A merchant was driving to Frankfurt for a trade fair and on the road, on the street of one of the villages, lost a wallet containing 800 gulden. A huge amount at that time. The horse was worth 40 gulden. Therefore, the loss of money, for which you could buy 20 horses, is, you understand, an annoying loss.

A local carpenter walked along the road and found a heavy wallet. brought him home. Nobody told him about it, but hid in anticipation of the owner's appearance of the lost wallet - you will have to give. If they do not agree, that is another matter. But under any circumstances we have to wait.

The next Sunday, the priest announced in the church that 800 guldenes were lost and that the one who finds them and returns will be paid 100 guldenes in reward. The honest carpenter brought the money to the pastor. He asked the merchant to come.
The merchant arrived. I took the wallet. He counted the money and gave the carpenter not promised 100 gulden, but only 5, and accompanied it with very offensive words:
And you took a hundred gulden without your permission, because you had 900 gulden in your wallet!
In this dishonest way, the greedy trader decided to trick and save. Plotnik, of course, was outraged that he was accused of theft and stated:
I didn’t take a single gulden, not a hundred. I am a believer.
The priest confirmed that the carpenter was indeed a decent and deeply believing man who kept the commandments of God, and therefore he could not take that hundred gulden. But the greedy merchant insisted on his own. They argued for a long time, and then the priest took both the carpenter and the merchant to the court of the city of Frankfurt.

The case was considered for several days and became the subject of numerous quarrels for the citizens. Therefore, on the day of the court session and the announcement of the verdict, the court building was overcrowded. Everyone was interested in how the money dispute would end. The judge first asked the buyer:
Can you swear that you lost exactly 900 Gulden?
The merchant didn’t even blink his eye, placed his hand on the Bible and swore. At that time, swearing on the Bible was, well, a very serious matter. Then the judge addressed the carpenter:
Can you swear that you have found 800 Guldens?
The honest master quietly laid his hand on the Bible and also swore. Then the judge announced his decision:
The case is obvious. The wallet found by the carpenter does not belong to the merchant because he lost 900 gulden. Therefore, the wallet and 800 gulden are handed over to the carpenter and he can dispose of the money at his discretion. The buyer must continue to search for his wallet, which contained 900 gulden!
So the merchant lost his money and his honourable name.

The judge’s sentence was wise and just, because greed and evil punished themselves.
The parable is dated to 1506 from the book “Scherz und Ernst” by the writer and preacher Johannes Paulie.