The cook put all his money in a bag and swung it over his back, along with another bundle containing all his belongings. Then he set off walking with his heavy load. His own village was quite far away and it would take him several days to reach it. After some time, he saw a man riding a horse. The man asked him, “Where are you going?”
The cook said, “I am going home to my native village. Now it is getting dark. I am planning to spend the night in my uncle’s house a few miles from here. Then in the morning I shall continue my journey. But if you want to do me a big favour, since you have a horse, you can take my bag and leave it for me at my uncle’s place. If you can do this for me, I will be so happy.”
The man on the horse said, “Am I a fool? Am I a fool? Such a heavy bag you are carrying and now you want my poor horse to bear it?”
The cook felt very sad that this fellow would not help him by taking the bag. His shoulders and back were really aching under the weight of both the bag and the bundle. But he could not persuade the man to change his mind. The horseman said, “You go your own way! I will have nothing to do with you!” And with that he rode off.
As the horseman was riding away, a sudden thought occurred to him. He said, “What a fool I am! Who knows, perhaps inside the bag that fellow had some valuables. He told me he was going home to his own village, so I am sure that bag contained all his savings. What a chance I missed! Perhaps even now it is not too late. Let me go back and tell him that I have changed my mind. I am ready to do him the favour of taking the bag to his uncle’s place. Depending on what I find in the bag, I may take away only some of the valuables and leave the rest for him, or I may keep the entire contents.”
So he turned his horse around and rode back in the opposite direction. At last he saw the traveller moving very slowly under his heavy burden. The horseman called out, “My friend, I am sorry I was rude to you before. You asked me to do you a favour and I refused. You must think that I am such an unkind person! Please give me a second chance. I shall gladly take the bag to your uncle’s place.”
In the meantime, the traveller had also had second thoughts. When the man on the horse rode away, he said to himself, “My God, I was such a fool! I have so much money inside my bag. What would I have done if he had stolen the bag? I took him to be an honest fellow, but I could easily have been mistaken.”
When the man on the horse asked for a second chance, the traveller said, “Oh, no, no, I have changed my mind. I can manage by myself. Now I do not need you at all!”
The man on the horse began cursing himself. “Wisdom always comes too late!” he said.
In both cases, wisdom came late, but in the case of the traveller, he was still able to prevent his bag from being stolen. If the horseman had immediately agreed to carry the bag, then he would have been able to take all the traveller’s money.
How stupid they both were!From:Sri Chinmoy,Amusement I enjoy, enlightenment I study, part 3, Agni Press, 1997
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/aie_3