The king's treasurer

One day a king’s minister said to him, “O King, you never take me seriously. But, your Highness, I have something to tell you. The man who used to be in charge of your treasury was not sincere. You always thought that he was very sincere, but I tell you, he was not.”

The king said, “How do you know? Can you prove this?”

The minister said, “Two months ago he died. Now I see that his sons have opened very big and expensive shops. When their father was alive, they lived simple lives. Now they are getting married and are spending large amounts of money.”

“What does that prove?” the king asked.

The minister said, “This proves that the treasurer was stealing things from you and saving them for his sons. This shows that he was not an honest man.”

The king asked, “Now what should we do?”

The minister said, “Let us transfer our hidden treasures to some other place.”

The king said, “No, no, don’t worry! It is not necessary to transfer them.”

The minister said, “Perhaps he has told someone the secrets of the treasury.”

The king said, “Don’t waste my time telling me what he might have done. Investigate more!”

The minister said, “I have investigated. Quite recently I asked someone to pretend he was a spy and tell your rival, the neighbouring king, that he would be willing to offer him the secrets of your treasury. But the neighbouring king was not at all interested in hearing the secrets.”

The king said, “What does this prove?”

The minister said, “You two are rivals and you are richer than he is. For him not to want to learn the secrets of your treasury is very strange. It means that he had already been told the secrets by your former treasurer. That is why he was not at all interested in learning them.”

The king understood what the minister was trying to tell him. He said, “Let us put our wealth somewhere else. And let us investigate his sons who are now leading a very, very luxurious life — a life of great pomp.”