介绍:
A cobbler spent his time in singing from morning till night. He seemed to be the happiest one in the world. In contrast, his neighbor, a banker who was very rich, sang but little and slept less. When by chance he fell into a nap before daybreak, the cobbler would awake him with his songs. The banker complained that God hadn’t made sleep a saleable product, like foods and drinks.
Then one day, the banker came to the cobbler and said, “How much do you earn a year, my friend?”
“How much a year, sir?” said the cobbler. “I have never thought of it, living as I do from one day to another; somehow I manage to reach the end of the year with each day bringing its meal.”
“Well then! How much do you earn a day, my friend?” the banker continued.
“Sometimes more, sometimes less; but the worst of it is that a number of days occur in the year when we are forbidden to work, and without that our earnings would be very tolerable.”
The banker, laughing at his simplicity, said, “In the future, I shall help you with your life. Take these hundred crowns, put them away carefully, and make use of them in time of need.”
The cobbler fancied that he saw all the wealth God had produced in the past century for the use of mankind. Returning home, he buried the money, and also his happiness at the same time. There was no more singing. He lost his voice the moment he acquired the money which was the source of so much grief. Sleep left his dwelling, and cares, suspicions and false alarms took its place. All day, his eyes wandered in the direction of his treasure; and at night, if there was a little noise, he would thought someone was robbing him.
At last, the cobbler ran to the house of his rich neighbor. “Give me back,” he said, “sleep and my voice, and take your hundred crowns.”
