“囚人，告诉我，谁把你捆起来的？”

“是我的主人，”囚人说。“我以为我的财富与权力胜过世界上一切的人，我把我的国王的钱财聚敛在自己的宝库里。我昏困不过，睡在我主的床上，一觉醒来，我发现我在自己的宝库里做了囚人。”

“囚人，告诉我，是谁铸的这条监牢的锁链？”

“是我，”囚人说，“是我自己用心铸造的。我以为我的无敌的权力会征服世界，使我有无碍的自由。我日夜用烈火重锤打造了这条铁链。等到工作完成，铁链完善牢不可破，我发现这铁链把我捆住了。”

“Prisoner，tell me，who was it that bound you？”

“It was my master，”said the prisoner.“I thought I could outdo everybody in the world in wealth and power，and I amassed in my own treasure‐hose the money due to my king. When sleep overcame me I lay upon the bad that was for my lord，and on waking up I found I was a prisoner in my own treasure‐house. ”

“Prisoner，tell me，who was it that wrought this unbreakable chain？”

“It was I，”said the prisoner，“who forged this chain very carefully.

I thought my invincible power would hold the world captive leaving me in a freedom undisturbed. Thus night and day I worked at the chain with huge fires and cruel hard strokes. When at last the work was done and the links were complete and unbreakable，I found that it held me in its grip. ”