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.
Un Avaro vendió todo lo que tenía y fundió su tesoro de oro en un único lingote, que enterró en secreto en un campo. Cada día iba a mirarlo, y a veces pasaba largas horas contemplando con deleite su tesoro.
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.
Uno de sus criados notó sus frecuentes visitas a aquel lugar, y un día lo vigiló y descubrió su secreto. Esperando el momento oportuno, una noche fue, desenterró el oro y lo robó.
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.
Al día siguiente, el Avaro visitó el lugar como de costumbre y, al encontrar que su tesoro había desaparecido, se puso a mesarse los cabellos y a lamentarse por su pérdida. En ese estado lo vio uno de sus vecinos, que le preguntó cuál era su 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."
El Avaro le contó su desgracia; pero el otro respondió: «No te lo tomes tan a pecho, amigo mío; pon un ladrillo en el agujero y ve a mirarlo cada día: no estarás peor que antes, pues incluso cuando tenías tu oro, no te servía absolutamente de nada».
