The Farmer And The Well
Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived an old farmer. One day, the old farmer brought a well from a rich man in the village to use the well’s water to irrigate his fields.
The next day, the farmer went to the well to get some water. But when he got there, the rich man stopped him. The rich man said, “You bought only the well, but not the water inside it! The water still belongs to me, so you can’t take it.”
The farmer was very surprised and didn’t know what to do. He had bought the well, so why couldn’t he use the water? Feeling sad and confused, the old man decided to go to King Akbar’s court to ask for help.
When the farmer told his story to King Akbar, the king was very interested. He asked his wise and clever minister, Birbal, to help solve the problem.
Birbal listened carefully to both the old man and the rich man. The rich man kept saying, “I sold the well, but I did not sell the water inside it!”
Birbal thought for a moment and then smiled. He asked the rich man, “So, you sold the well but kept the water?”
The rich man proudly said, “Yes, that’s right!”
Then Birbal said, “Well, if the water belongs to you, then you must either take your water out of the farmer’s well or pay him rent for keeping it there. The well belongs to the farmer now, so you can’t keep your water there for free!”
The rich man realized that he could not trick Birbal. Feeling embarrassed, the rich man agreed to let the farmer use the water.
The farmer was very happy and thanked Birbal for his help. From that day on, he was able to water his crops and live peacefully.
Moral:
Don’t try to deceive others, as justice will always prevail.
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