Greed Does Not Lead to Good

A man went to the market to sell a basket of eggs. He put the basket on a stick and carried it over his shoulder. As he walked, he talked to himself:

"Here I am carrying three hundred eggs. I'll sell them at the market for a penny each and make three hundred pennies; but if I manage to sell them for two pennies each, I'll make six hundred. With that money, I'll buy myself a piglet. I'll raise it, and it will give me twelve piglets—all of them sows. When my twelve piglets grow up, each will give me a dozen piglets; and when those piglets grow up, they'll each give me a dozen more. Before you know it, I'll have a whole herd of pigs! I'll take them to the forest to graze—let them feed on acorns. They'll eat the acorns, get fat, and I'll take them to the market. I'll sell them all and make a pile of money. Then I'll buy myself a fine horse, shave, wash up, dress nicely, mount my white steed, tilt my hat, and off I go! I'll gallop at full speed—straight to the king's palace. When I arrive, I'll ride my horse back and forth in front of the palace from morning till evening; my horse will churn up the whole field with its hooves. And the king's daughter will sit on the high porch, watching me and admiring me. Then I'll propose to the king's daughter and marry her. She'll give birth to my son, and we'll name him Bogdancho. I'll go to the market and buy him some apples. When I come home, Bogdancho will run out to meet me at the gate, and I'll bend down, hug him, and say, 'Come here, my little son Bogdancho, come to your daddy, and he'll give you an apple.'"

The man got so carried away that he stretched out his arms, wanting to show how he would hug his little son Bogdancho, but the stick slipped from his shoulder. The basket fell to the ground! The eggs broke.

The man cried:

"Oh, woe is me! All my wealth is gone!"

He started picking up the eggs—the ones that weren't completely smashed—and suddenly noticed a man walking behind him on the road.

Feeling ashamed, he asked the passerby:

"Tell me, brother, how long have you been following me?"

And the man replied:

"Since the moment you started getting rich until everything fell apart."

More fairy tales

• Three Pieces of Advice Worth More Than Money
• The Punished Clumsy Bear
• Plums for Trash
• Mind and Happiness
• He who does not work, does not eat