The Drunk Who Burned His Own Harvest

A man piled up his grain in August's heat and set his mind at ease against the worries of winter. One night he got drunk and lit a fire; the wretched fool burned his own harvest down. The next day he sat picking through the stubble, for not a single barley grain of the harvest was left in his hands. When people saw the poor man lost and bewildered, one of them said to his own son: If you don't want to end up so miserable, don't burn your own harvest in a fit of madness. If your life has slipped away in wrongdoing, you are just like the man who set his own harvest ablaze. It is shameful to go scavenging for scattered grain after you've burned down your own crop. Don't do it, my dear: sow the seed of faith and justice, don't throw the harvest of a good name to the wind. When a man of ruined fortune falls into chains, the fortunate take a lesson from his fate. Knock on the door of mercy before the punishment comes, for wailing under the stick does no good. Lift your head out of the collar of neglect, so tomorrow you won't stand ashamed before yourself.