The Acorn Trade

In the land of monkeys, everyone lived happily.The forest was full of bananas and coconuts—more food than they could ever eat.There were also lots of acorns, but the monkeys didn’t like them.To them, acorns had no value.The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the monkeys lived in a true paradise.Until one day… an owl appeared.
The owl said,“You have so many acorns here. Do you want to sell them?I’ll give you 50 cents for each one. With the money, you can buy shiny mirrors, combs, and all kinds of cool things.”The monkeys thought this was a great idea and sold the owl loads of acorns.

The next day, the owl returned.“If you collect more acorns,” he said, “I’ll pay 1 euro each!”The monkeys were excited and collected even more acorns, though they were harder to find.
On the third day, the owl came again:“I’ll now pay 2 euros per acorn—but I really need more!”The monkeys searched the whole forest but only found ten acorns.
The owl returned and bought them for 2 euros each.“You have no idea how important these acorns are,” he said.“If you bring me more in two days, I’ll pay 5 euros each!”
The monkeys managed to find just one lonely acorn.Two days later, the owl came, bought that one acorn, and said:“I still need more. I’ll be back in two days and pay 10 euros for every acorn you can find.”

The next day, a fox arrived with a big cart full of acorns.“Acorns for sale! Just 5 euros each!” he shouted.The monkeys were thrilled.They bought the acorns with all their saved money, and even traded bananas and apples when their cash ran out.
They waited eagerly the next day for the owl to return…
But of course…he never came back.

The monkeys had been tricked.Out of greed, they had lost their money, their food, and their happiness.
The fox and the owl split the profits and lived a very comfortable life.

Reflection

Not everything that seems valuable truly is.
Sometimes, we only want something because others tell us it’s worth something.Greed and blind trust can make us forget what really matters—and that can come at a high price.