The Ghost

Long ago, in China, there lived a man named Wong. One day, he died and became a ghost. Then he began to haunt the house where he had previously lived. The people around never saw him, but they used to hear weird sounds. Sometimes, stone chips and sand fell on the house, creating quite a noise in the night.

Now, a man named Wu came to live in that house. Wong, the ghost, began tormenting him in the usual fashion, by pelting stone chips and sand at him. Wu was not afraid in the least. He endured this treatment for some time, hoping that it would tire and stop its activities. But not Wong, who, when he was alive, had been a man of great energy.

Tired of the ghost’s antics at last, Wu decided to turn all this into his favor. One night, he cried out aloud, “Thank you, Wong. You have been kind. At least you use only stone chips and sand. What would have happened to me if you had used heavy gold and silver coins!”

Wong, the ghost, flew into a rage at these words. So, he began to rain gold and silver coins on Wu.

From that day on, Wu never lacked for anything. He grew wealthy and prosperous.