The Hermit and His Padi seeds

The Hermit and His Padi seeds

Many years ago, there lived a hermit in a forest of 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 be a beggar. 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 food anymore. 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. The boatman took pity on the hermit and gave him some padi 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 padi plants will turn into weeds.”

The old hermit worked hard to clear the land and sowed the seeds before the rains came. Strangely, after a short period of time, the padi was ready for harvesting. The old man got a lot  of rice from the harvest. After each harvest, the plant grew back again right away. When the villagers heard about the hermit and his wonderful padi, they flocked to his padi-field and took home as much padi as they could.

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


See also :
The Fools on the Desert Three fools
The Princess and The Sea Worms
The Wind and The Sun
NO TIME
The Hermit and His Padi seeds
The Fisherman
Please All and You Will Please None

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The Legend of the Mountain of Tangkuban Perahu
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