Once, two merchants called Wise and Verywise took a caravan of 500 bullock carts to another country. After selling their goods, they returned to Kapilavastu with profits. Verywise said to Wise, “I should be given twice the profits as my name is Verywise. You should get only half as much as I.” Wise said, “We both invested equal amounts of money, so profits should be divided equally.” Soon, they started quarrelling. Then, Verywise asked his father to hide in a hollow trunk and act as a tree spirit. The next day, Verywise took Wise to the tree and asked, “Tree spirit, how should we share profits?” The tree spirit said, “Verywise should get double share.” Suspicious, Wise threw hay into the hollow and set it on fire. Verywise’s father jumped out immediately. Verywise was ashamed of cheating his friend and agreed to share the profits.
Moral: A sly cheat may not be wise.
