Fortune and the Beggar

One day a beggar was walking along from house to house. He carried an old bag in his hand, and was asking at every door for a few cents to buy something to eat. While he was begging he kept wondering why people who had so much money were never satisfied but were always wanting more.

"Here," he thought aloud, "is the master of this house. I know him well. He was very rich. If he had been wise, he would have stopped his business and turned it over to someone else. Then he could have spent the rest of his life in comfort. But what did he do instead? He spared no efforts to build ships and sent them to sea to trade with foreign countries. He thought he would get mountains of gold."

"But the sea boiled in the storms; his ships were ruined by the waves. Now his hopes all lie at the bottom of the sea and his great wealth has gone like the dreams of a night."

"There are many such men. They seem to be never satisfied unless they can gain the whole world."

"As for me, if I had only enough to fill my stomach and cover my body I would not want anything more."

Just at that moment Fortune came down the street. He saw the beggar and stopped. He said to him:

"Listen! I have long wished to help you out of poverty. Hold your bag and I will pour this gold into it. But I will pour only on the condition: All that falls into the bag shall be gold; but every piece that falls upon the ground shall become dust. Do you understand?"

"Oh, yes, I understand." said the beggar.

"Then take care." said the Fortune. "Your bag is old. It can not hold much."

The beggar was so excited that he could hardly wait. He quickly opened his bag, and a stream of yellow dollars was poured into it. The bag soon began to grow heavy.

"Is that enough?" asked the Fortune.

"Not yet."

"Isn't the bag bursting?"

"Don't worry!"

The beggar's hands began to tremble. Ah, if only the golden stream would pour forever!

"You are the richest man in the world now!"

"Just a little more," said the beggar.

"There, it's full. The bag will burst."

"But it will hold a little more, just a little more." Another piece was added, and the bag burst. The treasure fell upon the ground and was turned to dust. The Fortune had gone. The beggar had now nothing but his broken bag. He was poorer than before.