The Miser Who Was Punished

CHAPTER 34 The Miser who was Punished If you were to meet Keshav, you would feel sad. Torn rags hung on his thin body and his eyes, over the sunken cheeks, had a hungry glint in them. But in reality, he was a man who was as rich as he was miser. The neighbours did not like him. He avoided everybody and did not help anyone. Keshav lived in an old house in the midst of a neglected garden and he did not have a single friend in the world. For days on end, behind closed shutters, he would count his gold coins which he had hoarded in his lifetime. 161 Don't think that they gave him pleasure! Not at all. They brought him only trouble and worry. He was always afraid that somebody might steal them. One day, Keshav decided that he would hide his treasure. He locked up the gold coins in an iron box and buried it deep in the ground under a spreading tree in his garden. He carefully smoothed down the earth and was happy in the thought that nobody would discover his hiding place. Now, he was more contented. He felt safe and used to say to himself, 'Even if thieves break into the house, they won't find anything.' Soon however, he began to miss the gold coins. So every morning before the neighbours were out of bed, he would steal up to the banyan tree and look longingly at the spot where the treasure lay hidden. Many weeks passed by quietly. But then, one night, thieves did really come to his house. They were looking forward to a rich booty, because they knew that Keshav was rich. ZZZ 162 However, no matter how and where they looked, they could not find anything valuable. They were about to go away when they heard a voice coming from the miser's bedroom. Keshav was talking to himself. The thieves stopped, listened and were delighted. They could hardly believe their good fortune. Keshav was muttering, 'My beloved ones, I will come to see you again in the morning.' Quietly the thieves came out of the house, hid in the bushes and waited. Towards morning, Keshav appeared. He looked round carefully and when he did not see anybody, he hurried to the banyan tree. He stood under the tree for a while and touched the spot where the treasure was hidden. Then reassuring himself that everything was in order and the treasure was safe, he rubbed his hands with satisfaction and returned to the house. Hardly had the door closed behind him when the thieves set to work. Soon, and without much trouble, they found the iron chest and took out the money. They buried the chest again in the ground, smoothed the earth and did everything so that no one could notice what had gone on there. The unsuspecting Keshav continued to visit the tree every morning. After sometime his longing for the gold coins became so strong that he could not resist the temptation to look at them. He dug up the box and rushed home. When he opened it and saw that it was empty he thought he would collapse with shock. His lamentations and moanings brought the neighbours on the scene in no time. 163 But none of them felt sorry for the miser. They could not forgive him for the way he had always behaved with them. One of them said, 'How can we believe you at all? You have always maintained that you are a poor man.' 'You deserve it,' said another. 'What have you lost anyway? The wealth was of no use either to you or to us.' A third one said, 'You buried the treasure but it haunted you all the time. It didn't give you any rest. Now at least you won't have to worry about someone stealing it from you. You can sleep in peace, nobody can do you any harm.' Thus they jeered at him until at last he got angry and chased them out of the house. For many days he bemoaned his loss and felt sad. After some time however, he began to think about what the neighbours had said and which at that time had seemed to him cruel and merciless. The loss of his wealth forced him to start working again. While doing his work, he used to think a lot and his views gradually began to change. He never became rich again, but with his decent behaviour he gained many friends and realized that good and honest friends are much more precious than all the treasures in the world. WORD MEANING sunken: unhealthily hollow glint : shine