David looked at the money in astonishment. “I cannot take so much money,” he cried. “It is too much…”
“I really should give you a great deal more than that for the penknife you gave me a long time ago,” said Reb Daniel.
“No,” said David. “At the time I gave you my penknife as a present, I never took you seriously about becoming rich. It was strictly a present.”
“If so,” said Reb Daniel, “let the 1,000 ducats also be strictly a present.”
David did not argue too long or loudly and took the money. He had come to Berlin a pauper and now left by way of the mail coach in the manner of the comfortable businessmen of the time. The wedding took place and David’s last years were spent in the rest and peace he never knew as a young man.