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At the
edge of a dense forest there lived a woodcutter in a small but well-kept little
hut. Everyday he would cut wood for about an hour, sell whatever he had cut, and
with the money so obtained satisfy his wants. Having done so he would consider
his day’s work over and thereafter spend his time taking complete rest.
This was the routine of
the woodcutter. A foreigner happened to observe him, and he noticed that
invariably, day after day, the same procedure was followed.
One day, with the
intention of giving him some advice, he approached him, seated himself
comfortably, and having done with the formalities of introduction and small
talk, he queried of the poor labourer: ‘Why is it, my dear fellow, you cut wood
every day for just the space of an hour and then put a stop to your work? Why
don’t you cut some more?’
‘What will I do cutting
more wood?’ enquired the serene woodcutter.
Why!’ replied the
outsider. ‘If you cut more, you will have more wood to sell; which will mean
that you will get more money.’
‘What will I do then?’
‘O then, you can buy
yourself a wheel-barrow, so that you can load much more and push the whole thing
to the city. There they will pay you a higher price, resulting in a lump sum of
money for you.’
‘Then what?’ asked the
villager.
‘You can collect all that
money and get yourself a new truck, by which you will be able to transport very
huge logs to other towns where wood is scarce. Think what a lot of cash that
would mean.’
‘What would be my next
move?’ enquired the woodcutter.
‘By then, you would be so
fabulously rich that you could build a nice big house, and furnish it to your
taste. Having become a big businessman and having amassed enough and more of
wealth, you will be in a position to employ workers to do all the work for you.’
‘And then what do I do?’
The foreigner, by now
carried away by his own statements, replied in an expansive way, ‘O, why, you
could relax, and relax, and enjoy life having nothing to do but to relax.’
The woodcutter looked at
him coolly and said, ‘What the devil am I doing now if not relaxing?’ He then
continued. ‘My dear friend, “contentment is bliss”. I have achieved this here
and now itself what you would have me achieve afterwards?’
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