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Buying
a good horse
There
was a king who was willing to pay a thousand pieces of gold
for a horse that could run a thousand mile without stopping.
For three years he tried in
vain to find such a steed.
Then
someone offered Let me look for a horse for Your Majesty.
The
king agreed to this.
After
three months this man came back, having spent five hundred
pieces of gold on a horse's skull.
The
king was most enraged.
I
want a live horse he roared. What use is a dead horse to me
? Why spend five hundred pieces of gold on nothing ?
But
the man replied if you will spend five hundred pieces of
gold on a dead horse, won't you give much more for a live
one? When people hear of this, they will know you are really
willing to pay for a good horse, and will quickly send you
their best.
Sure
enough, in less than a year the king succeeded in buying
three excellent horses.
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in vain |
If
you do something in vain, you are critical of their
extreme pride in their own beauty, intelligence, or
other good qualities. |
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