Once, there was a farmer in a village. Every year, he worked very hard in the field and grew a good crops. One year, there was no rain in the country. All the rivers and lakes had dried up. The farmer could not cultivate any crop.

One day, he sat under a tree beside his house. He was worried about how to buy food for his family. While he was lost in his thoughts, a little anthill caught his attention. He looked at it, scared. A snake was crawling in the mud around the anthill.

He at once fetched a saucer of milk from his home. Placing it near the anthill, he went home. The snake slowly crept towards it and drank the milk.

The next morning, when the farmer came near the tree, he found a gold coin in the saucer. He was overjoyed to see it. “I’ll bring milk daily for the snake and get a gold coin in return,” he said and ran to his house. He showed the coin to his wife who willingly gave him another saucer of milk.

Thus, the farmer continued to offer milk to the snake. Within a few days, he became rich.
One day, the farmer’s wife was taken ill. The farmer decided to call the village physician. While leaving the house, he told his son to keep a saucer of milk near the anthill. The son did as he was told. In the evening, when he went under the tree, the snake had already kept a gold coin.

The boy could not believe his eyes. He wondered how the coin came there. Looking at the anthill, he said to himself, “The gold must be inside this anthill. I must break it and take away the coins.”

He took a stick and hit the anthill. The snake came out of it and bit the boy to death. When the farmer came there looking for his son, he found him lying on the ground. He saw the broken anthill and understood the matter easily. He wept for his son who was punished for being greedy.

Moral: Being greedy will lead to your downfall.