English Original
Once upon a time, there was a miser. He hid his gold under a tree and would dig it up every week to look at it.
One night, a robber stole all the gold. When the miser returned, he found nothing but an empty hole. He was shocked and burst into tears.
His neighbors gathered around him. He explained how he used to visit his gold.
"Did you ever take any of it out?" asked one neighbor.
"No," he replied, "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."
中文翻译
从前，有一个守财奴。他把金子藏在一棵树下，每周都会挖出来看一看。
一天晚上，一个强盗偷走了所有的金子。守财奴再来时，发现只剩下一个空空的洞。他大吃一惊，随即嚎啕大哭。
邻居们闻声围拢过来。守财奴告诉他们自己过去是如何来看金子的。
一位邻居问道：“你曾经拿出过一些来用吗？”
“没有，”他回答，“我只是来看看。”
“那么，以后就再来看这个洞吧，”邻居说，“这和看金子没什么两样。”