The Miser and His Gold

A Miser sold all that he had and bought a lump of gold, which he buried in a hole in the ground by the side of an old wall. He went to look at his treasure every day, sometimes twice, and would spend hours gazing at it with delight.

One of his workmen observed his frequent visits to the spot and decided to watch. He discovered the secret, and digging down, came to the lump of gold and stole it. The Miser, on his next visit, found the hole empty and began to tear his hair and cry out.

A neighbor, seeing him overcome with grief, asked what had happened. When he learned the truth, he said, Stop your weeping. Put a stone in the hole and imagine the gold is still there. It will do you just as much good, for when the gold was there you never used it. Wealth unused might as well not exist.