The Tale of the Honest Woodcutter

In a small village at the edge of a dense forest, there lived a poor woodcutter named Ravi. He was known for his honesty and kindness, though he didn’t have much. Every day, Ravi would go into the forest to chop wood and sell it in the market to earn a few coins for his family.

One day, as Ravi was chopping wood near a sparkling river, his axe slipped from his hands and fell into the water. The river was deep, and Ravi couldn’t swim. He sat down on the riverbank, holding his head in his hands.

“What will I do now?” he cried. “Without my axe, I can’t work or feed my family.”

Hearing his cries, the river spirit, a kind and gentle goddess, appeared before him. “Why are you so sad, Ravi?” she asked.

Ravi bowed respectfully and explained his plight. The river spirit smiled. “Don’t worry. I will help you.”

She dived into the water and returned with a shiny, golden axe. “Is this your axe?” she asked.

Ravi shook his head. “No, that’s not mine. My axe is old and made of iron.”

The river spirit dived again and came back with a silver axe. “What about this one?”

Ravi looked at it and said, “No, that’s not mine either.”

The river spirit smiled at his honesty and went into the water one last time. She emerged with Ravi’s old iron axe. “Is this your axe?”

Ravi’s face lit up. “Yes! That’s my axe! Thank you so much!”

The river spirit was so impressed by Ravi’s honesty that she gave him all three axes—the gold, the silver, and the iron. “Your honesty deserves a reward,” she said before disappearing into the water.

Ravi was overjoyed and returned to the village. When he told the story, the villagers were amazed by his good fortune.

One greedy man, hearing the tale, decided to try his luck. The next day, he went to the same spot by the river and threw his axe into the water on purpose. Then he sat on the bank and began to cry loudly.

The river spirit appeared once more. “Why are you crying?” she asked.

The man lied, “I dropped my axe into the river. Please help me find it.”

The river spirit dove into the water and brought out a golden axe. “Is this your axe?”

The greedy man’s eyes sparkled with greed. “Yes, that’s mine!” he lied.

The river spirit frowned. “You are lying. This is not your axe.”

Angered by his dishonesty, she vanished back into the water, taking the golden axe with her. The man was left with nothing, not even his original axe.

When the villagers heard about what happened, they learned an important lesson about the value of honesty.

Moral of the Story:

Honesty is always rewarded, while gr

eed and dishonesty lead to loss and regret.