The Man and the Wooden God


  In the old days men used to worship stocks and stones and
idols, and prayed to them to give them luck.  It happened that a
Man had often prayed to a wooden idol he had received from his
father, but his luck never seemed to change.  He prayed and he
prayed, but still he remained as unlucky as ever.  One day in the
greatest rage he went to the Wooden God, and with one blow swept
it down from its pedestal.  The idol broke in two, and what did he
see?  An immense number of coins flying all over the place.