Poor hungry boys met a gentleman. He allowed them to carry home two bags
for him, and he would give them a little money. When they arrived at his house,
he gave them each a coin. He thought that it was a ten-paisa piece. But in the darkness,
he had given them each half a rupee. He did not know that he made a mistake that night,
but the boys did. 5
As soon as they reached a food shop, the first boy said, “Look! The silly old man
has given me a half rupee instead of a ten-paisa piece!” The other boy then looked at his
coin and found that he had also received a rupee. “You do not think that the gentleman
really meant to give us these, do you?” he asked. “No, he made a mistake in the dark,
of course,” replied the first boy, “and when he finds it out he won’t find us.” 10
The other boy, who was honest, said “Doing that is like a thief”. His friends replied
that they would rather be a thief than a fool, and then they began to spend the money. However, the honest boy did not use his and went to the gentleman’s house to return it.
This so pleased the man that he told him to keep it, and gave him another. He then told
the police to catch the other boys. 15
Adapted from www.bubblews.com/.../3040632-honesty-is-the-best-best-the policy