The Hidden Treasure
Alok's wife loved good furniture. Alok, however, was not in a position to buy things according to her desire. However, he remembered his wife's fascination with artistic things. He waited for an opportunity when he can please her by buying a few nice things. The landlord of the locality died. He was in debt. His young son sold away his property and left for the town. Several luxurious items were sold cheaply. Alok bought a large cot with delicate carvings. The cot was fitted with glass. But the glass pieces were old and damaged. Alok began to remove them in order to put new ones in their places. While removing one such piece, he hit upon a treasure of gold mohurs hidden behind it. "We have no claim to this treasure. This must have been stored by the late landlord or his father or grandfather. We should restore the mohurs to the young landlord who has run into bad days," said Alok's wife. Alok appreciated his wife's conscience. He put the treasure in a bag and went to the town to hand them over to its rightful owner. It was evening when Alok reached the town. He was quite tired by then. He needed immediate rest. He did not know where the young landlord lived.
He went to the house of an old friend of his, Suresh, to spend the night. Once a prosperous merchant, Suresh had suddenly become poor. His business had failed. He was leading a miserable life. Upon hearing the woes of Suresh, Alok was moved to deep sympathy. He could not sleep at night. He took a decision to give half of the mohurs to Suresh so that he could come up in business again. While Alok lay on his bed and reflected on the situation, he heard a harsh voice coming from the next room. "Show me the spot where you have buried your wealth or your son dies!" said the voice. Alok hurried to the scene. A dacoit had taken hold of Suresh's younger son. He brandished a sharp dagger. "Looking at my mansion you must have thought that I have much wealth. But I am one who has recently gone bankrupt," said Suresh pleadingly. "Any rich man would say the same thing. You should not expect me to believe you. I am going to kill your son if you don't tell about your hidden treasure in a minute," growled the dacoit. "Take your dagger off the boy and go away with these mohurs," said Alok. The dacoit slipped away with the bag of mohurs. "You saved us. But for you, we would have lost our son to the dacoit!" said Suresh and his wife, expressing their gratitude to Alok. "It is not that I had come here to help you. It is Providence that used me to save your son," commented Alok. In the morning Alok went in search of young landlord. After much inquiry, he traced him.
The young man lived in a small hut not far from Suresh's house. "Some of my false friends advised me to come to the town. But they swindled me of the entire money I had brought. Now that I have nothing, I never see them," complained the young man. Alok told him all about the chance discovery of the mohurs, his intention to hand them over to him, and how he lost them to the dacoit. The young man sat stunned for a while. Then he cried out, "This means I stole my own property! God showed that I had no business to turn a dacoit. The mohurs have come to me anyway!" Alok now realized who the dacoit was. "Come, let us go back to the village. You can begin a business with the mohurs as your capital. I shall help you," proposed Alok. "But you must give half of the mohurs to your friend, Suresh. He too is as needy as I," said the young landlord. Alok brought Suresh and the young man together and planned a trade. Suresh continued to be in the town and market the goods which the young landlord sent from his village. Their business was a roaring success. When the two made enough profit, they offered the value of the mohurs in cash to Alok. Alok was reluctant to accept the amount. But they compelled him to accept it. "The real hidden treasure was not the heap of mohurs, but the goodness in those three," commented people who knew their story.
For More Bedtime Stories Click Here
Comments
Post a Comment