A wretched beggar，carrying a ragged old wallet，was creeping along from house to house；and，as he grumbled at his lot，he kept wondering that folks who lived in rich apartments，and were up to their throats in money and in the sweets of indulgence，should be always unsatisfied，however full their pockets might be，and that they should go SO far as of-ten to lose all they have，while unreasonably craving for，and laying their hands on，new riches．
“Here，for instance，”he says，“the former master of this house suc—ceeded in trading prosperously，and made himself enormously rich by commerce．But then，instead of stopping，and handing over his business to another，and spending the rest of his years in peace，he took to equipping ships for the sea in the spring．He expected to get mountains of gold；but the ships were smashed，and his treasures were swallowed up by the waves．Now they all lie at the bottom of the sea，and he has found his riches melt away like those in dreams．
Another man became one of the farmers of the spirit—tax，and SO gained a million．That was a trifle：he wanted to double it．So he plunged up to his ears in speculations，and was utterly ruined．In short，instances of this are countless．And quite right too：“a man should use discretion．，’ At this moment Fortune suddenly appeared to the beggar，and said：“Listen！I have long wished to help you．Here is a lot of ducats I havefound．Hold out your wallet．and 1 will fiU it with them；but only on thiscondition：All shall be gold that falls into the wallet；but if any of it fallsout of the wallet to the ground，it shall all become dust．Consider thiswell．I have warned you beforehand．I shall keep strictly to my compact·Your wallet is old；don’t overload it beyond its powers．” Our beggar is almost too overjoyed to breathe．He scarcely feels the ground beneath his feet．He opens his wallet，and with generous hand a golden stream of ducats is poured into it．The wallet soon becomes rather heavy．
“Is that enough？”
“Not yet．”
“Isn’t it cracking？”
“Never fear．”
“Consider，you’re quite a Croesus．”
“Just a little more；just add a handful．”
“There．it’S full．Take care：the wallet is going to burst．”
“Just a little bit more．”
But at that moment the wallet split；the treasure fell through and turned to dust；and Fortune disappeared．The beggar had nothing but his empty wallet，and remained as poor as before．
命运女神与乞丐
一个身背破旧褡裢的乞丐，在挨家挨户地乞讨。他一面抱怨自己不幸的命运，一面观察着人世间稀奇古怪的事情。那些住在高楼大厦的人们，有花不尽的金银财宝，生活应该很是富裕舒适。但无论钱袋多满，他们却从不知满足。甚至有的人还穷奢极欲，贪得无厌，最后落得倾家荡产，一无所有。
他说：“比如，那幢房子的旧主人，本来经营买卖挺顺的，赚了一大笔钱，但他不愿适可而止，安享晚年。却在春天派船出海，想从海外再赚一座金山回来。但是船在海上遇了难，大海吞没船上所有的金银财宝，船也沉人海底，他想发财的愿望也就成了泡影。
还有一位本来做着承包生意，已经赚到了上百万，可他贪心不足，总想再翻一番，结果反而彻底破产。总之，这样的例子难以数清。活该这样，谁让他们贪得无厌，不知满足！”
突然，命运女神出现在乞丐面前，和颜悦色地说：“其实我早就想帮你，我有一大堆金币。请你打开袋子，我要在袋子里装满金币。但是有个条件：用袋子接着的将全是金子，假如金子没落到袋子里，就会立刻化为尘土。一定要注意，我事先已警告过你了，我会严格遵守这个条件。你的袋子是那样的破旧不堪，千万不要装得太多，省的被撑破。”
乞丐听后，兴奋得差点喘不上气来，他似乎都有些飘飘欲仙，忘乎所以了！他赶紧奋力撑开袋子，只见闪闪发光的金币，黄金雨似的流进褡裢袋，袋子越来越沉。
“够了吗？”
“不够。”
“可不要把袋子撑破！”
“不怕。”
“瞧，你现在很有钱了，已经是大财主了。”
“请再给一点，哪怕是一小把金币！”
“喂，满了！你看，袋子就要破了！”
“就再给一点点吧！”
突然，袋子被撑破了，金币一泻而下，全落到了地上，全变成了尘土。命运女神消失了，只剩下空空的破褡裢袋。乞丐还和以前一样，一贫如洗，只能重新过他沿街乞讨的生活。
名人名言Easier said than done．说得容易，做得难。
