Once upon a time, there was a clever and tricky landlord who owned many pieces of land in a village. When people in the village needed money, he would lend them small amounts of it. However, he used their lack of education to his advantage by adding extra money to the loan that they had to pay back. This made it really hard for people to repay their loans, and they ended up giving their land to the landlord.
Now, the landlord had his eye on a piece of land owned by an elderly woman who lived near his house. She lived all by herself, and she grew her own crops to meet her needs. The landlord wanted her land, but he didn’t know how to convince her to give it up. So, he did something sneaky. He bribed a government official in the village and got fake papers that said he owned the land. Then, he and the government official went to the old lady’s house and told her that she had to give up her land.
The old lady was shocked and sad when she heard this. She explained that she had lived there her whole life, and the land had been in her family for generations. Her loved ones were buried there, and she had inherited it. She couldn’t understand how someone could claim it now. She tried to go to the local court for help, but the landlord had bribed everyone there and showed them the fake papers. So, the court ruled in favor of the landlord.
Feeling very downhearted, the old lady began to prepare to leave her land. The landlord and his friends were there, waiting for her to go. As she was leaving, tears in her eyes, she approached the landlord and said, “Sir, you have taken everything from me today. I have spent my entire life here, and now I am leaving. This land is where I played and grew up with my family. This soil is precious to me because it holds so many memories. We are all made of soil, so anyone can have an affection for it. Please let me take a basket filled with this soil with me. It will remind me of this place until I peacefully pass away.”
The landlord thought for a moment. Since he had gained ownership of her entire land without paying her, he decided to allow her to take a basket of soil with her so she could leave quietly. He said, “Alright, you can fill your basket.”
The old lady began to fill the basket with soil, but she filled it too much, and it became very heavy. She struggled to lift the basket over her head and asked the landlord, “Sir, can you please help me put this basket on my head?” The landlord, feeling a bit sorry for her, came forward to help. He said, “You should have been more careful not to fill it so much. You’re struggling to carry this heavy basket of soil. How will you take it with you?”
With tears in her eyes, the old lady replied, “Sir, this entire land was mine, and I spent my whole life here. Yet, I am struggling to carry a single basket of soil with me while I am still alive. I won’t be able to take it with me when I die. You, sir, have taken so much land from others. How will you carry it all with you?”
The landlord was stunned by her words. He realized his mistake and fell to his knees, begging for forgiveness. He asked her to stay on her land and returned it to her.
Moral of the story: Greediness and dishonesty can lead to regret and loss. It’s important to treat others with fairness and kindness because, in the end, we can’t take everything we’ve gained with us when we leave this world.
