshoe came loose and fell onto the road.

Barnaby didn't notice right away. But soon, his poor horse, without the protection of its shoe, stepped on a sharp stone. "Ouch!" cried the horse (in horse language, of course) and it stumbled, hurting its leg.

Now the horse couldn't go any further. Barnaby had to get off and lead his limping horse very, very slowly.

He arrived in the town much, much later than he planned. All his important business had to wait, and he missed some good opportunities.

Barnaby sighed. "The blacksmith was right," he thought. "That one tiny nail really did make a big difference." He learned that day that sometimes, taking a little extra time for small things can save a lot of trouble later on.

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