When the waters of the flood began to rise and every living thing scrambled toward the ark, a strange creature came to Noah's gate — the Lie.
The Lie asked to be admitted. Noah looked her over and shook his head. "Only pairs may enter here," he said. "Every creature must have a mate. Where is yours?"
The Lie had none. She had always worked alone.
She slipped back into the rising waters and searched the flooding plains for a companion. At last she met Vice. Lonely creatures, both of them. She invited Vice to come with her to the ark.
Vice was willing, but he drove a hard bargain. "I'll travel with you," he said, "but only on one condition. Everything you earn, you must give to me."
The Lie, desperate and out of time, agreed. And so the two of them walked up the ramp, claimed their place among the pairs, and were admitted. They survived the flood together.
After the waters receded and the ark opened, the Lie realized what she had done. She began to earn and earn and earn — and all of it, every last coin, flowed straight to Vice. She tried to dissolve the partnership, but the terms had been signed before the flood, and there was no undoing them.
That is why, the midrash concludes, you will hear the old saying on the lips of every generation: what the Lie earns, Vice devours.
A parable small enough to fit in a pocket, and sharp enough to cut. A dishonest life may fill its purse for a season, but somewhere in the fine print it has already promised its wages away.