Greed and Honesty
Once upon a time in a place called Seri, there were two salesmen of pots and pans and hand-made trinkets. They agreed to divide the town between them. They also said that after one had gone through his area, it was all right for the other to try and sell where the first had already been.
One day, while one of them was coming down a street, a poor little girl saw him and asked her grandmother to buy her a bracelet. The old grandmother replied, How can we poor people buy bracelets? The little girl said, Since we dont have any money, we can give our black sooty old plate. The old woman agreed to give it a try, so she invited the dealer inside.
The salesman saw that these people were very poor and innocent, so he didnt want to waste his time with them. Even though the old woman pleaded with him, he said he had no bracelet that she could afford to buy. Then she asked, We have an old plate that is useless to us, can we trade it for a bracelet? The man took it and, while examining it, happened to scratch the bottom of it. To his surprise, he saw that underneath the black soot, it was a golden plate! But he didnt let on that he had noticed it. Instead he decided to deceive these poor people so he could get the plate for next to nothing. He said This is not worth even one bracelet, theres no value in this, I dont want it! He left, thinking he would return later when they would accept even less for the plate.
Meanwhile the other salesman, after finishing in his part of town, followed after the first as they had agreed. He ended up at the same house. Again the poor little girl begged her grandmother to trade the old plate for a bracelet. The woman saw that this was a nice tender looking merchant and thought, Hes a good man, not like the rough-talking first salesman. So she invited him in and offered to trade the same black sooty old plate for one bracelet. When he examined it, he too saw that it was pure gold under the grime. He said to the old woman, All my goods and all my money together are not worth as much as this rich golden plate!
Of course the woman was shocked at this discovery, but now she knew that he was indeed a good and honest fellow. So she said she would be glad to accept whatever he could trade for it. The salesman said, 11 give you all my pots and pans and trinkets, plus all my money, if you will let me keep just eight coins and my balancing scale, with its cover to put the golden plate in. They made the trade. He went down to the river, where he paid the eight coins to the ferry man to take him across.
By then the greedy salesman had returned, already adding up huge imaginary profits in his head. When he met the little girl and her grandmother again, he said he had changed his mind and was willing to offer a few cents, but not one of his bracelets, for the useless black sooty old plate. The old woman then calmly told him of the trade she had just made with the honest salesman, and said, Sir, you lied to us.
The greedy salesman was not ashamed of his lies, but he was saddened as he thought, ve lost the golden plate that must be worth a hundred thousand. So he asked the woman, Which way did he go?. She told him the direction. He left all his things right there at her door and ran down to the river, thinking, He robbed me! He robbed me! He wont make a fool out of me!
From the riverside he saw the honest salesman still crossing over on the ferry boat. He shouted to the ferry man, Come back! But the good merchant told him to keep on going to the other side, and thats what he did.
Seeing that he could do nothing, the greedy salesman exploded with rage. He jumped up and down, beating his chest. He became so filled with hatred towards the honest man, who had won the golden plate, that he made himself cough up blood. He had a heart attack and died on the spot!
The moral is. Honesty is the best policy.
全优课堂2017届高考总复习限时规范训练:选修8 unit 1《A land of diversity》(新人教版含解析)
川普参观造价130亿美元战舰,承诺增加国防预算
是时候放手 Time to Let Go
国内英语资讯:Chinas top political advisory body starts annual session
在完全陌生的环境,建立人际关系也没问题!
全优课堂2017届高考总复习限时规范训练:选修6 unit 1《Art》(新人教版含解析)
停止抱怨,快乐生活
【名师小课堂】2017届高三英语新人教版一轮复习阅读写作技能课件:1 顺藤摸瓜法巧解细节题
吃早饭好还是不吃早饭好
外媒看中国:越来越普涨的中国婚礼,心累!
睡前做好3件小事,次日即可提高工作效率!
3年高考2年模拟1年原创备战2017高考精品系列之英语:专题21 阅读理解——社会生活、文化教育类(原卷版)
体坛英语资讯:Rio 2016 denies vote bribery claims
国内英语资讯: China clears 1,845 cases of suspects in long custody without trial
全优课堂2017届高考总复习限时规范训练:选修7 unit 4《Sharing》(新人教版含解析)
国内英语资讯: Robot offers legal assistance in central China
全优课堂2017届高考总复习限时规范训练:选修6 unit 4《Global warming》(新人教版含解析)
BBC推荐:3月必读书单
国际英语资讯:U.S. stocks rally amid Trumps speech, rate hike concern
全优课堂2017届高考总复习限时规范训练:选修7 unit 2《Robots》(新人教版含解析)
2017版高考一轮复习课件:必修3 unit7《The sea》(北师大版)
艾玛•沃特森推掉《爱乐之城》错失奥斯卡?
国际英语资讯:Kenyan president vows to enhance drought response
【名师小课堂】2017届高三英语新人教版一轮复习阅读写作技能课件:4 涉及数字计算的细节题
2017政府工作报告要点回顾
国际英语资讯:Latest round of Syria peace talks ends on positive note
向奥巴马学习管理之道
全优课堂2017届高考总复习限时规范训练:选修7 unit 1《Living well》(新人教版含解析)
国际英语资讯:Interview: Expert calls THAAD Trojan horse in S. Korea ahead of presidential election
如果CEO问出你不知道答案的问题,该如何应对?
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |