It is a wise man who knows when he has enough. The effort to get more may result in misfortune and misery.
A tailor and a goldsmith were walking one evening through the woods and wondering if they should ever be rich men with gold to spare. They heard the sound of distant music and went to see what caused it.
The moon had risen, and on a little hillock they saw a band of tiny men dancing in a ring with hands joined, while an old man, with hair down to his waist, played on a pipe. This made the music which the tailor and goldsmith had heard.
They stopped and watched the dancers for a while. At last the old man beckoned them to join the circle and dance with the tiny men. Seeing how many they were, the tailor and the goldsmith agreed and soon were dancing as merrily as the best of them.
Then the old man took a pair of shears and cut off all the hair and beard of the tailor and the goldsmith until they were quite bald. This made the tiny men laugh, and they were merrier than ever.
Then all at once every one began to gather rocks and fill his pockets full. The goldsmith and the tailor did likewise, and then when the moon went down they all lay down and went fast to sleep.
What do you think? In the morning when the tailor and the goldsmith woke their hair and their beard had grown again, and the rocks had turned to gold in their pockets.
“Oh, this is plenty for me,” cried the goldsmith. “I shall now live in ease the rest of my life. I shall build me a house, and get me a wife and buy a horse and carriage. Oh, I have enough for my purposes!”
The tailor looked at his gold, and though he had never lived in anything but a room back of his shop, yet he said:
“This is not enough for me. I want a palace and many servants, and a whole troop of horses. I shall go back to the tiny men to-night.” So he hid his gold in a tree and waited for the night to come.