Once upon a time, in a city, there lived a miserly Brahmin. One day, he received some flour in alms, ate a little of it, and filled the rest in a pot. He hung the pot with a hook and lay down on a nearby cot to sleep. As he slept, he drifted into a world of peculiar dreams and strange fantasies.
He began to think that when a famine struck the city, the price of flour would rise to 100 rupees. “I will sell the flour, buy some goats, and later exchange these goats for cows. After that, I’ll purchase buffaloes and horses.”
The miserly Brahmin was completely lost in the bizarre world of his imagination. He thought, “I will sell the horses for a good price and build a big house with the money earned. Seeing my wealth, anyone would readily marry their daughter to me. After marriage, when my child is born, I will name him Mangal.”
Then, when my child starts to walk, I will find immense joy merely watching him play from a distance. But when the child begins to annoy me, I will scold my wife in anger, saying she can’t handle the child properly. If the child remains busy with household chores and doesn’t heed my words, I will rise in anger and kick him with my foot.”
While contemplating these thoughts, the Brahmin accidentally kicked the pot filled with flour in his sleep, causing it to shatter.
Thus, along with the pot filled with flour, the miserly Brahmin’s dream was also shattered into pieces.
Lesson from the story:
This story teaches us that greed should not enter one’s mind while doing any work. The fruit of greed is never sweet. Also, success doesn’t come only from dreaming; hard work is equally essential.
