The Miser
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 and went to look at daily. One of his workmen observed his frequent visits to the spot and decided to watch his movements. He soon discovered the secret of the hidden treasure， 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 to make loud lamentations. A neighbor， seeing him overcome with grief and learning the cause，said， "Pray do not grieve so； but go and take a stone， and place it in the hole， and fancy that the gold is still lying there. It will do you quite the same service； for when the gold was there， you had it not， as you did not make the slightest use of it."
守财奴一位守财奴变卖了所有家当买了一块黄金。他把黄金埋藏在一旧墙附近地面的一个洞里并天天去看看。他其中的一位佣人发现他频繁地去看那个地方并且决定观察他的整个活动。佣人很快发现了埋藏黄金的秘密，他挖开泥土并把金块拿出来偷走了。在守财奴下一次去看的时候发现洞是空的，并且开始哭了起来和制造响亮的哀歌。一位邻居，由于受不了他的悲伤，也知道了他悲伤的缘由，便说道：“请求你不要如此伤心，然而去找一块石头放在洞里，并假设金块还躺在里面。你同样天天去看，因为当金块在和不在洞的时候，你都没有很好的使用它。”寓意：如果贵重的金子埋藏着不用，那就跟埋藏着的一块石头没什么两样，因为金子的价值因埋藏而等值石头。同时从反面告知人们，贵重的东西也不该放在冷落的地方。
