THE CYCLOPS AND HIS TREASURE
There was a man who was prudent in his prosperity, although he was somewhat
too proud of himself. He enjoyed a comfortable life, together with his children,
but after a while he lost all his money. Suffering from spiritual distress (which
is only natural in such circumstances), the man uttered blasphemies and even
felt compelled to commit suicide, because he would rather die than live in such
wretched circumstances. Accordingly, he took his sword and set out to find a
deserted place. On his way, he came across a deep pit in which he found some
gold -- and a great sum of gold it was! The gold had been left there by a Cyclops,
which is a kind of giant. When this god-fearing man noticed the gold, he was
overwhelmed at first by both terror and delight. He then cast aside his sword,
took up the gold, and went back home to his children, filled with joy. Later,
the Cyclops came back to the pit. When he did not find his gold there, but saw
instead a sword lying in its place, he immediately picked up the sword and killed
himself.
The story shows that bad things naturally happen to bad people, while good
things lie in wait for people who are honest and reasonable. |