When Boris, the usurer died, there were none to mourn his passing, save for his immediate family. A grasping, greedy man, he had never contributed to charity, had charged criminally exorbitant rates of interest on the money he loaned, foreclosed on properties without a second thought, and paid as little as possible to those who worked for him.
It seems that Boris' children inherited the same traits, for when they learned that the price to be charged for his interment was to be 50,000 rubles, with the sum charged to his estate, they appealed to the local priest to intervene.
"On what basis," asked the priest of the official who had made the financial determination, "do you charge 50,000 rubles, five times more than anyone else has ever paid for a grave?"
"Because of the Judgment Day," answered the official. "We stand by the principles of our religion, where tradition clearly teaches that usurers will not be included in the resurrection."
"So?" the priest queried.
"Then it must be perfectly clear to you, father, that the body of the late Boris will not remain in the grave merely for the duration, but will stay there forever, throughout eternity."
"I still don't understand," said the priest.
"What's to understand? If we had assigned the burial site on a lease basis until Judgment Day the price would be much less, but we are in fact selling the grave in perpetuity."
The priest nodded. "The way you explain it," said he, "it seems to me that 50,000 rubles is too cheap; make it 60,000 ..."