Once, there was a very generous king. One day, he was travelling when a beggar stopped him. The beggar said, “Sir! I survive on alms given by people. I live a hard life.” The king said, “Don’t you have anything good to tell me? Why are you telling me your sad tale?” Then the king stretched out his hand and said, “Give me something from your bowl.” The surprised beggar carefully picked five grains of rice from his bowl and gave them to the king. Then the king went away. The beggar was disappointed, for the king did not give him anything. But he was in for a surprise, for he found five gold pieces at his doorstep. He cried, “These five pieces are for the five grains I gave to the king! If only I would have given him my whole bowl of rice, I would have got many gold pieces!”
Moral: Always be generous.
The Rice Grains
