- author unknown

A woman came out of her house and saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front garden. She did not recognize them.

She said, "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat."

"Is the man of the house home?," they asked.

"No," she said. "He's out."

"Then we cannot come in," they replied.

In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened.

"Go tell them I am home and invite them in!", her husband said to her. The woman went out and invited the men in.

"We do not go into a house together," they replied.

"Why is that?" she wanted to know.

One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one
of his friends, and said pointing to another one, "He is Success, and I am Love." Then he added, "Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home."

The woman went in and told her husband what the three old men had said. Her husband was overjoyed. "How wonderful!", he said. "Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!"

His wife disagreed. "My dear, why don't we invite Success?"

Their daughter was listening from the other corner of the living room.
She jumped in with her own suggestion: "Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!"

"You're right. Go out and invite Love to be our guest," said her father.

The woman went out and asked the three old men, "Which one of you is Love?
Please come in and be our guest."

Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other two also got up
and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: "I only invited Love, why are you coming in?"

The old men replied together: "If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would have stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever he goes, we follow. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success."