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Our Paradise
                                                       Ana Zahler          xiyvza@hotmail.com 

" THE GREED PUNISHMENT "

     Sometimes, it is good to remember the old stories the seniors told us
when we were little fellows. We should tell those histories with a good
moral to the new generations; so, they can learn important lessons
throughout its as we did. Forty years ago, there was not all kind of
entertainment as there is nowadays. Perhaps that was the reason the families
stuck together. It was more common to pray a rosary after dinner and spend
about an hour at the porch. The adults talked, the kids used to listen to
the stories that granny, grandpa or other senior member of the family told.

     One of those histories impressed me and stayed in the memory all these
years. I remember it a lot. I always try not to be like the personage of the
history in order do not be punished like him.

     There was a very greedy man. He had a small farm, a house, few cows,
pigs, a small coffee plantation and few fruit trees that produced him a nice
income. He tried to cultivate as much as possible to have more harvest to
sale. He loved to sale all kind of vegetables, meat and the whole coffee
crop. Every night, he used to count his money before to go to bed and fell
sleep with a lot of plans about how to do more money. His thirst for money
never had an end.

     He never got married in order do not spend money in somebody else. Of
course, he didn't go to church because the church asked for money. He could
never share his food with anybody. Never mind. He ate as little as possible
to save the vegetable or the meat to sale instead to eat it. The fashion
never bother him of all. Believe it or not. Sometimes, when he went to the
capital city to deposit his income, he was confused with a beggar or
homeless and people gave him money or invited him for a cup of coffee.Yes,
he look like an authentic miserable misfortune man...

     One day, he went up the hill to call the devil. How did he do something
that terrible? He would sale his own soul to the prince of the darkness for
more money that he could have. He shout at Lucifer as loud as possible. His
screams were heard around. Curious people went to the mountain to see why
somebody called the demon. It's said that the devil in person came to him
and asked for the reason to be called so hard.

"I heard that you provide money, gold and richness to anybody who asks for
it". The over ambitious man answered.
"How much gold do you want?"
"As much as you can provide".

     People behind the greedy man wondered why he wanted to have more money
that he had. Even an old lady run to the church to bring the priest to save
that man's soul.

"Well, let's make a deal. You have to close your eyes. I am going to pass
twenty cows in front of you. You are going to touch every cow and feel how
big it is. You are going to get the cow's weight in gold".

     A thunder light was slow compare with the speed the greedy man closed
his eyes. His smile was incredible. His ambition got sick too fast. He
started to touch cow per cow. He felt the size of each one and requested
more cows to touch to calculate better his weight in gold. Few people
worried, others laugh at him. The greedy man forgot he had to touch only
twenty cows...

Hours passed. The priest had the rosary, blessed water, a Bible and a cross
ready to repeal the devil. People were in great, tremendous, huge
expectations. Finally, the man selected a cow as big as a mountain. His arms
were like an ivy around the cow's body.

"This is the cow I want".
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, yes this is the cow in gold I want. Look at my eyes, they are close.
Oh! I am going to buy a lot of coffee plantations, I am going to buy all of
the cows in the valley and have the largest dairy factory, I am going to
have too much too much money in the bank. Yes, yes, I am going to have a lot
of gold bars..."
"Wait a minute" the devil interrupted "You forgot you had to touch only
twenty cows. This is the cow number one thousand five hundred. You won't
have any money again and the gold you wish to get, will be for the poor
people in this town. I said".

     The devil disappeared all of the cows, gave the gold to the priest and
leave between an ugly black fog and sulfur odor of decay. People made the
sign of the cross, the priest splashed blessed water around that disappeared
the terrible fog and odor. The greedy man almost turn crazy about his big
lost. His plantations and animals died that year. The bank that hold his
savings got in fire. Only the house and the land was left to start all over
again, to work in order to produce money. To start from zero to make the
necessary money to support himself.

Ana Zahler        xiyvza@hotmail.com