Aesop's Fables: Townsend (1867)
38. The Miser (Perry 225)
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.'
George Fyler Townsend's translation of the fables, first published in 1867, is
in the public domain and can be found at many websites, including Project
Gutenberg.
Illustrations come from: Aesop's Fables, by George Fyler Townsend, with
illustrations by Harrison Weir, 1867, at Google
Books. |