Satan holds a clearance sale

Conscious of the need to move with the
times, Satan decided to sell off a large part of
his stock of temptations. He placed an
advertisement in the newspaper and spent the
whole of the next day attending to customers in
his workshop.

There were some amazing items for sale:
stones on which the virtuous could stumble,
mirrors that increased one's own sense of
importance and spectacles that diminished other
people's importance. Hanging on the wall were
a few other prize objects: a dagger with a curved
blade for stabbing people in the back and tape
recorders that recorded only gossip and lies.

'Don't worry about the price!' cried old
Satan to any potential customers. 'Take it away
with you today and pay me when you can!'
One visitor noticed two much-used tools
that had been relegated to a corner. They didn't
look anything special, but they were very
expensive. Curious, he asked the reason for this
apparent discrepancy.

'They're both very worn because they're the
tools I use most,' said Satan, laughing. 'I
wouldn't want them to be too noticeable
because then people would know how to
protect themselves against them. But they're
both worth the asking price: one is Doubt and
the other is a Sense of Inferiority. When all
other temptations fail, those two always work.'

Adapted from

Stories for Parents,Children and Grandchildren
Volume 1 - Paulo Coelho