The Miser and his Gold

"The Miser and his Gold" is an ancient fable, attributed to Aesop. A man had a huge gold nugget, which he kept hidden in a secret place. He would visit it to take it out, stroke it, and speak words of endearment to it. Unfortunately, his habits were so regular that a clever thief was able to figure out his secret, and stole the nugget. When the man discovered his loss, he wept and howled so loudly that the neighbors came running. He told them of his loss. "But what were you planning to do with the gold?" asked one neighbor. "Were you going to invest it?" "Oh, no. Investments are too risky." "Were you then going to sell it and buy useful things?" "No! Nothing I could buy could give me as much pleasure as my gold." "Then you have lost nothing, nothing at all. All you need to do is to find a rock the same size as your nugget, paint it with gilded paint, and carry on as before."