A woman was collecting money for a church charity. The money she collected was going to be given to poor children who had no parents to take care of them. She went from apartment to apartment and from house to house. She knocked on doors and asked for money. She always said the same thing, "Good morning, I'm collecting for a church charity. Please give generously. We need $5,000." Then she held out a collecting box. Most people put a few coins in the box.
An artist lived in one of the apartments. He opened the door. "Good morning," she said. "I'm collecting for a church charity. Please give generously. We need $5,000." The artist thought for a moment, then he said, "I'm sorry, but I don't have any money. However, I'll give you a painting. It's worth $ 400." The woman thanked the artist and took the painting away.
A week later she called on him again. "I'm sorry to trouble you again," she said, "but we still need more money. We need another $100. Can you help?" "Of course," the artist said. "I`ll increase the value of my painting to $500."
