A miser, to make sure of his property, sold all that he had and converted it into a great lump of gold, which he hid in a hole in the ground, and went continually to visit and inspect it. This roused the curiosity of one of his workmen, who, suspecting that there was a treasure, when his master's back was turned, went to the spot, and stole it away.
When the miser returned and found the place empty, he wept and tore his hair. But a neighbour who saw him in this extravagant grief, and learned the cause of it, said,“Fret yourself no longer, but take a stone and put it in the same place, and think that it is your lump of gold;for, as you never meant to use it, the one will do you as much good as the other.”
一個守財(cái)奴,為了確保自己的財(cái)產(chǎn)不貶值,便把所有東西都變賣了,換成一大塊金子。他把金子藏在地洞里,并且經(jīng)常到那里去查看。他的行為引起了一個幫工的好奇;他猜想那里必定有寶藏,所以當(dāng)他主人不在時,便跑到地洞里,把金子偷走了。
守財(cái)奴回來后發(fā)現(xiàn)洞里空無一物,急得捶胸痛哭。一個鄰居看見他那傷心欲絕的樣子,問明原因后說:“別傷心了,拿塊石頭放在原處,當(dāng)作是你那塊金子就行了。既然你從不打算用它,那么,石頭和金塊對你來說不都是一樣嘛?!?/p>