Once upon a time, there lived a poor Brahmin in a village. His name was Swabhavakripna. He had neither relatives nor friends. He used to beg for his living. Whatever food he got as alms, he kept in an earthen pot and hung it beside his bed. Whenever he felt hungry, he took out some food from the pot and ate it.
One night, the Brahmin lay on his bed and soon he was fast asleep. He began to dream—He was no longer a poor Brahmin. He wore good clothes. He was the owner of a shop. Hundreds of customers came to his shop. Soon he became richer than before. He purchased many buffaloes and cows. Very soon, the buffaloes and the cows had their young ones. Those young ones grew and became buffaloes and cows.
The buffaloes and the cows gave milk. He made a lot of butter and curd from the milk. He sold butter and curd in the market. Soon he became richer then ever before. He built a big house for himself. Then he married a beautiful girl. Soon they had their children. The children played around all day making a noise. He then scolded them and asked them to keep quiet. But they won’t listen. So he picked up a stick and ran after them.
The Brahmin began to move his legs rapidly while he was still asleep. In doing so, he hit the earthen pot with one of his legs which was full of food. The pot broke and the food contents were spilled all over the floor. The Brahmin woke up. He saw that he was still in the bed. All the edible items kept in the pot were scattered on the ground and became unfit for eating. All this happened because of his day-dreaming.
Moral—One should not build castles in the air.
