Yuvacharya Mahashraman
Truthfulness
To inculcate good values in a child is a very important part of its education and character building. Religious teachers can accomplish this work. Teachers impart day-to-day knowledge and parents who interact with children play a vital role in this, especially mothers.
Once in a big city there was a palace. Near the palace, there was a school. There was also a garden near the palace. Whenever the children got a chance, they went to the garden to pluck and eat some fruits. One day when the children went to the garden, one boy wanted a mango, but he was too short so he took a small stone and threw it at the tree. Instead of hitting the tree the stone hit the king. The king was very angry and wanted to know who had hit him. He told his guards to ask all the children if they knew who had thrown the rock. When the children found out they ran away. All of them except the boy who had thrown the stone.
The guards asked the boy if he had thrown the stone.
The boy said he had and when the guards asked why?
He said - "I wanted to hit the tree and get the mangoes down but the stone accidentally hit the king. Now you can take this as a mistake or my childishness."
The guards said, "we don't want to take you to the king but we have to take you. So whatever the king asks you about the piece of stone reply by saying that I didn't do it and the person who did it, had run away. If you don't say it then the king would hang you".
The boy said, "I wouldn't lie the king even if l am hanged".
So the guards took him to the king holding him by the hand. The king asked the boy if he had thrown the piece of stone.
And the boy replied without hesitation that he had thrown the piece of stone but not on purpose. Hearing this instead of getting angry the king became very happy and asked him who taught him to tell the truth?
The boy replied that his mother had taught him. Now the king had no children of his own so he adopted the boy and gave him position of a prince.
It is rightly said - whatever is in your heart should be in your speech and whatever in your speech should be in your behaviour. Those people are great who combine these three.
