Kind Old Man and Greedy Old Woman

A very, very long time ago, an old man and an old woman lived in a small village. The old man was extremely kind, hardworking, and friendly. But the old woman was of a rather harsh nature. She was always grumbling and scolding one person or another.The old man had no children, so he had kept a small sparrow to ease his loneliness. The old man loved that little bird just like his own child.After working in the fields all day long and returning home in the evening, the old man's only joy was to play with that little bird. He had taught the bird many small games. The old man would even save a little from his own share of food to feed that bird.One day, the old man went to the forest to chop firewood. The old woman stayed home to wash clothes. The old woman had cooked and kept a little rice starch (flour paste) to apply to the clothes. But when she looked, the bowl's entire starch was empty.While the old woman was wondering 'who could have eaten it', that small sparrow came flying in. Bowing her head just as the old man had taught her, the bird said, "Grandmother, I ate that starch by mistake. Please forgive me!"That bird was so honest, she came on her own to ask for forgiveness. But the old woman was extremely cruel. She had never loved the bird. She thought, I will use this excuse to punish this bird.In a fit of anger, the old woman took a pair of scissors and cut the tongue of that poor little bird. She said, "Wasn't it this very tongue that ate my starch? Now stay like this!" Saying this much, she drove the injured bird out of the house.In the evening, the old man returned home. The bird that always came to welcome him was nowhere to be seen today. Panicking, the old man asked the old woman, "Where did our little sparrow girl go?"At first, the old woman acted as if she did not know. But after the old man asked repeatedly, she told him everything. Showing the bird's cut tongue, the old woman said, "I drove it away, now it will never come back."The old man felt deeply sorrowful. He cried all night long. He thought, "How much it must have hurt the poor bird! Now she probably won't even be able to sing songs." He decided to go search for the bird the very next day.Early the next morning, the old man headed towards the forest. Reaching every corner of the forest, he called out, "Where are you, my dear little sparrow girl? Come to meet me!"Searching and searching, the old man reached near a bamboo grove. There, that very same little sparrow girl was sitting, waiting for the old man. The bird welcomed the old man by bowing her head just like before. The amazing thing was that the bird's tongue had grown back again, and she was able to speak.The bird took the old man to her beautiful home. That house was like a small palace hidden inside the bamboo thicket. The bird's other friends and family were also there. They showed great respect to the old man and fed him delicious food.All the birds joined together and also performed a wonderful dance for the old man. The old man had never felt so much happiness in his life. But now it was time to return home.At the time of departure, the bird placed two boxes in front of the old man—one large and the other small. The bird said, "Grandfather, take whichever one you like as a gift."The old man said, "Child, I am old now. It will be difficult for me to carry a large box. I will take this small box instead." The bird bid the old man farewell, and the old man came home with the box.Upon reaching home, when the old man and the old woman opened that box, their eyes dazzled. That small box was filled with gold, silver, and diamonds and jewels! The old man became very happy.But greed arose in the old woman's heart. Scolding the old man, she said, "How foolish you are! If you had brought the large box, there would have been even more gold. Now I will go myself and bring that large box."The next day, the old woman hurriedly reached the forest. She found the bird's house. As soon as the old woman saw the bird, she said, "I don't need anything else, give me that large box, I want to go home."Laughing, the bird gave that large box to the old woman.The old woman somehow carried that heavy box on her back and headed towards home. On the way, she was in a hurry to open the box and see the wealth inside as soon as possible.She set the box down on the path and slowly opened the lid. But there was no wealth or property inside the box. As soon as the box was opened, terrifying ghosts, monsters, and snakes came out from there! They began to frighten the old woman.The old woman began to tremble with fear. Running to save her life, she reached home. Upon reaching home, crying, she told everything to the old man. Explaining to her, the old man said, "Look, this is all the fruit of your greed and the bad behavior you showed towards the bird."From that day onwards, the old woman realized her mistake. She stopped grumbling and causing trouble to others. With the help of that gold and silver, the old man and the old woman began to spend the rest of their lives happily and comfortably.