Story | The Farmer's Wife

Once upon a time, there was a poor and old farmer who lived in a small village. He had a young and beautiful wife. The wife always wanted to have a good time and spend a lot of money on fancy things. However, the farmer was old and weak, so he couldn't go out often and didn't earn much money. This made his young wife sad, and they often argued.

One day, a bad person overheard their argument and saw the wife running out of the house in tears. He followed her and approached her to talk. He said, "I heard you arguing with your old husband. You are young and beautiful, and he can't give you the fun and fancy things you desire. I am a widower with a lot of money but no one to spend it on. Why don't you leave the old man and come with me to the city? We can start a new and happy life together."

The young wife eagerly agreed to the bad person's suggestion. That night, she gathered all her nice clothes, jewelry, and money, and left with the bad person for the city.

Early the next morning, they arrived at a river outside the city. The bad person told the young woman to wait on the riverbank while he swam to the other side to arrange for a boat to take her across. He asked her to give him her jewelry and money so that no one would try to take it from her while she was alone.

The young woman trusted the bad person and gave him her things. However, once he had what he wanted, he didn't come back.

Noon came, and the young woman grew impatient as she waited by the riverside. Just then, a jackal came to the riverbank with a big piece of meat in its mouth. It saw a big fish in the river and dropped the meat on the bank, wanting to catch the fish. But a hawk quickly grabbed the meat and flew away. This scared the fish, and it swam away to the riverbed. So, the jackal ended up with nothing to eat.

Seeing this, the young wife laughed and said, "You fool! Now you have lost both the fish and the meat, and you're hungry."

The jackal sneered at the young woman and replied, "You're no different from me. You have lost more than I have."

The confused woman asked, "What do you mean?"

The jackal explained, "You have lost your husband, your lover, and your money. No one is as pitiful as you."

Moral: When you desire more and are not content with what you have, you may end up losing everything you already possess.