A Haitian lived in a large barracks with other sugar cane pickers. His hammock hung in the corner. On the day of his first payday, he got himself a pot to keep his money and put three pesos in it. At night, when everyone was asleep, he lay in his hammock and sang:
There are three pesos inside the pot, to the three pesos I will add three tomorrow.
One of the collectors, a cunning fellow, was awake and heard everything, but the Haitian did not know this.
The next pay day has arrived. The Haitian went to where the pot was hidden and put in another three pesos. And at night, lying in a hammock, he began to sing again:
There are six pesos in my pot, and tomorrow I will add six again.
The sly man heard and thought: “Tomorrow I’ll have to see where he hides his treasure.”
The next day he tracked down the Haitian and saw that he was keeping a pot of money under a stone. The sly man stuck his hand in and pulled out twelve pesos.
A day later, the Haitian needed three pesos. Not sensing trouble, he headed towards his treasure. And how surprised he was when he discovered that all his savings had disappeared! He thought for a while and said to himself: “Well, just wait, you scammer, you’ll fall for the bait!”
On payday, when everyone had fallen asleep, the Haitian began to sing:
Twelve pesos in the pot, twelve, to which I will add twenty tomorrow.
The thief heard everything, got up early the next morning and put the twelve pesos back in the pot. When the Haitian arrived, they were there. He took all the money and left. And the thief was hiding nearby, in the dense thickets. He sees that the Haitian has left and goes to the pot to pick up twenty pesos. But the pot was empty, and the thief said:
“Oh, holy virgin, the Haitian turned out to be even more cunning than me!”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru