Once
upon a time, in a far-off country, there lived a merchant who had been so
fortunate in all his undertakings that he was enormously rich. As he had six sons
and six daughters, however, who were accustomed to having everything they
fancied, he did not find he had a penny too much. But misfortunes befell them. One
day their house caught fire and speedily burned to the ground, with all the
splendid furniture, books, pictures, gold, silver, and precious goods it
contained. The father suddenly lost every ship he had upon the sea, either by
dint of pirates, shipwreck, or fire. Then he heard that his clerks in distant
countries, whom he had trusted entirely, had proved unfaithful. And at last
from great wealth he fell into the direst poverty.
Read
it all here
