The Tale of Three Servants

“But when that happened, you still wanted to maintain a lavish lifestyle. After all, working for money was beneath you. So, you borrowed five million dollars from the bank, with your house and grounds as collateral, and used that money for your own expenses. And when the bank required interest payments, and you had to pay them for the privilege of borrowing their five million dollars, you paid them with their own money.”

“This was all fine and good, but in the back of your mind was a lingering problem: One day you wouldn’t be able to pay back the five million dollars to the bank – because you would have already spent it. It must have occupied your mind constantly – and most likely, it was the cause of all those sleepless nights.”

“But you convinced yourself there was still time. That is, until yesterday, when the banker showed up demanding payment of the five million dollars. What could you do? The money in the vault was nearly gone – most of it already spent. You had an idea, but had never been desperate enough to try it – until now.”

“You knew the details of the youngest servant’s small investments in the local dairy farm. You knew his ownership in that business was worth a fortune now, and you knew that the youngest servant didn’t have a clue that he was rich – for, if he had known, he would have quit his job as a servant and fulfilled his lifelong wish to travel the world.”

“So, you decided to act on your worst instincts. You offered each of your servants a deal. If you died, you would give them each a third of your fortune, but in return, if any one of them died, you would receive their entire net worth. You knew this deal wouldn’t give you anything if the older two servants died, but you knew that if the youngest servant died, you would instantly have access to an investment worth almost six million dollars – plenty of money to pay off the bank loan and maintain your lifestyle until you died. Each of the servants entered into this bargain happily, believing you to be generous. But you were far from that, weren’t you? You were about to betray all three of them.”