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One of my favourite short form stories is the one told by Leo Tostoy.
It's called "How much land does a man need."
It tells the story of a peasant named Pahom, who believes that if he only had enough land, he wouldn’t fear anything—not even the devil.
Here's how it goes:
Pahom lives a simple life but envies landowners. When he finally gets the chance to buy some land, he feels satisfied… briefly.
Soon, he wants more. And when he gets more, he still isn’t content. The more land he acquires, the more greedy and restless he becomes.
One day, he hears of a distant group of people- the Bashkirs— who are willing to sell land at a very cheap rate.
This is where it gets interesting:
Their deal is simple:
For a fixed price, you can have as much land as you can walk around in a single day.
But there’s a catch — you must return to your starting point before sunset, or you lose everything.
Excited, Pahom sets out early in the morning. As he walks, he keeps pushing further, thinking, “Just a little more land… just a bit more.”
He ignores the heat, exhaustion, and time.
By afternoon, he realizes he’s gone too far and must rush back before sunset. Panicked, he starts running. His body is failing, his breath is heavy, but greed drives him forward.
Just as the sun is setting, he reaches the starting point and collapses.
Dead.
In the end, his servant buries him in a grave.
Six feet long.
The lesson:
All the land he chased…
All he truly needed…
was enough to be buried in.
I hope that answers the question of how much money is really enough money
TG OMORI@boy_director
How much money is really enough money?
English
