In a small village surrounded by green hills, there was a happy farmer named Harry. Each morning, Harry would water his flowers and feed his chickens. His farm was always busy and full of life. People loved visiting him because he was always friendly and had a warm smile.

Not far from Harry’s farm lived a man named Tim. Tim was different from Harry. He didn’t talk much and was always busy counting the small amount of money he had saved. Tim lived in a small cottage and kept all his gold coins in an old chest that was dusty and hidden away.

One bright morning, while Harry was feeding his chickens, his friend Lucy, the baker, came by with some fresh bread. “Good morning, Harry!” Lucy said with a big smile. “It’s such a nice day today! I just baked this bread, and it smells amazing!”

Harry smiled back. “It does smell great, Lucy! Thanks for sharing it with me.”

As they talked, Tim walked by with his head down, not noticing them. Lucy waved at him, but Tim didn’t see. “Why is Tim always so gloomy?” Lucy asked Harry.

Harry sighed. “I don’t know. He always seems worried about something.”

Later that day, Tim did something unusual. He took his chest full of gold coins to the big oak tree near his cottage. He checked around to make sure no one was watching and then started digging a hole under the tree. As the sun set, Tim carefully put his chest in the hole and covered it with dirt. “Now my gold is safe,” he said quietly to himself.

The next morning, Harry was in his garden again, enjoying the sunshine. Tim, on the other hand, couldn’t stop thinking about his gold. “What if someone finds it?” he worried. So, every night, Tim sneaked out to the oak tree to check on his gold. He never took any coins; he just counted them over and over.

One evening, Harry was sitting by his window when he noticed Tim digging at the oak tree. Harry wondered, “Why doesn’t Tim use his gold for something useful?”

One night, when the village was quiet, a thief named Jack passed by Tim’s cottage. Jack was always looking for things to steal. He saw some dirt that looked recently disturbed under the oak tree. “What’s this?” Jack thought and started digging.

Soon, Jack found the chest of gold. “Wow! Gold!” he whispered. He grabbed the chest and quickly ran away.

The next morning, Tim went to check on his gold, but when he dug up the spot, the chest was gone. “No, no, no!” Tim shouted in despair.

Hearing the noise, Harry and Lucy came over. “What happened, Tim?” Lucy asked.

“My gold! It’s gone! Someone stole it!” Tim cried.

Harry put a hand on Tim’s shoulder. “Did you ever use your gold for anything? Did it make you happy while it was buried in the ground?”

Tim looked sad. “No… I just wanted to keep it safe. Now it’s gone.”

Lucy said gently, “Tim, gold is meant to be used. It could have brought you happiness or helped others. But hiding it away just made you worry.”

Harry nodded. “You still have a chance to be happy. It’s not too late to find joy in other things, like spending time with friends or enjoying a nice meal with others.”

Tim looked around his empty cottage and said, “You’re right. I was so focused on my gold that I forgot to enjoy the simple things in life.”

From then on, Tim changed. He spent more time with Harry and Lucy, helping on the farm and learning to bake. He even planted flowers around his cottage, just like Harry. Tim realized that true happiness wasn’t in the gold but in the friendships and simple pleasures he had missed.

Lesson: True wealth isn’t in what we keep hidden away, but in the joy and happiness we share with others.