Two liars

A hooligan, running as fast as he could, entered into a house, touched the feet of the owner and begged him to save him from two policemen who were pursuing him. He said, "I have lots of money. If you protect me from these policemen, I shall give you half of my money!" So the man agreed and found a good hiding place for the hooligan inside his house.

In a few minutes' time, the two policemen knocked at the door and one of them asked the owner of the house, "Where has that rascal gone?"

The owner replied, "Rascal? What rascal? What do you mean?"

"We are chasing a man who has stolen a lot of money. We saw him running towards your house," said the policeman. "Where is he?"

"I do not know what you mean. I certainly would not give shelter to such a rogue as you describe. If you do not believe me, you can search my house," replied the owner.

Now the policemen were confused. The owner of the house was so confidently challenging them that they began to feel that they were wrong, that perhaps the hooligan had actually taken shelter in another house nearby. So they left the house and continued their search elsewhere. When they could not trace the culprit, they went back to the police station.

When the policemen were safely out of sight, the owner of the house commanded the hooligan to come out of his hiding place. He said, "Now it is quite safe. Come out and share your money with me, as you promised."

The hooligan came out from his hiding place and said, "But I never said that I would share my money with you!"

"What do you mean? You are such a liar! You told me that if I gave you shelter from the police, you would give me half of your money. Where is it? Give it to me!" cried the owner.

"I have no money!" replied the hooligan.

The owner of the house became furious. The hooligan said, "Why have you become so angry? Is it because I am a liar? In that case, I have every right to become angry with you because you, too, are a liar! Did you not lie to the policemen when you told them I was not inside your house? That makes you just as much of a liar as I am!"

"So, you admit to being a liar! What a rogue you are! Get out of this house immediately!" the owner of the house roared.

Then he gave the hooligan a smart kick and threw him out of the house.

From:Sri Chinmoy,The jackal’s punishment, Agni Press, 2002
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/jp