The Wind and the Sun's cousin fable: The Miser and His Gold
A free B1-level English story for language learners, readable online in 7 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
A miser buries his entire fortune in a secret spot he visits daily just to gloat over it — until it vanishes, prompting a neighbor's blunt lesson about what money is really for.
A Miser sold everything he had, and melted down his hoard of gold into a single lump, which he buried secretly in a field. Every day he went to look at it, and would sometimes spend long hours gloating over his treasure.
Um Avarento vendeu tudo o que tinha e fundiu seu tesouro de ouro num único bloco, que enterrou secretamente num campo. Todo dia ia olhá-lo, e às vezes passava longas horas contemplando seu tesouro com prazer.
One of his men noticed his frequent visits to the spot, and one day watched him and discovered his secret. Waiting his opportunity, he went one night and dug up the gold and stole it.
Um de seus criados notou suas visitas frequentes ao local e, certo dia, o observou e descobriu seu segredo. Esperando a oportunidade certa, foi até lá uma noite, desenterrou o ouro e o roubou.
Next day the Miser visited the place as usual, and, finding his treasure gone, fell to tearing his hair and groaning over his loss. In this condition he was seen by one of his neighbours, who asked him what his trouble was.
No dia seguinte, o Avarento visitou o lugar como de costume e, ao descobrir que seu tesouro havia sumido, começou a puxar os cabelos e a gemer por sua perda. Nesse estado foi visto por um de seus vizinhos, que lhe perguntou qual era o problema.
The Miser told him of his misfortune; but the other replied, "Don't take it so much to heart, my friend; put a brick into the hole, and take a look at it every day: you won't be any worse off than before, for even when you had your gold it was of no earthly use to you."
O Avarento contou-lhe sua desgraça; mas o outro respondeu: "Não leve isso tão a sério, meu amigo; ponha um tijolo no buraco e vá olhá-lo todo dia: você não estará pior do que antes, pois mesmo quando tinha seu ouro, ele não lhe servia para nada."
