The Miser

A Miser sold all that he had, and bought a lump of gold, which he took and buried in a hole dug in the ground by the side of an old wall, and went daily to look at it. One of his workmen, observing his frequent visits to the spot, watched his movements, discovered the secret of the hidden treasure, and digging down, came to the lump of gold, and stole it. The Miser, on his next visit, found the hole empty, and began to tear his hair, and to make loud lamentations. A neighbour, seeing him overcome with grief, and learning the cause, said, "Pray do not grieve so; but go and take a stone, and place it in the hole, and fancy that the gold is still lying there. It will do you quite the same service; for when the gold was there, you had it not, as you did not make the slightest use of it."

From The Miser by Aesop, translated by George Fyler Townsend (1867). Public domain.

Check your understanding

1. What is the primary irony of the miser's situation as pointed out by the neighbor?

He sold everything for gold but it was stolen by his own workman.He visited the gold daily but never actually used it for anything of value.He buried the gold by an old wall instead of keeping it in a safe place.He tore his hair out over a stone that he thought was gold.

2. How does the neighbor's advice about the stone articulate the central theme of the passage? Defend your interpretation using evidence from the text.

3. Analyze the tone of the neighbor's response to the miser's grief. How does the author use this tone to convey the moral of the story?

4. Defend or challenge the following statement: 'The workman who stole the gold is the true antagonist of the story.' Use evidence from the text to support your argument.