There was a very poor woodcutter. In spite of the poverty he was very honest. Once, he was cutting a branch from the tree that stood on the river-bank. The axe slipped out of his hands and fell into the river.
The river was very deep. He could not descend into the river to recover his axe. And he was too poor to afford a new axe.
He sat down to cry at his helplessness, “Oh God! How can I earn my living now? Please get me my axe back, O Lord.”
The river-god heard his prayers and he arrived there taking pity on the poor woodcutter.
He spoke, “Don’t worry. I can swim. I will get your axe.” And he jumped into the river.
After a while, the river-god emerged from the water with a gold axe in his hand. He said, “Take it. It is your axe I hope.”
The woodcutter spoke, “No sire; it is not my axe. I can’t take it.”
The river-god again dived and came up with a silver axe. “This must be yours.” The woodcutter shook his head in the negative.
“No sire; it too is not mine. It appears to be a silver axe. Mine was an iron one.”
The river-god again went down to come up with an ordinary axe. At the very sight of it the woodcutter jumped in joy exclaiming, “Yes! That is my axe.”
“But why didn’t you take the gold or silver axe?” the river-god asked.
“Because they were not mine.”
“But I knew not. You could have taken them.”
“But I knew. Why would I take what does not belong to me? That would’ve been dishonesty if I had.”
The river-god was pleased with his honesty. He blessed the woodcutter with the gold and silver axes as his reward.
Moral : Honesty pays rich dividends.
