A Miser had buried his gold in a secret place in his garden. Every day he went to the spot, dug up the treasure, and counted it piece by piece to make sure it was all there. He made so many trips there, that a thief, who had been observing him, guessed what it was the Miser had hidden, and one night quietly dug up the treasure, took it, and ran away.
When the Miser discovered his loss, he was overcome with grief and despair. He groaned and cried and pounded his chest. A passerby heard his cries and asked what had happened.
“My gold! O my gold!” cried the Miser, wildly, “someone has robbed me!”
“Your gold! There in that hole? Why did you put it there? Why did you not keep it in the house where you could easily get it when you had to buy things?”
“Buy things!” screamed the Miser angrily. “Why, I never touch the gold. I couldn’t think of spending any of it.”
The stranger picked up a large stone and threw it into the hole. “If that is the case,” he said, “cover-up that stone. It is worth just as much to you as the treasure you lost!”
Moral: Saving and spending wisely and appropriately is a good thing if you do it for a good purpose. Otherwise, a possession is worth no more than the stone buried in the earth.