One day at the bazaar,the trader Commercialus met a strange figure. The figure seemed to have red skin,from head to toe,and he had horns growing out of the top of his head. The stranger said his name was Satan. Satan told Commercialus that he had invented something new. Commercialus asked what the new invention was. Satan said,"I have invented money". Commercialus said,"I've never heard of anything called money. What is it?" Satan said "Money will be a medium of exchange,a medium of trade. Money will become a complete system,a system for measuring wealth."

Commercialus said,"Well,if you are talking about trade or exchange,you have come to the right place. Here in the bazaar,we trade things all the time. All the people of this village come here to trade with each other. Just a few minutes ago,a farmer came here,and he needed shoes. He traded two bags of potatoes for a pair of shoes,made by a local shoemaker. People come from other villages,too,so they can trade their goods here in our bazaar."

Satan said,"That's good,but you need a way to make sure all the trades are fair. That's why I invented money. Money is a system of tokens,called coins. Each coin is a small round piece of metal,with a number stamped on it. To use money,you set a value for each product you want to sell. For example,a bag of potatoes is worth three coins,a pair of shoes is worth six coins. When you exchange the coins,it symbolizes the actual exchange of goods. So,if a farmer wanted to buy a pair of shoes from a shoemaker,he would not have to trade a bag of potatoes for the shoes. He would just give a few coins to the shomaker,and the shoemaker would give him the shoes."

Commercialus said,"Well,what would the shoemaker do with the coins?" Satan said,"He could trade the coins for anything. He could give the coins to a fisherman in exchange for a bag of dried fish,or he could trade the coins with a farmer,to get a bag of carrots, Anything could be bought with money." Commercialus said "That sounds like an intersting idea." Satan said,"I knew you'd like it. I will give you a bag of metal coins to get you started. I've even put a small pcture of you on one side of the coins." Satan held up a coin so Commercialus could see it. Commercialus said,"Yes,it looks like a small picture of me,on one side of the coin! That's very flattering! I like it!" Satan gave the coins to Commercialus and left. After Satan left,he laughed ,and said to himself,"If you can get someone to look at a coin,they will foget everything else! They concentrate on that coin,and the coin becomes the center of their attention! They forget everything besides that coin,they forget honor,they forget love,they forget morality!"