In the old days, a poor and rather stingy Chinese counted his life savings (which he kept hidden under the floor tile) and realised that he had saved 30 gold pieces. So he went to the marketplace to buy something interesting for the first time after many years.
After going through the available assortment, he found nothing that would interest him. He was about to return home inconsolably, when suddenly his attention was caught by … a devil. The devil was pitch black, had slightly slanted eyes, tail, horns, red eyes, and he had a slight smell of sulfur. He sat quietly in the cage and watched the passers-by.
Our Chinese asked who may need such a devil. The salesman explained to him that such a devil is a very useful animal – he can light the stove, cut wood, paint the fence, cook, clean and many other things. A real handyman. At the same time, he eats as much as an ordinary person, and just like a human, he sometimes needs to rest and take a nap. His maintenance is therefore not expensive.
The merchant looked carefully at the devil and asked for the price. It turned out that it was exactly 30 pieces of gold and the seller is not going to drop the price. After some reflection, however, the Chinese man decided to spend all his life savings and bought the devil.
As he was about to leave, the clerk shared an important detail. Well, it turned out that the devil works intensively, but only if you always tell him what to do. He must always have a determined schedule for the day. Wake up at a certain hour, chopping wood for fuel until …, breakfast at …, 15-minute break for rest, etc. And so on, every day. “You mustn’t forget it!” – warned the seller. The devil, left to himself, will take care of his devilish affairs, which never ends well.
The surprised Chinese remembered the remark, took the devil with him and they went home. And in fact – the seller did not lie – the devil always did what his host told him to do.
He would get up without delay at 6 am, chop wood, sweep the yard, eat breakfast, rest. The owner was very pleased with him.
One day, however, the peasant had to leave. Two versions are known explaining the reasons for his departure:
The first one (for children) says that he went to visit his sick mother and stayed overnight to look after her.
The second (for adults) says about his visit with friends and the party was a bit longer than expected.
In both cases, the peasant simply forgot that he had to give the devil a task.
Alarmed, he returned home and saw from a distance that something was wrong. Fumes of smoke rose from where his village was located.
Soon he felt a burning stench, and as he came closer, a shocking sight appeared to his eyes. The village was completely burned to the ground, as the devil was sitting on the ruins and burning the child’s body in the fire…
Why such a nice story has such a terrible ending?
Who is the devil?
Who is the peasant?
Who are you?
What does all of this mean for your life?
Answer – now!
Found here.