In your everyday life, your choices, whether good or bad, often carry unseen consequences. Sometimes, these choices are observed by those around you, and occasionally, they bring unexpected rewards or lessons. The following stories highlight the profound impact of simple acts of honesty and kindness, reminding us that giving often brings greater rewards than receiving.
The moon is watching
A poor family lived in a small village. The father, trying to save money, often sneaked into others’ vegetable gardens at night to steal produce. One night, he took his son along to the garden with him. As he pulled up a few carrots, his son suddenly whispered: “Dad, someone’s watching you!” Startled, his father looked around nervously and asked: “Where are they?” His son pointed upward and replied: “Dad! Look, the moon is watching you!”
Hearing this, the father was taken aback and then regretted his actions. Holding his son’s hand, he quietly led him back home. Along the way, he thought: “Stealing is a grave sin. Perhaps it is Heaven’s mercy, using my son’s words to make me repent and change my ways.”
It turned out that the owner of the vegetable garden had been hiding behind a tree, waiting to catch the thief who had been stealing his produce. Furious, he was about to shout to catch the thief when he heard the child’s words. Under the moonlight, he recognized the thief as a fellow villager from a poor family. Watching the father and son silently leave, he looked up at the moon and remained silent. The garden owner later told his wife what he had seen. She said: “Isn’t the moon watching you too?”
The garden owner couldn’t sleep that night. The next day, he went to find the father, who had been stealing vegetables, and said: “I need some help around my place. Can you work for me? Besides wages, you can take some vegetables home.” The father eagerly accepted this offer of a job that could feed his family.
The poor father held his son’s hand that evening, looking at the moon. The son said: “Look, Dad, the moon is smiling!” Meanwhile, the garden owner also looked at the moon from his home and said to his wife: “I’ve never felt the moon watching us so closely, seeing what we do and how we react… Look, the moon is smiling!”
Giving is better than receiving
One day, a young university student was walking with his kind professor. They saw an old pair of shoes by the roadside, belonging to a poor man who would retrieve them after his workday. With the end of the workday approaching, the student suggested to the professor that they hide the shoes as a prank to see the poor man’s reaction when he couldn’t find them.
The professor replied: “Let’s not find joy in others’ misfortune. Instead, why not do a good deed for him? Place some coins in each shoe and see how he reacts.”
The student agreed, and they hid behind some bushes to watch. Soon, the poor man finished his work and returned to the roadside. He put on his clothes and slipped his foot into the first shoe, immediately feeling something inside. Bending down, he found a silver coin and was astonished. He looked around, expecting a trick, but saw no one, so he put the coin in his pocket.
He then put on the other shoe and found another silver coin, displaying the same surprise and joy. Overwhelmed, he knelt and prayed, thanking God for the timely help, as his wife was ill and they had little food at home. After the man left, the young student stood by the professor, tears in his eyes, deeply moved.
The professor asked: “Do you think what you did was more meaningful than your original prank?” The young man replied: “Yes, I have learned a valuable lesson that I will never forget: It is better to give than to receive.”
Translated article
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