Once, there was a greedy old man who lived in a small house with a garden. Beneath a layer of stones in a secret pit, he concealed all his gold coins. Every night before sleeping, he would visit the pit to count his treasure, never spending a single coin. Day after day, he repeated this ritual, hoarding his wealth without ever using it.
One evening, a thief who had been watching the old man’s routine waited for him to go inside. Under the cover of darkness, the thief dug up the pit and stole every last coin.
The next morning, the miser discovered his loss and let out loud, anguished cries. Hearing the commotion, a neighbor rushed over and asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you so upset?” The old man explained how his hidden gold had been stolen. Shaking his head, the neighbor replied, “Why didn’t you keep the coins inside your house? At least then you could have used them when needed, and it would have been harder for the thief to take them.”
“Use them? For what?” the miser snapped. “I kept them untouched, exactly as I meant to keep them!”
The neighbor sighed in disbelief. Picking up a stone, he tossed it into the empty pit and said, “Then you might as well have saved these stones—they’re just as valuable as the gold you lost.”
