The Miser
A miser, to make sure of his property, sold all that he had and converted it into a great lump of gold. He then hid the gold 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. A neighbor who saw him in this extravagant grief, and learned the cause of it, said, "Fret yourself no longer, but take a stone and put it in the same place. Think that it is your lump of gold. As you never meant to use it, the one will do you as much good as the other."
The worth of money is not in its possession, but in its use.