Once upon a time there was a White Knight looking for adventure. He came to a
village where legends told of a terrible ogre in a pit. Bravely the White Knight
took up the challenge. He would do battle with the terrible ogre in the pit. The
people remembered several courageous men who had climbed down into the pit, but
no one could ever remember one of those champions returning.
The White Knight stood looking at the deep dark hole. The opening was so narrow
that he stripped himself of armor and all unnecessary clothing. He took only a
long dagger, which he tied around his neck with a leather strap. After securing
a rope at the opening and testing it's strength, he gripped it firmly and began
lowering himself, hand under hand, letting the rope slip between his feet. Soon
he felt the smooth cool floor of the chamber. It took several minutes for his
eyes to adjust to the darkness, but soon he focused on a large mound. Then he
realized it was the bones of his predecessors, along with their assorted
weapons. A little way off, he spotted another mound, but he wasn't sure what it
was.
Suddenly he was surprised by the inhabitant of the pit.... surprised because he
didn't anticipate the ogre would be only as tall as a rabbit. The ogre raised
it's arms and screeched with it's squeaky voice, trying to appear a fierce as
possible. The White Knight picked up a sword from the floor and prepared to do
battle, but quick as a rat, the ogre ran into a hole near the second mound.
The White Knight followed and the second mound became clearer and again he was
surprised. Before his eyes glittered balls of gold as big as grapefruit and
diamonds as big as plums. With only a small part of that treasure even a
commoner would be a prince for life. The ogre lost it's importance in view of
this great treasure.
But the Knight had a problem. How would he carry it out of the hole? He had no
pockets. Who would believe him if he didn't bring back at least a piece?
He suddenly had an idea. He would take one of the diamonds in his mouth and
carry it that way until he climbed out of the hole. He could always come back
later for the rest. Hurriedly he chose one of the larger diamonds. It fit
comfortably into his mouth and he began the arduous climb out of the pit, hand
over hand, gripping the rope with his feet. Higher and higher he climbed until
the heavy exertion began to render him breathless. He would have to breathe
through his mouth in order to get enough air. As he took a
large gulp of air, the diamond slipped and stuck in his throat. The White Knight
choked on his treasure, lost consciousness, and fell to his death on the mound
of bones below.
You see, the terrible ogre in the pit was not the little troll. The ogre in the
pit was greed....greed in the hearts of men who desire easy treasure and the
hope of unearned gain. The glitter of this world choked him to death.
Then Jesus said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of
greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Luke
12:15.
Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please
authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances
dictate.
Thanks to Coffee In The Rain
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