Once there was a wood-cutter. He went to the jungle, cut wood, sold it in the market and he thus fed his children. One day he was cutting some wood on the bank of a river. His axe slipped and fell into the river. He was very sad. The god Mercury appeared. He asked him. “Why are you sad?” The woodcutter said,” I have lost my axe with which I earned my daily bread.” The god was moved. He dived into the deep water and brought out a golden axe. The woodcutter refused to own it. The god dived again and brought out another axe made of silver. The wood-cutter refused saying, “My axe was not so beautiful.” The god dived for the third time and brought out an axe made of iron. The wood-cutter was delighted to see his axe and said, “This is my axe” The god was so pleased with his honesty that he gave him the other two axes also, as reward for his honesty.
Moral:
- Honesty is the best policy