Story illustrating the Evils of Avarice
To a poor man who had naught to eat but bread and onions, a foolish man remarked: “Go, wretched man, and bring some cooked meat from the public feast. Ask boldly and be not afraid of any one, for he who is modest must go without his share.”
Acting on this advice, the beggar put on his cloak and started off. The servants of the feast tore off his clothes and broke his arm.
Weeping, he cried: “Oh my soul! What remedy is there for one’s own actions? One seized by avarice becomes the seeker of his own misfortunes. After this, the bread and onions are good enough for me.”
A barley loaf procured by the exertions of one’s own arm is better than a loaf of flour from the table of the liberal.
Story of an Ambitious Cat
A cat who lived in the house of an old woman of humble circumstances wandered to the palace of a noble, whose slaves repulsed the animal with arrows.
Bleeding from many wounds, the cat ran off in terror, thus reflecting: “Since I have escaped from the hands of those slaves, the mice in the ruined hut of the old woman are good enough for me.”
Honey is not worth the price of a sting; better it is to be content with the syrup of dates than expose oneself to that.