A rich man in fall

 

 I used to catch a cold every autumn, at the same time each year. I suspected I had hay fever so I went to a hospital to find out. But I didn’t have hay fever – I had a cold. Why?

 One day I tried to solve the mystery, and so I thought back over my behavior. I found out I had a big misunderstanding.

 When I was in my twenties, I began living on my own. I was very surprised by my electric bills in the summer. Today, air conditioners are very efficient, but back then, they consumed a huge amount of power. In order to save money, I tried not to use the air conditioner in the summer. I endured days and nights without it and it was very hard to sleep. I was always thinking, “I wish I were rich. I would use the air conditioner all day, as much as I want, and have a comfortable life.”

 Then when the autumn came, the weather cooled down. I started to misunderstand again, thinking, “Oh! Yes! It is cool! This is because I have become a rich man. I can use the air conditioner inside and outside of my house because I am a superrich man. Hooray! I am rich!”

 Then when it became almost cold, I was still enjoying the “richness.” Even when everyone started wearing jackets, I still wore just a shirt. Because I wanted to enjoy being a rich man.

 This is why I caught a cold every autumn.

 After I solved the mystery, I started to wear a jacket in the autumn and I haven’t caught a cold since.

 Dear friends, when autumn arrives it becomes cooler. But it doesn’t mean you have become rich!

 Oh! I didn’t know you already knew that.

Picture by nanami