Na prelepo 2020! Da bi prepoznali prave vrednote in na zdravih temeljih gradili svoje kraljestvo.
Mimo drevesa, pod katerim je strašilo, je šel brivec in zaslišal glas, ki je rekel: »Ali bi rad imel sedmero vrčev zlata?« Brivec se je ozrl naokrog, na i opazil nikogar. Vzbudil pa se mu je pohlep in željno je zaklical: »Da, seveda bi.«
»Tedaj pojdi takoj domov,« je naročil glas, »in tam jih boš našel.«
Brivec je tekel vso pot do doma. In res, doma ga je čakalo sedem vrčev; vsi so bili polni zlata, razen enega, ki je bil napolnjen le do polovice. Brivec pa se ni mogel sprijazniti s tem polovičnim vrčem. Začutil je silno potrebo, da bi ga napolnil, sicer preprosto ne bo mogel biti srečen.
Dal je pretopiti ves družinski nakit v zlatnike in jih stresel v polprazni vrč. Vendar se vrč ni nič bolj napolni. To ga je strašno jezilo! Varčeval je, skoparil in stradal, sam in njegova družina. A vse zaman. Ne glede na to, koliko zlata je zmetal v vrč, je ta ostal napolnjen le do polovice.
Nekega dne je prosil kralja, naj mu poviša plačo. Res so mu jo podvojili in spet se je nadaljeval boj za napolnitev vrča. Začel je celo beračiti. Vrč je lakomno pogoltnil vsak zlatnik, ki ga je vrgel vanj, a je trmasto ostal polprazen.
Zdaj je kralj opazil, kako ubog in sestradan je videti brivec. »Kaj je narobe s teboj?« je vprašal. »Bil si tako srečen in zadovoljen, ko si imel nižjo plačo. Zdaj, ko se ti je podvojila, pa si tako uničen in potrt. Pa ne, da imaš pri sebi sedmero vrčev zlata?«
Brivec je osupnil. »Kdo ti je to povedal, veličanstvo?« je vprašal.
Kralj se je zasmejal. »To so vendar očitna znamenja za človeka, ki mu duh ponudi sedmero vrčev. Nekoč jih je ponudil tudi meni. Vprašal sem, ali se ta denar lahko porabi, ali je samo za kopičenje, in duh je izginil brez besede. Tega denarja ne moreš porabiti. S seboj prinaša le nujo po kopičenju. Pojdi in vrni ga duhu še ta trenutek in spet boš srečen.«
(Slovenian above | English below)
To a beautiful 2020! And to recognize true values and to build a kingdom on sound foundations.
A barber was passing under a haunted tree when he heard a voice say, »Would you like to have the seven jars of gold?« He looked around and saw no one. But his greed was aroused, so he shouted eagerly, »Yes, I certainly would.«
»Then go home at once,« said the voice. »You will find them there.«
The barber ran all the way home. Sure enough, there were the seven jars – all full of gold, except for one that was only half full. Now the barber could not bear the thought of having a half-filled jar. He felt a violent urge to fill it or he simply would not be happy.
So he had all the jewelry of his family melted into coins and poured them into the half-filled jar. But the jar remained as half-filled as before. This was exasperating! He saved and skimped and starved himself and his family. To no avail. No matter how much gold he put into the jar it remained half-filled.
So, one day he begged the king to increase his salary. His salary was doubled. Again the fight to fill the jar was on. He even took to begging. The jar devoured every gold coin thrown into it but remained stubbornly half-filled.
The king now noticed how starved the barber looked. »What is wrong with you?« he asked. »You were so happy and contented when your salary was smaller. Now it has been doubled and you are so worn out and dejected. Can it be that you have the seven jars of gold with you?«
The barber was astonished, »Who told you this, Your Majesty?« he asked.
The king laughed. »But these are obviously the symptoms of the person to who the ghost has given the seven jars. He once offered them to me. When I asked if this money could be spent or was merely to be hoarded he vanished without a word. That money cannot be spent. It only brings with it the compulsion to hoard. Go and give it back to the ghost this minute and you will be happy again.«
⟡
Almira Ćatović 