It is a story from Indian heritage, titled The Crop Belongs to the Owner of the Field. It is a heritage story that encourages honesty in work and the fruit of working with honesty.
Story Events: There was a village called Kosumbur. There lived a farmer named Shankar with his wife Maya. They had some agricultural land sufficient for their livelihood. There was no means of irrigation in that village. Instead, they had to rely on rain for farming purposes, as every year they waited for rain to fall at a specific time on their farms, the lands would be watered and the crop would grow.
Shankar Faces a Crisis After the Bull’s Death: The farmer Shankar had two bulls for plowing the field. As was the custom every year, Shankar waited for the rain to fall, and the rain came at the appropriate time. But unfortunately, one of Shankar’s bulls died. It was difficult to move the field irrigation with one bull or to plow the field with one bull.
Shankar tried his utmost to get a loan to buy another bull, but he did not succeed. After the rainy season, all the farmers began plowing their fields, while Shankar remained within the four walls of his home and was very depressed.
Shankar’s Wife Suggests Helping Him: Mrs. Maya, Shankar’s wife, saw his sadness and regret, so she asked him to go out to work and assume the role of the second bull, and help him in plowing the field instead of sitting at home, which would expose them to great financial loss. But Shankar did not agree to the proposal. Maya continued to pressure Shankar to accept the offer, but to no avail.
Shankar’s Wife Goes Out to Plow: Shankar’s wife decided to go out secretly to the field without her husband’s knowledge. She went out, carried the plow in parallel with the bull, and began walking to plow the field. Carrying the plow was not an easy or simple matter. When the farmers saw what Shankar’s wife was doing, they mocked and ridiculed her, and no one appreciated her suffering or even came to help.
The King Tours the Fields: At the same time, the king went out to tour the fields. The king was characterized by generosity and kindness. When the king passed by Shankar’s field, he saw his wife helping the bull in plowing work. The king was moved by this scene.
The king approached Shankar’s wife and asked her about the reason for her plowing. The king learned of the death of the second bull and that it was difficult for Shankar to obtain a loan to buy another bull. The king sympathized with Shankar’s wife and asked her to let him help her in plowing. The king began carrying the wooden pole and walking with the bull to plow the field.
The Secret of the Pearls: Shankar’s wife returned to him and told him what had happened throughout the day with her, and told him that she had finished plowing the field. They only had to wait for the seeds to grow. After a few days, Shankar went out to collect the seeds. While Shankar and his wife were collecting the seeds, they found a small area in the farm free of seeds.
That area was where the king had plowed and planted seeds, as they thought. They approached and searched for the seeds in that area to know the secret of the seeds not growing there. They did not find seeds but rather found pearls. Shankar collected the pearls that had fallen from the king, and they decided to go to the king to tell him about those pearls that had fallen from him in their field.
The Fruit of Honesty: Shankar went with his wife to the king’s palace. They requested a meeting with the king and told him the story of the pearls. The king was amazed at their honesty, for many pearls had fallen during his tours of other fields before and were not returned to him. The king rejoiced at the honesty of Shankar and his wife, refused to take the pearls, and gave them to Shankar and his wife as a reward for their honesty. He even granted them many gifts, including a group of bulls to help him in field work.
Translated from story: CROP BELONGS TO OWNER OF FIELD