The Prisoner and the Complainer

The watchman had tied a man's hands and locked him away; all night long he lay troubled, his heart aching. In the dark hours of that black night, a sound reached him: someone outside was moaning about his poverty. The chained thief heard these words and said: How long will you cry over hardship? Go to sleep. Off with you, poor man, and thank God that the watchman hasn't bound your hands tight together. Don't wail so much about being destitute, when you can see someone worse off than yourself.