HERMIT

Many years ago, there lived a hermit in a forest in Sumatra. He did not grow food but depended on the jungle fruit to survive. Soon, there was a drought, and all the plants and fruit trees in the jungle died.

The old man had nothing to eat now, so he turned to begging. He went to a nearby village trying to get some food. At first, the villagers were happy to help him. However, when he came continually, they refused to give him any more food. They told him to grow his own food.

One day, while the hermit was sitting in his hut, sad and hungry, he began to think about growing his own food. Just then, a boatman stopped by and taking a pity on hermit gave him some “paddy” seeds.

Before the boatman went away, he said, “These seeds will grow and give you everlasting harvest if you work very hard. If you are tired of the work, the “paddy” plants will turn into weeds.”

The old hermit worked hard to clear the land and sowed the seeds before the rain came. Strangely, after a short period of time, the “paddy” was ready for harvesting. The old man got a lot of rice from the harvest. After each harvest, the plants grew back again right away.

When the villagers heard about the hermit and his wonderful “paddy”, they flocked to his “paddy” field and took home as much “paddy” as they could.

One day, hermit became so tired of harvesting the “paddy then he shouted,” Oh, stop growing, you wretched thing!” As soon as he had said this, the “paddy” plants turned into weeds.