March 29, 2024
Columns | The Times


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WRITE TEAM: Don't be greedy, be happy

As this is my final column and it is getting close to Halloween, I would like to tell you a story. When I was working at the La Salle County Historical Society in Utica, I was cataloguing all of the museum’s books into a computer. I came upon a collection of children’s stories. Taking a brief break from my labors, I read one. The tale is below:

Once upon a time, there was a beggar who went from house to house asking for food or money to sustain himself. Truly, he always wondered why some people who had so much were never satisfied. If he had merely enough food in his belly and clothes on his back, he thought he would be satisfied. He thought about a rich merchant of his city. This merchant had long ago been rich beyond measure, but he was not happy. He invested in ships to trade with far-off nations, but a terrible storm destroyed his fleet and his wealth. If he had wealth, the beggar knew that he would have surely been satisfied.

One day during his normal walk through the city for alms, Lady Fortune appeared to him.

“Poor man, I have wanted to help you for a long time,” proclaimed Lady Fortune.

Astounded by her radiance, the beggar asked, “How can you help me, a mere beggar that I am?”

“Put out your beggar’s purse for me to fill. I shall fill it with gold. However, remember this, should any of the gold coins touch the ground, they shall turn to dust,” Fortune warned.

Delighted by his good luck, the beggar happily nodded his head. She began to pour a cascade of gold into his purse. A clinking of coins filled the purse and it became heavy.

“Is that sufficient?”

“Not quite.”

“Your purse is going to break.”

“No, it will be fine. Just a few more coins.”

The gold continued to pour, and the purse was full with the precious metal.

“It will burst. You are already the richest man in the city.”

“It can hold. Just a few more handfuls.”

The old leather purse, weakened after years of use, could not hold the endless stream of gold. It ripped down the middle and all the gold fell to the ground, turning into dust. The beggar fell to the ground to save the gold, but to no avail. When he looked up, Fortune was gone. The beggar was just as poor as ever.

Psychologically, we are partial to stories. They help us internalize lessons. I hope this little story warns you about greed. Sometimes, we need to know when to cash out and enjoy our fortune. Happy Halloween and thank you so much for reading.

• James Durdan works on the family farm in Grand Ridge and enjoys writing about history’s philosophers and how their enigmatic quotations relate to today’s world. He can be reached at tsloup@shawmedia.com.