The Three Bad Men
Everybody in the small town of C—— took great pride in their beautiful little opera house, for they loved opera. There were many amateur starlets in the little town but none with any real talent, so it was an important and happy occasion when famous stars from the great cities around the world came and sung at their opera house.
Now there existed three bad men in this town who were forever on the lookout for a quick and easy way of making a fortune. Up till now they had never been very successful, and they were barely able to afford the necessities that would enable them to pass as respectable citizens. One day, one of them had a bright idea: “Let us engage a French troupe to sing at our opera house,” he said. “We can hire the building and we’ll make a fortune.” He then explained his plan, and when he had finished, the others smiled and murmured in agreement.
Soon the whole town knew that a famous French troupe would be coming. People rejoiced and quickly hurried to the box office for tickets.
“Alas! All sold out,” said the little man at the office and, after a pause, whispered confidentially, “If you go round the corner there is, I think, a man who might be able to sell you tickets.”
“Thank you. Thank you,” each opera-loving person would cry and hurry around the corner to buy tickets from a little man who sold them at five times the official price!
Time passed, and the first night was approaching. Everybody was very excited. Happiness seemed to throb in the air. Husbands and wives no longer screamed at each other. Those undergoing analysis gave it up, as though miraculously cured. People who hadn’t been on the best of terms smiled and greeted each other and, in some cases, even had tea together. C—— was a happy place to live in.
Then suddenly everything changed. A tragedy hit the town. The French troupe, due to unforeseen circumstances, was unable to come. The three bad men, who were, of course, good men in the eyes of the citizens of C——, immediately reassured everybody that tickets would be refunded in full.
Everybody hurried along to the opera house to salvage whatever funds they could, and the three bad men gladly reimbursed all those with tickets, for they didn’t want to lose their respectability. And they had never expected to gross more than quadruple their money on the official price of a seat.
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