A rich man had many employees working for him at his ranch. One day, one of his cows died and the rich man asked his workers to remove its hide to make a leather coat. The workers refused saying that it was infected with disease and the workers feared contracting whatever killed the cow. The rich man decided to remove the hide on his own out of stubbornness.  He worked on removing the hide from night till dawn and by morning light, the man fell sick and died shortly thereafter. 

This story came from an uncle of my dad’s who told him this story in his youth. My dad’s uncle said it was a true story from a nearby rancher who did die in similar circumstances.

I guess this was a story to teach those who heard it not being so stubborn. I see this story in the same light as similar stories I’ve heard from my dad regarding people’s negative qualities leading them to their downfall.