The bartender gave him a drink and then continued attending to the others in the bar. In five minutes again the man said to the bartender, "Please, give me another one quickly before the real problem starts."
The bartender was so busy that he didn't ask the man what kind of problem he was referring to. He just gave him another drink and went on serving others.
Once again the man said to the bartender, "Please, give me one more. I'm in a terrible hurry. Soon I will be having serious problems."
Finally the bartender asked, "What is wrong? Is there something happening at home? What has gone wrong in your life?"
The man said, " I will tell you, but first give me one last drink. My most serious problem is just about to start."
The bartender gave him one more drink.
The man said, "Thank you," and started getting up to leave. "A serious problem has arisen. Even from the time I took the first drink I didn't have any money. Before you harrass me or punish me for not paying, before I get into trouble, I am disappearing. This is the trouble I was talking about." Then the man ran away.From:Sri Chinmoy,The sailor and the parrot, Agni Press, 1981
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/sp