The Greedy Milkman
Once upon a time, in a small village, lived Henry and his wife, Gloria. Henry was a milkman.
Together, the two of them had some cows. The couple took good care of their cows. They fed them hay and loved them dearly.
Because of this, all of Henry's cows gave excellent quality milk. Everyone in the village bought milk only from Henry.
Henry and Gloria earned well and lived a good life. But despite this, Henry was not happy. He always dreamed of buying a big house and expensive clothes.
Henry's Dream
— I saw a big house at the edge of the village. We should buy it. We could get an expensive car and many servants to wait on us. We'll wear the most expensive clothes, and most of the villagers will envy us. — This greed won't get you anywhere. We earn enough, and we should be happy with what we have. — How can you be happy in this small house and with this stable? Ugh! I'm tired of the smell of cows. — But this is our livelihood! — Not for long. Listen to what I tell you. One day I will be the richest man in the whole village. — Oh!
The Plan to Get Rich
Every day, when Henry went to sell milk, the villagers praised him.
— Henry, this milk is so good and healthy. You must take great care of your cows, don't you? — Oh, yes. That's right. But I won't be doing it for much longer. Once I become rich, I'll sell all the cows. I don't like that smell in my house. — But these cows provide your livelihood. Shouldn't you be grateful for your work? It helps you survive. I earn my living selling eggs, and my chickens smell, but it doesn't bother me. — That's my job. — Well, well, well. Maybe you're meant to sell eggs. But I'm meant to do bigger things, to buy expensive things and expensive clothes. — This greed won't get you anywhere, my friend. The sooner you understand that, the better. — Yes, I've wasted enough time here. Good luck with your chicken business. Goodbye. — Humph!
Henry wanted to earn more money. He often tried to find a way to get rich.
— Is that all? It's very little. How can I sell more milk? There must be a way. — Hmm. My cows are healthy. I can't make them give more milk. Besides, this is a small village. Even if I made more milk, where would I sell it? — Wait! I could go to the neighboring villages. There are many families there. — Ah! But then I'll have to buy another cow, and right now I don't have enough money for that. No. I have to do something. I'm going to buy a bigger house. — Let's see. I don't have enough money to buy another cow. But I will have to increase the quantity of milk. — How do I do that?
A "Brilliant" Idea
As he walked along, he reached a river. Finally, overwhelmed by greed, Henry had an idea.
— What if I put a little water in the milk? That way I wouldn't have to buy another cow, and at the same time, I could sell milk in the neighboring village too. Ah, it's a brilliant idea. No one will notice if I put just a tiny bit of water in the milk. Hehehe.
And Henry did just that. The next day, Henry began to fill the milk bottles. But this time, he only filled them halfway and left. Then he stopped at the river and added a little water to the milk. That day, as usual, the villagers bought milk from Henry and paid the same price.
Thanks to the added water, Henry now had more milk, which he sold in the neighboring village. That night, Henry was very happy.
— This is great! If I keep this up, I'll become very rich soon.
The Consequences of Greed
He was right. Days passed, and Henry was now richer than before. He bought a car and renovated his house.
He had become so used to adding water to the milk that he didn't think for a moment about buying another cow. As the demand for milk grew, so did the water in the milk.
This went on for weeks. But the villagers began to notice. People in the village were talking about the watered-down milk.
Wanting to know the truth, some of the villagers gathered in front of Henry's house.
— What's the problem? — Henry, we have observations to make regarding the milk you sell. — It tastes like water. — What? How dare you say that? — We pay for milk, Henry, not for water. You can't fool us anymore! — Nothing has changed. You don't appreciate my kindness. I work very hard. Buy from someone else if you don't like it. I don't need you. I have many other villages where the milk I sell is appreciated.
Henry rushed into the house and slammed the door. The villagers were shocked by Henry's rude behavior.
— Something is wrong. — I agree. We must find out.
A Lesson for the Milkman
They all planned to find out the truth. The next morning, as usual, Henry went to the river.
He opened the half-full milk cans and poured water into them. But he didn't know that the villagers were watching him.
— Ah! How dare he! — It's not fair. — That's how he gets rich. He has the same number of cows, yet he sells milk to so many families.
The villagers understood everything and decided to teach the greedy milkman a lesson.
The next day, Gloria went to the market to buy legumes. That evening, when Henry returned from work, he sat down at the table with his wife.
— Huh? What is this? Did you cook with stones? — Stones? No! They are legumes. — No, they're not. I can't believe it. Did the seller sell you pebbles among the legumes? How dare he? I'm going to go talk to him tomorrow.
That night, Henry and Gloria went to bed on empty stomachs. Henry went angrily to the seller the next morning.
— What did you sell us? We didn't pay for stones, but for legumes! — Buy from someone else if you don't like it. I don't need you.
Henry returned home nervously. After a while, he went to buy 12 eggs. When he got home and tried to crack them, he realized that 10 of the 12 eggs were stones. He became very angry.
— What did you sell me? I paid for eggs, not stones! — Just as we paid for milk and not water. Buy from someone else if you don't like it. I don't need you.
Henry left furiously. The next day, he bought a silk shirt. On his way home, it started to rain, and the water washed the color out of his shirt. When he got home, he realized that the shirt was not silk, but jute.
This happened for several days. Every time Henry went out to buy something, he came home with something different.
— I'm tired of this! Why don't they sell us what's right? — They're cheating us. It's not fair.
Henry was so preoccupied with thinking about himself and his greed that he didn't realize he was doing the same thing to others. In time, even those in the neighboring villages began to complain. Slowly, no one bought milk from Henry anymore.
The Lesson Learned
Having no more money to spend, Henry began to sell the things he had bought from selling inferior quality milk.
Now Henry was a poor milkman. He had only a few cows left and only a few houses where he could sell his milk.
— Now do you realize what you've done? Your greed is why we are poor. If you had continued to sell good milk as you used to, we could have afforded a bigger house and expensive clothes one day. You just needed to be patient and keep working. — I agree, Gloria. I should have listened to you. I didn't just lose my money. I also lost people's respect and trust. Oh!
Henry continued to sell milk and take care of his cows. Now he knew how dangerous greed could be. He had learned his lesson. From that day on, he never added water to the milk again and was content with what he earned.
