THE THIEF IN THE GARDEN
Once upon a time there was a man who had a big garden. He had planted many fruit trees and cared for them till they bore fruits. Now he wanted to pick the fruits and sell them to earn money for his family.
One fine day the man was picking fruits with his sons when they saw a man sitting on the branch of a tree also picking the fruits. The man was angry and shouted, “Hey You!” What are you doing on my tree? Aren’t you ashamed at stealing fruits in the daytime?” The man on the branch just looked at the gardener but didn’t reply. He continued picking the fruits. The gardener was very angry and shouted again, “For a whole year I have taken care of these trees, you have no right to take the fruits without my permission so come down at once!”
The man in the tree answered, “Why should I come down? This is the gardener of God and I am the servant of God, so I have the right to pick these fruits and you should not interfere between the work of God and His servant.” The gardener was very surprised at this answer and thought of a plan. He called his son and said, “Go bring a rope and get this man down from the tree.” His son brought the rope and the gardener ordered him to tie the man to the tree. The gardener then took a stick and started to beat the thief. The thief began to scream, “Why are you beating me? You have no right to do this.”
The gardener paid no attention and continued beating him. The thief screamed, “Don’t you fear God, you are beating an innocent man? The gardener answered, “Why should I fear? This wood in my hand belongs to God and I too am the servant of God, so I have nothing to fear, and you shouldn’t interfere with the work of God and his servant.” The thief hesitated and then spoke, “Wait don’t beat me, I am sorry for taking the fruits. This is your garden and I should seek your permission before taking the fruits. Please forgive me and set me free.
The gardener smiled and said, “Since you have now realized your mistake, I will forgive you but remember that God has given all His servants brains so every person’s deeds are his own hands.
Then the gardener untied him and let him go free.
