The King and the Old Woman

There was a king. Once, he went out of his city for a trip. Returning late, he stopped to rest in a farmer's field.

The farmer's old mother was present in the field.

The king felt thirsty and said to the old woman, "Mother, I'm thirsty. Please give me some water."

The old woman thought, "A traveler has come to my home. It's scorching hot. How can I give him plain water?"

Thinking this, she plucked a sugarcane from her field, squeezed it, and extracted a glass of juice. She handed it to the king.

The king was satisfied after drinking the sweet and cool sugarcane juice.

He asked the old woman, "Mother! What rent does the king charge you for this field?"

The old woman said, "The king of this country is very kind. He charges very little rent.

I have twenty bighas of land. He charges one rupee a year for it."

The king was overcome with greed.  He wondered why the rent for a 20-bigha field should only be one rupee!

He decided that upon reaching the city, he should consult with the minister about this and increase the rent on the sugarcane fields.

He fell asleep while thinking about this.

After a while, he woke up and asked the old lady for sugarcane juice again.

The old lady broke another sugarcane and squeezed it, but this time, very little juice came out.

It barely filled a quarter of the glass. The old lady broke another sugarcane. In this way, she squeezed four or five sugarcanes, only to fill the glass.

The king was watching this scene. He said to the old lady, "Mother, the first time, just one sugarcane filled the glass completely.

This time, I had to break four or five sugarcanes to fill the same glass. What's the reason?"

The farmer's mother said, "I don't even understand this."

The earth's juice dries up when the king's intentions change and greed enters his mind. 

How did this happen in such a short time?

Then our king is a well-wisher of his subjects, a just man, and a man of righteous wisdom.

How could the earth's sap dry up in his kingdom?

The old woman's words made the king realize...

A king's duty is to nourish his subjects, not to exploit them... and he immediately decided not to increase the tax.

If someone helps us in times of trouble, we should not forget their kindness. We should not impose any kind of tax on the grain produced by Mother Earth, nor should we be greedy of any kind. We should always be honest.

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A Story of Love, Sacrifice, and Identity