Give me back my sleep and my voice,and take your hundred crowns !
By gxnfly
@gxnfly (1147)
China
April 14, 2008 3:31am CST
Have you ever read The Cobbler and the banker,by La Fontaine?I just read this story,and I what to share it with you,please tell me what do you think of the story after you have read it.Here it goes:
A cobbler passed his time in singing from morning till night;it was wonderful to see,wonderful to hear him;he was more contented in shoes,than was any of the seven sages.
His neighbor,on the contrary,who was rolling in wealth,sung but little and slept less.He was a banker;when by chance he fell into a doze at day-break,the cobbler awoke him with his song.
The banker complained sadly that Providence had not made sleep a saleable commodity,like edibles or drinkables.
Having at length sent for the songster,he said to him,"How much a year do you earn,Master Gregory?"
"How much a year,sir?"said the merry cobbler laughing,"I hardly reckon in that way,living as I do from one day to another;somehow I manage to reach the end of the year;each day brings its meal."
"Well then!How much a day do you earn,my friend?"
"Sometimes more,sometimes less;but the worst of it is,-and,without that our earnings would be very tolerable,-a number of days occur in the year on which we are forbidden to work;and the curate,moreover,is constantly adding some new saint to the list."
The banker,laughing at his simplicity,said,"In the future I shall place you above want.Take this hundred
crowns,preserve them carefully,and make use of them in time of need."
The cobbler fancied he beheld all the wealth which the earth had produced in the past century for the use of mankind.Returning home,he buried his money and his happiness at the same time,No more singing;he lost his voice,the moment he acquired that which is the source of so much grief.Sleep quitted his dwelling;and cares,suspicions,and false alarms took its place,All day,his eye wandered in the direction of his treasure;and at night,if some stray cat made a noise,the cat was robbing him.
At length the poor man ran to the house of his rich neighbor;"Give my back."
said he,"sleep and my voice,and take your hundred crowns."
Do you think that money is the source of all evil? I'm not rich at all,I live a frugal life,but I am happy about it.Of course I want to earn as much as I can so that I can do lots of things in life.Now I am happy,"work like I don't need the money",that's just a consolation for my minimum salary.I'm not sure that I can still be happy as usual if I happened to win a lottery or have a high-income job.If you are wealthy,are you content with your life?Do you think money make you happy?If you are living a frugal life just like me,do you think that you can be much more content if you have a high-income job?
1 person likes this
4 responses
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
15 Apr 08
Money cannot make a person happy, a person has to be happy from within. Money will make a person comfortable with all the gadgets and toys, but a man with nothing and a song in his heart is far happier than a man with a million dollars and a head full of worries.
1 person likes this
@kun2349 (23381)
• Singapore
14 Apr 08
Everybody can be wealthy in a point of their life.. But the problem is, are u able to live the life of a wealthy man for long?? It's easy to be wealthy but hard to maintain.. When u've got a sudden lump sum of money, do u think u still have the motivation to work for the measry thousands for every month?? Will u still care for those simple meals or rather, for status symbol, go for expensive foods?? Thus, money can only make us more happy only if we know how to maintain it and spend it wisely, and not being tempted by it..
@julyteen (13252)
• Davao, Philippines
14 Apr 08
wow! what a nice story. some says that money is the root of all evil. for it is not, it depends on the one having that huge amount of money. money is not our master but money is our servant. do anything with your money without hurting any people. i live a frugal life and i am contented of i have now. we are not here not for wealth but we are to spend our with our friends and family and we make sure that we we are gone the memories we left will endure to our family and friends.
@jewelenterprises (1996)
• Australia
14 Apr 08
I responded to a similar discussion earlier today.
No, I don't believe that money is the root of all evil. The saying is actually that 'the love of money is the root of all evil'... this I actually agree with.
Money doesn't buy happiness. Sure, it would be nice to live a life where money issues did not cause stress... as for being rich. No, I really don't want to be rich.
Ideally, we should control money rather than having it control us. As long as I have my family, my life, my health and some financial security I am happy.
One day I plan to be able to take a holiday and do whatever I want without having to consider whether I can afford to do it...but being financially comfortable is not the same as being rich. Basically I just want to be able to leave this life and give my children a better start financially than I had.
1 person likes this





