The Fox and the Dragon
Once upon a time, a cunning but curious fox lived in a green valley where silver streams murmured. This fox decided to dig a deep and warm home for himself in order to be protected from the cold of the winter. As he scratched the soft earth with his paws and went deeper, a dark and mysterious cave appeared before him. A bright light that spread from inside dazzled the eyes of the curious fox and drew him inside. In the middle of the cave, on a huge treasure made of gold and precious stones, a frightening dragon was lying. The dragon slowly opened his huge wings, roared and looked at the fox with eyes that scattered flames. Although the fox trembled with fear, he tried to stay calm, bowed and begged the pardon of the dragon.
“Forgive me, great dragon; my aim is not to disturb you, I only wanted to make a warm home for myself,” he said. The dragon calmed his anger a little and thundered with pride, “All the gold under these lands belongs to me.” The clever fox looked around him and wondered what this immense wealth gained for the dragon. “Well, what do you do with so much gold; do you spend it, or do you give it as a gift to someone?” he asked. The dragon shook his head and answered, “I never spend it, I only lie on it and protect it for ever.” The fox raised his eyebrows in astonishment before this senseless situation. “What kind of happiness does it give you to guard a wealth that you do not spend and do not enjoy?” he added.
The dragon paused for a moment, because no one had ever asked him this deep question before. As he thought, he understood that the gold he guarded really brought him no benefit and that he had wasted his life for nothing. The burden of the meaningless watch he had kept for years suddenly fell upon the shoulders of the dragon. The fox, with a deep sigh, slowly went away from this dark cave in which the dragon had imprisoned himself with greed. Coming out freely into the daylight, the fox felt that the clean air above the earth was more precious than any gold. No wealth that is not used and not shared can bring real happiness to its owner. The goods of this world stay in this world.