There was a young painter who made a living by painting portraits (肖像). One day, a rich man asked him to paint a portrait for him and promised to pay him 10, 000 dollars.
After a week, the rich man came to take the painting, but he was not pleased with it. He told the young painter, "I will only pay 3, 000 dollars for this painting".
The young painter was angry. He argued with the rich man, hoping the rich man would keep his word.
The rich man thought, "The man in the painting is me. If I don't buy this painting, no one else will buy it. " So he said, "I will ask you one last time: will you sell it for 3, 000 dollars?"
The young painter said firmly (坚定地), "No. This is a shame for me! I would prefer not to sell it, rather than be humiliated by you. Someday, you will pay 20 times the cost for breaking your promise. "
After that, the painter worked hard day and night. Finally, he became well-known in the art world.
The rich man forgot about the artist and what he had told him. But one day, some friends told him, "There is a painting selling for 200, 000 dollars and the man in the painting looks exactly like you. It has a name of "Thief (贼)".
Then, the rich man remembered the artist. He quickly went to say sorry and paid 200, 000 dollars to buy the portrait. The young painter made the rich man lower his head in the end.
