There once was a miser who sold all his possessions and bought a large piece of gold.
He buried the treasure in the earth near a large wooden fence. Each day he dug up the gold and admired it.
A stranger observed the miser’s daily routine and wondered what the man was doing. One night the stranger crept to the exact spot where he saw the miser and discovered the magnificent gold piece. He put it in his pocket and left the country.
When the miser discovered the empty hole the next day, he let out a cry of anguish. A neighbor heard the scream and came running to the aid of the miser. Full of grief, the miser told her the story.
“Stop your crying,” the neighbor advised. “Find a simple stone of equal size. Paint it gold and put it in the hole. Each day you can come and dig it up and look at it. The stone will serve the same purpose as the gold since you never meant to use
it anyway.”
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