The Farmer
A farmer looking for a source of water for his farm bought a
well from his neighbor. The neighbor was cunning, though, and refused to let
the farmer take water from the well. On asking why, he replied, “I sold the
well to you, not the water”, and walked away. The distraught farmer didn’t know
what to do. So he went to Birbal, a clever man and one of the nine courtiers of
Emperor Akbar, for a solution.
The emperor called the farmer and his neighbor and asked
why the man was not letting the farmer draw water from the well. The cunning
man said the same thing again, “I sold the well, not the water. So he cannot
take my water”.
To this, Birbal replied, “All that sounds fine to me. But if
you have sold the water and the water is yours, then you have no business
keeping your water in his well. Remove the water or use it all up immediately.
If not the water will belong to the owner of the well”.
Realizing that he’s been tricked and taught his lesson, the
man apologized and left.
Moral
Cheating will not get you anything. If you do cheat,
you’ll pay for it soon enough.