An old woman became almost blind from an eye disease. She consulted a doctor, agreed with him, in the presence of witnesses that she should pay him a high fee if he cured her, and if he failed, he should not receive anything.
The doctor accordingly prescribed a course of treatment, and every time he visited her, he took away with him some article out of the house, until at last, there was nothing left, by then his treatment was successful.
When the old woman saw that the house was empty, she refused to pay him his fee; and, after repeated refusals on her part, the doctor sued her before the magistrates for payment of her debt. On being brought into court, the old women was ready with her defence.
The women said she, "Yes, the doctor has stated the facts about our agreement correctly. I undertook to pay him a fee if he cured me, and he, on his part, promised to charge nothing if he failed." "Now, the doctor claims that I am cured. But I say that I am blinder than ever before, and I can prove what I say. When I was blind, and I could, at any rate, not see well enough to be aware that my house contained a certain amount of furniture and other things. But now, when according to him I am cured, I am entirely unable to see anything there at all."
Moral: Cheaters usually are the ones who get cheated.
