The Foolish Saint and the Cheat
Once upon a time, in a village, there lived a saint. He was the only ascetic in the entire village, and villagers offered him various donations. Driven by greed, he did not allow any other saint to stay in the village and would expel anyone who tried. In this way, he accumulated a substantial amount of wealth. A cheat had been eyeing the saint's riches for some time, determined to acquire them. He devised a plan, assuming the guise of a student and approached the saint, requesting to be his disciple.
Initially, the saint refused, but eventually relented and took the cheat as his disciple. The cheat resided with the saint in the temple, diligently serving him and maintaining the temple's upkeep. The saint was pleased with the cheat's service, but still did not fully trust him. One day, the saint received an invitation to another village and, with his disciple, prepared to leave. He carefully packed his wealth into a bundle. Upon reaching a river, the saint decided to bathe before entering the village. He hid his belongings inside a blanket, instructed the cheat to look after them, and went to bathe in the river.
The cheat, overjoyed, seized his opportunity. As soon as the saint entered the river, the cheat fled with all the valuables. When the saint returned, his disciple was gone, and his wealth had vanished. The saint, distraught, wrung his hands in despair.
The moral of this story is - This story teaches us never to be greedy and never to trust smooth-talking individuals.
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