Once there was a certain poor widow who had one single Sheep.
At trimming time, wishing to take his wool and to avoid costs, she trimmed him herself, but used the trimmer so unknowingly that with the wool she sheared the flesh.
The Sheep, cried with pain, said, "Why do you
hurt me so, Mistress? What weight can my blood
add to the wool? If you want my flesh, there is
the butcher, who will kill me in an instant; but
if you want my fleece and wool, there is the
shearer, who will shear and not hurt me."
Moral: The least outlay is not always
the greatest gain.