The Honest Woodcutter

A poor Woodcutter, living along the bank of a river, labored each day to cut wood and sell it for his meager livelihood. One day, as he worked beside the water, his ax slipped from his hand and fell into the river, sinking into the depths of the dark water. The Woodcutter stood helpless and despairing, for that ax was his livelihood, and he had no money to purchase another. As he wept upon the riverbank, the river god appeared before him, rising from the water in a form of shimmering light and ethereal beauty. "Why do you weep?" asked the river god with a voice like music. The Woodcutter explained his loss, his voice heavy with sorrow. The river god, moved by the man's distress, disappeared beneath the water and returned a moment later with an ax of gold, so beautiful and perfectly crafted that it seemed to shine with an inner radiance. "Is this your ax?" asked the river god, holding forth the golden tool. The Woodcutter, though astonished at the magnificence of the golden ax, shook his head and replied with honest simplicity: "No, that is not my ax. My ax was plain iron, made by the blacksmith in the village. It was worth only a small sum." The river god, delighted by the Woodcutter's honesty, disappeared again and returned with a silver ax. "Is this your ax?" he inquired. Again, the Woodcutter shook his head and said, "No, that is not my ax either. I have only ever possessed a simple iron ax." The river god vanished once more and returned holding an ax of plain iron, identical to the one that had fallen. "Is this your ax?" he asked. "Yes!" cried the Woodcutter with joy. "That is indeed my ax. I thank you greatly for its return!" The river god, so pleased by the Woodcutter's honesty and integrity, said to him: "Because you did not seek to deceive me and would not claim what was not rightfully yours, though greater riches were offered, I grant you all three axes—the golden, the silver, and the iron—as a reward for your honest heart." The Woodcutter, blessed with this unexpected fortune, lived the remainder of his days in comfort and security, all because he had remained true to honesty even when great temptation to deception had been placed before him.