Dear children … today we read the story named as “Today’s Reading time for students… Moral stories…The Saint And The Bandit…
The Saint And The Bandit…
Ones upon a Time, Long, Long years ago, there lived a saint. he travelled from village to village to preach and counsel people. The saint was a very pious man who led a simple life. The Saint And The Bandit There was magic in his word which inspired many people to change themselves and lead a better life. One day, when the saint was preaching to some people, a man came running there and fell at his feet. He pleaded ,’O holy man ! I am a bandit. I am fed up with my life and now I wish to live in the society as an honest man. Will you kindly guide me to reform myself and start my life afresh ?’ The saint gently put his hand on the bandit’s shoulder and said, “Son, you are a pious soul. Why do you rob people ? Today, I want you to pledge that you will not loot or harass anyone and that you will never tell a lie. if you keep your promise, you will surely be able to lead a happy life.”
The bandit promised the saint that he would follow his advice. The Saint And The Bandit After a few days, the saint was preaching in a village when the same bandit came to him and said,”O holy man! Looting people has became my habit and profession. In spite of trying very hard, I am not able to give it up. Please show me another way to amend my ways, turn over a new leaf and become a refined man.” The saint thought for a while and said,” Son, it is all right if you are not able to give up your habit of looting people. I have another way to reform you, but you must see to it that you strictly follow my advice and I know that it will not be difficult for you to do so.” ” I promise to follow you advice,” assured the bandit.” The saint said, “Son, you are free to loot people and treat them the way you like. But every evening, wherever I may be, you must come to me and frankly confess you bad conduct and deeds.” The Saint And The Bandit “Ah ! That is easy. I can do that,” said the bandit confidently. He then touched the saint’s feet and went his way. Many days passed, but the bandit did not come to meet the saint again. One day, one of the saint’s disciples asked him about the bandit. The saint said, “That man will never come to me again because it is very easy to commit a crime but very difficult to confess it in public. Therefore. I am sure that he must have given up looting people.” After quite some time, people came to know that the bandit had actually succeeded in giving up his bad habit and his life as an honest man. The Saint And The Bandit
End of the story and …
The moral of the story is that “We can amend our mistakes.” We should not be afraid to confess our mistakes publicly. It will prevent us from making more mistakes.
