Aladdin is punished for trying to take something from the cave of wonders on his own behalf.
Persephone is punished for attempting the delectable fruits of the underworld. Likewise, trying to help yourself to Pluto's treasury will not work out for you.
There's a bunch of others, all trying to moralize against greed. It all feels terribly profound.
Even the dragon's hoard, in implying there's always a dragon.
It's not profound.
It's nothing more than the fact that you have to buy things, you can't get them for free. TANSTAAFL, as rendered by foggy-eyed writers who don't quite get it, and/or Nameless parasites.
If greed is trying to buy things without paying for them, I guess greed really is a sin, but capitalism has nothing to do with greed. Pigs can't be greedy, if they can access anything, it means they already paid for it.
Theft bad. Theft not wise. Wow, so deep.
Monkey's paw. The Wish spell.
"Hey, uh, shit isn't free, yo."
You can have the dragon's hoard, if you want, provided you're willing and able to slay a dragon. Have as many dragon's hoards as there are dragons.
You can have all the treasures of the cave of wonders, provided you're willing to pay it in treasure for the privilege.
Want the treasures of the underworld? Neato. As long as you're willing to live in the underworld with them. For some value of [live]. Put another way, you can even take them out of the underworld, provided you're willing to give the underworld your life in exchange, or something of equivalent value.
Let's also do Fafnir. More generally, the myth that taking the dragon's hoard will turn you into a dragon.
Well, uh, kinda, no shit. If you have a dragon's hoard, then aspiring knights will see you as a dragon they need to slay, so they can take your hoard. Whether you're legitimately a dragon or not. Pending specific definition of [dragon].
Fafnir became as asshole, but actually he didn't. Fafner was a jagoff to start with, he didn't [become] anything. There's nothing special about hoards that make you vicious. However, it is true that the vicious will try to claim hoards without paying for them. Which they will regret, plus or minus some masochism. It is likewise true that the vicious will portray anyone with a hoard as a dragon so as to justify slaying them.
Remember only the vicious need justification at all. Even attempting it is self-condemnation.
If I have a hoard, my justification is: "Can you come and take it, bitches!?" Gives me an excuse to increase my body count. IRL knights get roasted by dragons. Losers. Shit status: secured.
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