Long long ago, there was a small village in the mountains, and many people lived there. Mike was one of them. He was a middle--aged man. The people in the village always laughed at him. They liked to show visitors how stupid Mike was. They thought this was an amusing thing to do.
One day, a visitor came to the village. “Watch this! ” a villager said and called to Mike. “Come and play a game, Mike. ” he shouted. Mike walked slowly towards him, with a silly smile on his face. “Look, Mike, ” the villager said, “I have got something for you. ” He showed Mike a $1 coin and a much larger 50￠（美分）coin. “Which one would you like? ” he asked Mike, holding them both out. Mike immediately took the 50￠coin. The villager laughed. “See how stupid he is! "he said, ” He always does that. How stupid he is! ” He walked away, leaving Mike with the visitor.
The visitor felt sorry for Mike. “Mike, listen, ”he said, “Although the 50￠coin is bigger than the 1 coin, the 1 coin is worth much more. Twice as much. ” “I know that, ” Mike said, “But the very first time I take the $1 coin, they will stop playing the game. ” Mike went away and left the visitor in silence.
