守财奴_英语寓言故事

    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."
    词汇:
    extravagant 过分的
    thyself = yourself
    译文:
    一个守财奴,为了确保他的财产,卖掉所有家当换成了一大块金子,埋在一个地洞里,并且不时地去查看,这引起了手下一个雇工的好奇。雇工猜测那里肯定有宝贝,趁主人离开之际,他来到埋藏地点,把金子偷走了。当守财奴回来发现金子不翼而飞,便痛哭流涕,乱撮头发。一个邻人见状问明原由后说“你也别太痛苦了,拿一块石头再埋在原地,就当是那块金子好了,因为既然你永远不想用它,那么两者不是一回事吗”。
    该篇故事的寓意是:
    金钱的价值不在于拥有,而在于使用