A poor woodcutter who lived in a cottage by the woods thought one day, “Today I shall go to the deepest part of the forest and cut down as many trees as I can.” He earned his livelihood by chopping wood and selling it in the market. However, he never got enough to eat.

The woodcutter trudged along the forest’s paths and stopped when he came to the deepest part. He cut trees all day long and then decided to rest. “Let me have a drink from the river nearby,” he thought. As he came up to the river to drink water, his axe slipped from his hands and fell straight into the river.

“Oh, what shall I do now?” he wailed. Suddenly the river god came out of the water and asked, “Why are you crying?” The woodcutter replied, “I have lost my axe and cannot cut wood anymore. Then I shall have nothing to sell in the market and will die of hunger.”

The river god told him not to worry, as he would bring his axe back. He went back into the water and soon emerged with a dazzling golden axe. “That is not my axe,” cried the woodcutter. So he went down again and brought another axe. This time it was silver. “That is not my axe either,” the woodcutter said.

The river god went into the water again and brought out an old and rusted iron axe. The woodcutter jumped up joyfully and exclaimed, “That is my axe!” The river god smiled and gave him all three – the golden, the silver, and the iron axe. “I am happy with your honesty. So I shall let you take all three,” he declared.

The woodcutter thus took all the axes home, and never remained poor anymore.

Moral: Honesty is the best policy.