Long, long ago, there ruled a king over a country. The king was benevolent and dutiful.
The king always wanted that his subjects too should follow his principles. He also requested his courtiers and other court members to be like him.
One day, the king devised a plan to know whether his subjects would do his duty or not.
The king got a big stone placed near the road of his palace. Thereafter, he changed his guise and hid behind a tree.
Several courtiers, rich men and other people passed that way. But none of them tried to remove that stone from the road.
A person uttered, “Who has placed this big stone in the middle of the road?” Then, he got past the stone.
Similarly, many persons came over there and after blaming the king and his officials headed for their destination.
After some time, a woodcutter passed that way. He put aside his log of wood and tried to roll down the big stone to one side of the road.
Soon, he succeeded in rolling the stone to one side of the road. Then, he put the log of wood on his head and moved ahead.
Suddenly, the woodcutter sighted a pouch near the stone. He put his log of wood down and picked the pouch up. The pouch had gold coins in it.
In the meantime, the king reached there and spoke to the woodcutter, “Now, this pouch is yours. You removed the stone with great labour. This is the reward for your effort.”
Intelligence of the goldsmith
There lived a goldsmith in a place. He was not only wealthy but also intelligent. He had his wife and two young sons in his family.
One night, the goldsmith and his wife were sleeping soundly in their room. Their sons had gone to the other town on work.
Suddenly, the goldsmith heard some sounds. He opened the window and saw that the four thieves had crossed over the outer wall and were about to enter his courtyard.
The goldsmith began to think of the way to get rid of the thieves. Soon he hit upon a plan through which he could protect his wealth and teach the thieves a bitter lesson.
The goldsmith woke his wife up and informed her about the presence of the thieves. He also told his wife about the scheme.
When the thieves reached near the goldsmith’s room, the goldsmith said to his wife, “Why are you getting upset for nothing? I have kept all my wealth at a protected place.”
His wife observed, “Very good. It is all right. Now, our wealth will be safe from thieves. But tell me where you have kept all the wealth?”
The goldsmith stated, “I had no intention of telling anybody about it. But I tell you only. I have tied all my wealth in a piece of cloth and hung it on the neem tree. But don’t tell anybody about it.”
The thieves standing near the window listened to all what the goldsmith had told his wife. Their happiness knew no bounds. They headed for the neem tree which was standing tall in one corner of the courtyard.
When the thieves climbed up the neem tree, they were terribly bitten by the bees on the hive. The thieves were half dead.
Somehow, they succeeded in running out of the house of the goldsmith. Their hands, feet and mouths were bleeding profusely.
Both the goldsmith and his wife heaved a sigh of relief. The goldsmith succeeded not only in protecting his wealth but also in teaching the thieves a bitter lesson for ever.
Moral : Intelligence solves each and every problem, be it a simple problem or an intricate one.
