Once, there lived a farmer in a village. Every day, he left early in the morning, worked very hard in the field and returned home in the evening. He used to stay depressed as his only son had got involved in bad company. He was disobedient and never respected his father.

The poor farmer tried hard to bring his son to the right path, but all his efforts failed. He advised his son to stay away from his friends which he never obeyed. Finally, the farmer came up with a plan.

One day, when his son was not at home, he picked up some fresh mangoes from his garden. He kept a rotten mango along with the fresh mangoes and waited for his son to return.

When the son returned home, his father said, “Here are some mangoes. Please keep them in a corner in the kitchen.” The son did what he was told. He noticed that within a few days, all the mangoes had rotten. He became unhappy and went to his father.

His father said, “I had kept a rotten mango among the fresh ones. You might not have thought that a single rotten fruit can spoil the rest in the lot. That is why you didn’t bother to throw it away. Likewise, you are not able to realise the ill effects of the bad company you keep.”

The son understood what his father meant to say. He promised his father to give up all his bad habits and make him feel proud.

Moral: Better alone than in bad company.