Tenali Raman had a friend named Vasu Rao who was a rich landlord with large farms and fields. But he was a real miser. He wanted a large house which was quiet and peaceful, where he could rest and relax. He used to grumble to his friend constantly, till Tenali Raman became so fed up that he felt he should do something to stop Vasu’s complaints.
So the next time Vasu Rao came to him asking for a solution, Tenali Raman promptly agreed. He went to Vasu’s house and looked around.
“Vasu, you have some hens and some sheep, haven’t you,” he asked. Vasu said he did have. So, Tenali Raman went with him and fetched the hens and the sheep into the house. He noticed that there were some more farm animals outside: a horse, some cows and a pig. He went out and, one by one, he led each animal into the room as Vasu Rao watched, horrified at what his friend was doing.
Vasu sat cross-legged on his bed, looking miserable. “What is he doing? “Oh, Lord! I wish I had kept quiet! Now I have to spend the day with all these animals clucking and mooing and grunting and neighing and bleating right inside my house!”
“Goodbye, Vasu. I’ll be back after some time,” said Tenali Raman, cheerfully walking off.
When he returned later, he found Vasu Rao still sitting miserably on his bed, surrounded by all the animals.
“Hello, Vasu. Shall we take these animals out now?” asked Tenali Raman. Vasu jumped up, as he was already willing to take them out. The two friends led the animals back to their places on the farm. Vasu was so relieved. He mopped his face and said, “Oh, what peace!”
“There you are!” responded Tenali Raman, “Now you have all the peace and quiet that you wanted, Vasu Rao!”
“You are right, Raman. I was not even aware of the peace of my house till you showed me what a lot of things I was grumbling about without any reason!”
“You know, Vasu,” said the wise Tenali Raman, “very often we do not even know what we have in our hand and keep wishing for imaginary things. We should always be happy about things we have!”
“Thank you, Tenali Raman! You are a real friend!” said Vasu, hugging his friend warmly.
