Look for the Kopeck
The miser heard that there was a man even more miserly than himself and set out to see what this person was like.Late at night, he arrived at the man's house and saw: the miser had turned down the wick of the kerosene lamp and, in the dim light, was checking his daily expenses, writing something down and crossing things out. It turned out that he was missing one kopeck and couldn't figure out what he had spent it on.
The miser knocked on the door. The host opened it and invited the guest inside, then immediately went back to counting.
The miser asked the host:
"Why did you turn the lamp wick down so low?"
"Otherwise, I’d burn too much kerosene."
The guest was amazed by the host's stinginess and, taking off his pants, sat down on the couch.
Dawn came. The host was still checking his expenses. He looked up and noticed that the guest was without pants.
"Why did you take off your pants?"
"What else could I do? If I sit in them, they’ll wear out."
The host was stunned by this and said:
"Yes! You are more miserly than I am. I save kerosene in the lamp, but you're even afraid to sit down too often so as not to wear out your pants."
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