WOOD CUTTER AND THE FAIRY

THE MODERN WOOD CUTTER AND THE OLDAGE FAIRY
A.K.RAMAN

Once upon a time there lived a wood cutter in a village near a forest. He went inside the forest braving wild beasts and cut dead trees and sold the wood to the villagers. Obviously he was very poor. Due to constant usage for a long time his axe had worn out and needed replacement. But he could not save money to purchase a new axe.

One hot summer day, he wandered in the forest in search of dead tree and could not find one for a long time. After hours and hours of search he found one tree near an abandoned well. He started cutting the tree. The long search had made him very tired and hungry. But he had nothing to eat. After about half an hour of hard work he was very weak and suddenly the axe slipped from his hand and fell in the well.

The well was very deep and retrieving the axe from it was impossible. Realization dawned on him that his only bread winning tool had been lost. A fit of grief gripped him and he started to weep loudly. In between gasps he was praying God to show pity on him. A fairy was living inside the well and she heard the cry of the wood cutter. She appeared in front of the wood cutter. On hearing the sad story of the wood cutter, she dived inside the well and brought an axe made of gold. She offered the golden axe to the wood cutter. The wood cutter did not accept the axe made of gold and told the fairy that it was not his.
The fairy dived again and brought a silver axe. The wood cutter refused to accept saying it was also not his. The fairy dived for the third time and brought his worn out axe made of iron. Wood cutter was very happy and asked for the axe. Appreciating the wood cutter’s honesty the fairy gave him all the three.
The wood cutter went back to his house and with the money he got by selling part of his gold and silver, he became very rich. He started leading a happy and peaceful life. But his wife became suspicious. She wanted to know the source of his wealth. The wood cutter told her the truth but she was not ready to believe him. After hearing the same story of the fairy giving him the three axes repeatedly, she wanted to see the fairy. Initially he was very reluctant to take her inside the forest. Her persistent nagging forced him to accept her wish. One fine day, he took her to the abandoned well inside the forest.
His wife was very curious and went to the edge of the well and peeped inside the well to see the fairy. She slipped and fell inside. The wood cutter loved his wife very much. He became very sad again. It pained him very much to lose his beloved wife just few days after becoming rich. He wished for the fairy’s help. The fairy appeared again and asked for the cause of his grief. On hearing about his wife she dived inside the well and returned with a beautiful young girl and offered him.
The wood cutter thought for some time and accepted the beautiful girl as his wife.
“Oh! Oh! It is not fair. I know that she is not your wife.” The fairy said.
“You have become dishonest after becoming rich. I did not expect this from you.” She continued.
“No. No. You have misunderstood me. I have to accept your first offer. Otherwise you will dive again and bring another girl. If I deny her also, you will dive for the third time and bring my wife. The moment I accept her, you will be too pleased and would give me all the three girls. I can manage three axes but I can not manage three wives.” The wood cutter replied and went away with the beautiful girl.



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