Mohan was a well-to-do farmer, but in his own locality he was better known as Mohan the Miser!
The harvest season was over. It was time for the farmers to bring home the stacks of paddy. Children of poor people loitered around the fields with the hope of getting as alms the scattered grain loosened from the stacks. The farmers did not disappoint them. They thought it a pious deed to give them small quantities of grain.
Mohan too was in his field and he was ready to leave for home. There were porters to carry his paddy. But while the poor boys went to all the other farmers, none came to him. They knew Mohan’s nature.
Mohan desired that he too should be looked upon as a man of charity. He decided to show that he could be more generous than the others. He set apart some paddy and mixed an equal quantity of husk with it. Then he called some.
boys and filled their bags with the stuff.
One of his neighbors became curious. He called the boys and looked into their bags and smiled. He then gave them some advice.
When Mohan was back home, his wife told him, “Look at that heap of grain. A certain great soul gave it free to some village urchins. | bought it off them at half the market price.”
Mohan recognized his gift!
