The Poor Man’s Wealth
Ramchand and Premchand were neighbors. Ramchand was a poor farmer. Premchand was a
landlord.
Ramchand used to be very relaxed and happy. He never bothered to close the doors and
windows of his house at night. He had deep sound sleeps. Although he had no money he
was peaceful.
Premchand used to be very tense always. He was very keen to close the doors and windows
of his house at night. He could not sleep well. He was always bothered that someone might
break open his safes and steal away his money. He envied the peaceful Ramchand.
One day, Premchand call Ramchand and gave him a boxful of cash saying, “Look my dear
friend. I am blessed with plenty of wealth. I find you in poverty. So, take this cash and live in
prosperity.”
Ramchand was overwhelmingly happy. He was joyful throughout the day. Night came.
Ramchand went to bed as usual. But, to-day, he could not sleep. He went and closed the
doors and windows. He still could not sleep. He began to keep on looking at the box of cash.
The whole night he was disturbed.
As soon as day broke, Ramchand took the box of cash to Premchand. He gave away the box
to Premchand saying, “Dear Friend, I am poor. But, your money took away peace from me.
Please bear with me and take back your money.”
Moral: Money cannot get everything. Learn to be satisfied with what you have and you will
always be happy.
The Woodcutter and the Axe
Long ago, there lived a woodcutter in a small village. He was sincere in his work and very
honest. Every day, he set out into the nearby forest to cut trees. He brought the woods
back into the village and sold them out to a merchant and earn his money. He earned just
about enough to make a living, but he was satisfied with his simple living.
One day, while cutting a tree near a river, his axe slipped out of his hand and fell into the
river. The river was so deep, he could not even think to retrieve it on his own. He only had
one axe which was gone into the river. He became a very worried thinking how he will be
able to earn his living now! He was very sad and prayed to the God. He prayed sincerely so
the God appeared in front of him and asked, “What is the problem, my son?” The
woodcutter explained the problem and requested the God to get his axe back.
The God put his hand deep into the river and took out a silver axe and asked, “Is this your
axe?” The Woodcutter looked at the axe and said “No”. So the God put his hand back deep
into the water again and showed a golden axe and asked, “Is this your axe?” The woodcutter
looked at the axe and said “No”. The God said, “Take a look again Son, this is a very valuable
golden axe, are you sure this is not yours?” The woodcutter said, “No, It’s not mine. I can’t
cut the trees with a golden axe. It’s not useful for me”.
The God smiled and finally put his hand into the water again and took out his iron axe and
asked, “Is this your axe?” To this, the woodcutter said, “Yes! This is mine! Thank you!” The
Goddess was very impressed with his honesty so she gave him his iron axe and also other
two axes as a reward for his honesty.
Moral: Always be honest. Honesty is always rewarded.
