Buttery Spirits...

What is a buttery spirit?...

This short traditional tale will tell you.

There was once an inn keeper who greatly desired to get rich.  To this end, he did everything, absolutely everything, in his power with his business to do so, cutting his expenses as much as possible...  He watered his ale.  He made meat pies out of dead dogs.  He served the smallest possible portions.  But, all to no avail.  His inn did not show profits.  In fact, it lost money, - continually lost money.

At last, the innkeeper got a wise man to help him.  The innkeeper and the wise man went to the innkeeper's larder.  There, the wise man told the innkeeper, was seated an enormously corpulent buttery spirit gorging himself on any food he could find.  The buttery spirit was enjoying himself immensely, slobbering and laughing as he stuffed his bulging cheeks and huge belly.  Of course, the innkeeper could not see the buttery spirit, but he took the wise man's words as the truth and took his advice, beginning to serve honest, good meals for the price he asked.

Immediately, the innkeeper began to see success in his business.  In time, he asked the wise man to return to his inn.  The wise man went right to the larder and saw the skinny buttery spirit whining and whining that he was wasting away.  A bit after this, the buttery spirit left the inn, indeed, - for good!..  Terrible greed does not pay!