Honesty Is the Best Policy

21 Honesty Is the Best Policy Long ago, a man was cutting wood beside a lake. He was a good and honest man. He worked hard, and always paid what he owed. He believed that honesty was always the best policy. One day, the man lost his axe in the water. The water was deep and he could not get his axe back. He had only one axe and needed it to make his living. He sat down and began to cry. A spirit creature appeared and asked the man what was the matter. He listened to the woodcutter and felt sorry for the man. The spirit dived into the lake and brought back a gold axe. " Is this the axe you lost?" asked the good spirit. The woodcutter looked at the solid golden axe, but he was honest and said that it wasn't his. The spirit dived again and fetched up a silver one. The man said that the axe was not his either. So the spirit went down a third time and came up with the woodcutter's own axe.

" That's the right one, " said the woodcutter. " Thank you so much for bringing it back to me! " The good spirit was delighted with the woodcutter's honesty. He presented the woodcutter with the other two axes as well. " You are an honest man, " said the spirit. " For your honesty, I reward you. Your life will be good and happy. " When the woodcutter rejoined his friends, he told them what had happened to him. One of them had an idea. He went to the river, deliberately threw his axe into it, and then sat down and wept. The good spirit appeared again. On hearing the cause of his tears, the spirit dived in, brought up a gold axe as before, and asked if it was the one that had been lost. “ Yes! Yes, it is indeed, " the man joyfully exclaimed. Shocked by the man's dishonesty, the good spirit said, “ Your dishonesty does not trick me. From now on, you will have no axe to work with, and you and your family will know hunger and poverty. "