The stingy man once heard that there lived on earth a man even more stingy than himself. The miser decided to go in search of him. And then late at night he reached the man’s house. He looked out the window and saw how the owner of the house had screwed down the wick of a kerosene lamp and, in the scanty light, was checking his daily expenses, writing and crossing out something. As it turned out, he was missing one penny, and he did not know what he spent it on.
The miser knocked on the door. The owner opened it and invited the guest into the house, and he began to count again. The stingy one asked the owner:
— Why did you screw the lamp wick so tightly?
— To reduce kerosene consumption.
The guest marveled at the owner's stinginess and, taking off his pants, sat down on the bed.
Dawn had already arrived, and the owner of the house was still checking his expenses. And so he raised his head from his notes and noticed that the guest was sitting without pants.
- Hey, why did you take off your pants?
- What about it? If I sit in them, they will wear out.
The owner was amazed by these words and said: “You’re even stingier than me!” I save kerosene in the lamp and every penny, and you are even afraid to sit down again so as not to wear out your pants.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru