Story | It Never Pays To Overreach Oneself

Once there was a man who was very stingy with his money. He had a purse that held all his wealth, which was a hundred pieces of gold. One day, he lost his purse and became extremely worried. He tried really hard to find it, but his efforts were in vain. He was so upset about losing his money that he lost all interest in life. He even lost his appetite and became very weak, unable to leave his house.

A kind friend felt sorry for him and suggested that he offer a reward to anyone who could find and return his purse. After thinking about it for a while, the miser agreed to the idea. He asked a person who announces things in the town, called a town crier, to spread the word that he would give ten gold pieces to the person who found his purse.

After a few days, an old farmer came to the miser and gave him his lost purse. The miser immediately opened the purse and counted his gold coins. There were exactly one hundred pieces. He thanked the farmer for finding it, but the farmer asked for his reward. The miser replied, saying that the farmer had already taken his reward. The purse originally had one hundred and ten coins, but now there were only one hundred. This made the farmer angry, so he went to the court and told the judge what happened.

The judge called the miser and asked him to explain the accusation. The miser gave the same answer he gave to the farmer. The judge then asked the miser to show him the purse, although the miser was not very willing to do so. The judge examined the purse very carefully and made a decision. He said that the purse could only hold one hundred gold coins, but the miser's purse had one hundred and ten coins. Therefore, the judge declared that the purse did not belong to the miser. Since no one else claimed it, he gave the purse to the farmer.