The Farmer and the Well
A farmer looking for a source of water for his farm bought a well from his neighbor. The neighbor was cunning, though, and refused to let the farmer take water from the well. On asking why, he replied, “I sold the well to you, not the water”, and walked away. The distraught farmer didn’t know what to do. So he went to Birbal, a clever man and one of the nine courtiers of Emperor Akbar, for a solution.
The emperor called the farmer and his neighbor and asked why the man was not letting the farmer draw water from the well. The cunning man said the same thing again, “I sold the well, not the water. So he cannot take my water”.
To this, Birbal replied, “All that sounds fine to me. But if you have not sold the water and the water is yours, then you have no business keeping your water in his well. Remove the water or use it all up immediately. If not the water will belong to the owner of the well”.
Realizing that he’s been tricked and taught his lesson, the man apologized and left.
Moral: Cheating will not get you anything. If you do cheat, you’ll pay for it soon enough.