Once, some bandits robbed a village and escaped into the forest. The villagers chased them into the forest but could not find them. On the way back, they saw three men ploughing a field. Thinking that the robbers were pretending to be farmers, the villagers arrested them. When the three men were taken to the king’s court, a woman came, pleading, “Please release my husband, son and brother!” The king said, “I will release any one man. Choose who he will be.” “If you can’t release all three, then give me my brother,” said the woman. Surprised, the king asked, “Why didn’t you choose your husband or son?” The woman said, “I can find another husband and then have another son. But I cannot have another brother.” Happy with the woman’s wisdom, the king released all the three men. The woman was actually the Bodhisattva in her previous birth.
Moral: A sister’s love is most precious.
