A boy sat weeping beside a well.
A man approached - he was a thief! - and asked the boy why he was weeping.
"I wanted to hide my jar of gold coins in this well," said the boy, "but the rope broke and the jar fell in and now I can't get it back out."
The man immediately stripped off his clothes and jumped into the well, thinking he would steal the gold coins from the boy.
The boy, meanwhile, stole the thief's clothes and ran off.
The thief ended up with no gold, and with no clothes either.
Inspired by: Mille Fabulae et Una, a collection of Latin fables that I've edited, free to read online. I am not translating the Latin here; instead, I am just telling a 100-word version of the fable.
Notes: This is fable 910 in the book, which is Perry 581.
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