Page:Ramakrishna - His Life and Sayings.djvu/174

156 The barber now began to save all his pay and emoluments, and throw them all into the jar, but the greedy jar showed no sign of being filled. He now began to live by begging, and became as wretched and miserable as ever. One day the King seeing his sad plight, inquired of him by saying, thou wast fax happier and more cheerful, contented, and healthy, but with double that pay I see thee morose, care- worn, and dejected Now what is the matter with thee? Hast thou accepted the seven jars of gold? * The barber was taken aback by this home-thrust, and with clasped hands asked the King as to who had informed his majesty about the matter. The King answered, * Whosoever accepts the riches of a Yaksha is sure to be reduced to such an abject and wretched plight I have known thee through this invariable sign. Do away with the money at once. Thou canst not spend a farthing of it That money is for hoarding and not for spending.' The barber was brought to his senses by this advice and went to the haunted tree and said, r O Yaksha, take back thy gold,' and he returned home to find the seven jars vanished, taking with them his life-long savings. Nevertheless he began to live happily after it
 * Hallo I when thy pay was half of what thou gettest now,

262. It is very pleasant to scratch a ringworm, but the after-sensation is very painful and intolerable; so the pleasures of the world are very pleasant in the beginning, but their after-consequences are very terrible to contem- plate.