When Boris left school, he could not find a job. He tried hard and pestered his relatives, but they had problems of their own. He answered advertisements until he could not afford to buy any more stamps. More than twenty chief clerks told him in different ways that they were sorry but that there were no vacancies. Some commented on his lack of education; others told him to try again later, thinking that they had got rid of him.

Boris grew annoyed, then depressed, then a little hardened. Still he went on trying and still he failed. He began to think that he had no future at all.

"Why don't you start your own business?" one of his uncles told him. "The world is a money-locker. You'd better find a way of opening it."

"But what can I do?"

"Get out and have a look round," advised his uncle in a vague sort of way. "See what people want; then give it to them, and they will pay for it."

Boris began to cycle around the town and found a suitable piece of a waste ground in the end. Then he set up his business as a cycle repairer. He worked hard, made friends with his customers and gradually managed to build up his goodwill and profit. After a few months, he saved enough money to be able to buy various accessories which he displayed at his site. A few months later, he found that he had more work than he could deal with by himself. He found a number of empty shops but they were all no good: in the wrong position, too expensive or with some other snag. But at long last, he managed to find an empty shop on a new estate where there were plenty of customers but no competition.

Boris and his assistant taught themselves how to repair scooters and motor-cycles. Slowly but surely the profits increased and the business developed.

At last, Boris had managed to open the money-locker and found bank notes and gold coins inside.