Once upon a time there was a miser. He hid his gold under a tree. Every week he used to dig it up.

從前，有個守財奴將他的金塊埋到一棵樹下，每周他都去把它挖出來看看。

One night a robber stole all the gold. When the miser came again， he found nothing but an empty hole.

一天晚上，一個小偷挖走了所有的金塊。守財奴再來查看時，除了一個空洞什么都沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)。

He was surprised， and then burst into tears. All the neighbors gathered around him. He told them how he used to come and visit his gold.

守財奴便捶胸痛哭。哭聲引來了鄰居。他告訴他們這里原來有他的金塊。

“Did you ever take any of it out？” asked one of them. “No，” he said， “I only came to look at it.”“Then come again and look at the hole，” said the neighbor， “it will be the same as looking at the gold.”

問明了原因后，一個鄰居問：“你使用過這些金塊嗎？”“沒用過，”他說，“我只是時常來看看?！薄澳敲?，以后再來看這個洞，”鄰居說，“就像以前有金塊時一樣。”

（偉大的饅頭 摘）