While growing up, I have been told many stories with deep morals behind them. These stories always helped me look at life from different perspectives and be more open-minded to different ideas. The most common story that I always heard was The Golden Touch. This tale really taught me that greediness could be your biggest destruction.
Once upon a time, there was a businessman named Caspar; he was very successful. Though he was never satisfied with what he had. One day, he met a magician who offered him one wish. After thinking really hard, he wished that whatever he touched would turn gold. The magician tried to prevent it, but Caspar pleaded that this was an amazing wish, and so, the magician granted it to him. Caspar was very excited with his new powers, and he was convinced that he would be the richest man in the world with all the gold he would possess. He soon started to turn everything he saw into pure gold, chairs, cutlery, clothes, rocks, all kinds of things. Shortly, Caspar felt hungry. As he picked up an apple to eat, he realized he couldn’t; it had turned gold in his hand. He figured that this wasn’t an amazing wish at all! He would starve to death now! Seeing his distress, Caspar’s daughter hugged him to comfort him, and, she too, turned gold! “The golden touch was no blessing… it was a curse,” Caspar yelped.
The moral behind this story is that “Greediness will always lead to downfall.” Caspar was a successful businessman, yet he wanted more, which he got, but nothing ended well for him. His daughter is now gold, and he can’t eat, which will lead to his death. He was never happy with what he had; he always yearned for more. This type of mentality is what destroyed him. If we apply this moral to real life, greed can slaughter most of humanity. We have already destroyed the Earth’s environment and it’s resources, due to our overconsuming habits. We should be happy with whatever we have; these resources are a gift to humanity, let’s not don’t ruin this boon. I always say this, and I will repeat it, take whatever we NEED, and NOT what we want. Be better!
