The Rich Man and the Old Woman

Once upon a time, there lived a rich farmer in a village. He was a very kind man. He was always ready to help the poor and the needy. Often he gave money to make wells, parks and schools in the village.

One day, as he was coming home, he saw an old woman lying under a tree. He went to her and asked, “Old woman! Why are you lying near the tree? It is dark. Go to your home.”

The old woman was very hungry and had high fever. She could not speak.

The man took pity on her and asked his servants to take the woman to his house. There, he gave her food and water. She told him that she was poor and had no home. Later, he told her to take care of his garden and gave her a room to live in his house.

Days passed by. The old woman took very good care of the garden. She also planted many useful herbs in the garden. One day, when the rich man’s son was playing in the field a snake bit him. No one knew what to do. On hearing this the old woman immediately went to the garden and picked up some herbs. She made a paste and gave it to the boy.

After some time, the boy was fine. The man was very happy.

He told the old woman, “Thanks a lot for saving my son’s life. I can never repay your help.

The old woman smiled and said, “Son! Once when I was dying, you also saved my life. It was my duty to save your son.”

Moral: Be kind to everyone

God is Great

One evening, King Bhoja and Kalidasa were walking along the banks of a river. There were many orchards [fruit gardens] near the river.

King Bhoja and Kalidasa entered one of the orchards to get some fruits.

On entering the orchard, King Bhoja looked around. There were creepers which bore fruits like watermelon and muskmelons on them. These creepers had thin delicate stems lying on the ground.

Also, there were many big trees bearing many tiny red fruits.

King Bhoja looked at the fruits and said, “This is odd. Why do the weak creepers have such big fruits while the big tree has such small fruits? Why has God made these plants like this? I think big fruits should grow on big trees and small fruits should grow on thin stems! What do you think Kalidasa?”

“Your majesty! God has created this Earth and every being on this with some thought. You would soon understand the reason for this,” replied Kalidasa.

Soon, they saw a man sleeping under the big tree, which had red fruits. Suddenly, a strong wind blew. One of tiny fruits fell on the head of the man. He woke up immediately. King Bhoja and Kalidasa saw this.

“Your majesty! Did you see that?” said Kalidasa. “The man was sleeping under the big tree because there is shade. When the wind blew, the fruit of the tree, fell on him. What would have happened if there were watermelons instead of small red fruits on the tree?”

The king started laughing and understood the reason behind God’s creation.

Everything is right in its own place.

Nature is God's gift to us. We should be thankful to God for giving us so many things.