The Greedy Man and the Envious Man
Once upon a time, in an old town that lay in the shade of deep-rooted plane trees, two neighbors lived side by side. One of these neighbors possessed a tremendous greed that was never satisfied, while the other harbored a deep envy that could not bear the happiness of others. The people of the town had grown tired of their bad nature and no longer knew what to do. One day, a wise traveler who saw the state they were in set foot in the town. The traveler decided to use his mysterious powers in order to give these two men a lesson in life. Approaching the men, the traveler announced the glad news that he would grant them the right to make a single wish. But there was one single condition, very special and surprising.
Whoever wished first would have his wish granted, but the other neighbor would be given exactly twice that wish. On hearing this rule, the greedy man at once began to make a treacherous calculation within himself. He thought that by getting his neighbor to wish first, he himself would receive twice as much gold. The jealous man, on the other hand, went mad with rage at the thought that his neighbor would gain more than he did. For a long time the two of them kept arguing with each other, saying, "You make your wish first." As time flowed on, the wise traveler, whose patience was exhausted, gave them one last warning. "If one of you does not make a wish within a few minutes, you will lose this chance forever," he said.
The jealous man, who never wanted his neighbor to grow rich, finally made his dark decision. Turning to the traveler, he cried out, "I wish that you blind a single eye of mine." In this way both eyes of his greedy neighbor would go blind at once, and he would never live in happiness. After the magic words, the jealous man lost one eye, and the greedy man lost both of his eyes at once. The two neighbors, victims of their evil intentions, were left alone in the darkness of their own ambition. Those who seek their own good in another's disaster always do the greatest harm to themselves. Sharp vinegar harms its own jar.