A translation by the author into English follows.
There was once a man whose habit it was to collect pearls and precious stones. One day he came to a certain town whose inhabitants were all old people, and they had pearls and precious stones without number. He said to them: "Will you sell me some of the treasures which you possess?" They said to him: "My dear, we are old, and our sons and daughters have gone to distant countries, and there they make ornaments for themselves from glass and paper and dust and ashes. So, if you want, come and take." So he took from them pearls as much as he could carry, and returned to his place. There he built a tower, and in the tower he built a hall, and in the hall he built a room, and in the room he placed a closet, and in the closet he placed a chest, and in the chest he placed the pearls and precious stones. Year after year he returned to the town, and they gave him the like until the chest was filled.
One day his son said to him: "Father, let me see everything which is in the chest." His father said to him: "My son, when you grow up and reach the age of understanding, you may enter the tower, and there you will find policemen and security officers who will subject you to all kinds of tests. And if you are found to be clean, and free of suspicious objects, you will enter the hall. There they will carry out an examination even stricter than the first, and you will enter the room. There you will receive a warrant from the official, and they will open the chest for you. And then, if there is light in the room, you will see the pearls and precious stones, but it is forbidden to touch them." His son said to him: "Father, I have heard say that in the days of yore they had precious stones upon their foreheads, and pearls in their ears, and rubies upon their fingers, and even a little child like me could see them all the time, and even if he touched them, nobody stopped him." His father replied: "I know, my son, I know. But in those days people were not well educated, and they did not know or understand that unless they guarded the pearls and precious stones, and placed them in a chest and appointed guardians over them, they would be scattered and lost." The boy said: "You are right father, but I wish I could see just one little gem while I am a child. How much I would enjoy its splendor!"