The Honest Woodcutter
In a village, there lived a poor woodcutter. He used to cut woods from the forest and then sell them in the market. Whatever he used to earn this way, he was fulfilling the financial needs of his family. One day as usual, he climbed a tree, near a river, and was cutting wood when suddenly he lost hold of his axe and the axe fell in the river below. The river was quite deep and the woodcutter also did not know how to swim. He was worried about his family’s daily needs. Finding no way out, he just sat on the bank of the river with worry and morose clearly written on his face. And at time, a stir was noticed in the river. And to his surprise, the god of water came out of the river. The water god**** lovingly asked the woodcutter, “Why are you crying?’ The woodcutter sobbingly replied that his axe has fallen in the river and that he has nothing else to do the job woodcutting. If he failed to take wood, his children will have nothing to eat. The water god consoled his saying, “Do not worry. I will take out your axe.”
The water god had a dip and at once came out with an axe made of silver and asked the woodcutter, “Is it yours?.” The woodcutter was an honest man. He replied, “No, my axe was made of iron. This is not mine.” The water god said, don’t worry, I will try again. He had a dip again and this time came out with an axe made of gold. The woodcutter again said that it was not his axe, this is made of gold. In fact the water god had brought the golden axe, just to test the honesty of the woodcutter. He was much pleased to learn that the woodcutter is an honest man and the gold has failed to tempt him.
He again had a dip and this time came out with the axe of the woodcutter. As soon as the woodcutter saw the axe, he jumped with joy, “Yes, yes, this is mine.” The water god was so pleased with the honesty of the woodcutter that he gave all the three axes to the woodcutter saying, “I am much pleased at your honesty. I give to you the gold and the silver axes as a reward.” The woodcutter happily returned home.