(Tales with moral lessons)
One day, a carpenter’s goose which had laid six eggs died. The carpenter took the eggs to his neighbor, a farmer and said. “My goose died and she had laid six eggs. Now, if you give the eggs to your broody hen, she would sit on them and they would hatch after about thirty days. If all the eggs hatched, you will have two of the goslings, and the other four will be mine”.
The farmer looked at him incredulously and said. “Oh, no… if all six goslings hatched, they will be shared equally between the two of us. I’ll get three, and you’ll get three”.
The carpenter paused for a moment, and then with no other choice, he agreed. He gave the eggs to the farmer and left.
One month later, the carpenter returned to the farmer and said. “I believe that all the eggs have hatched by now. So can I get my three goslings?”
However, the farmer scrunched up his face and said. “I’m sorry, none hatched! It turned out that all the eggs were bad. I already threw them away”.
The carpenter did not look happy to hear that. He left immediately afterwards.
The following morning, the farmer heard a knock at his gate. When he opened the gate, he saw an old man dressed in an old black coat. He had a long white beard and wore a hat. He spoke in a hoarse voice. “I am a traveller and a farmer who buys different types of poultry birds. I heard you’re a farmer too. If you have goslings, I will buy them with a large sum of money”.
The farmer smiled and asked. “How many do you need?”
The old man asked back. “How many have you got?”
The farmer responded. “Six”
Then the old man said. “I need three, and I will pay handsomely for them”.
The excited farmer rushed in and brought out three goslings and gave them to the old man.
Then, something shocking happened. The old man took off his hat and began pulling out his fake beard, revealing his true identity. He wasn’t old.
Then he said. “Are you surprised? Well, it’s me, your neighbor… the carpenter. You think you’re so smart, but you don’t know anything! I now have my three goslings. They’ve been shared equally between the two of us. Goodbye”.
Moral Lesson: Don’t lie, cheat or try to make a fool of others. People can be smarter than you think.
BY CHIMA DICKSON (From Nigeria)
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 15 DECEMBER 2023
