守財(cái)奴

       A Miser, to make sure of his property, sold all that he had had converted it into a GREat lump of gold, which he hid in a hole in the ground, and went continually  to visit and inspect it. This roused the curiosity of one of his workmen, who, suspecting that there was a treasure, when his master's back was turned went to the spot and stole it away. When the Miser returned and found the place empty, he wept and tore his hair. But a neighbor who saw him in this extravagant grief, and learned the cause of it, said: "Fret thyself no longer, but take a stone and put it in the same place, and think that it is your lump of gold; for, as you never meant to use it, the one will do you as much gold as the other.

        一個(gè)守財(cái)奴，為了確保他的財(cái)產(chǎn)，賣掉所有家當(dāng)換成了一大塊金子，埋在一個(gè)地洞里，并且不時(shí)地去查看，這引起了手下一個(gè)雇工的好奇。雇工猜測(cè)那里肯定有寶貝，趁主人離開之際，他來(lái)到埋藏地點(diǎn)，把金子偷走了。當(dāng)守財(cái)奴回來(lái)發(fā)現(xiàn)金子不翼而飛，便痛哭流涕，亂撮頭發(fā)。一個(gè)鄰人見狀問(wèn)明原由后說(shuō)“你也別太痛苦了，拿一塊石頭再埋在原地，就當(dāng)是那塊金子好了，因?yàn)榧热荒阌肋h(yuǎn)不想用它，那么兩者不是一回事嗎”。
    金錢的價(jià)值不在于擁有，而在于使用。

詞匯：

extravagant 過(guò)分的

thyself = yourself