SCHOOL : SEKOLAH KEBANGSAAN (1) JALAN MERU

TITTLE : THE POOR WOODCUTTER

PRESENTER : KHAVINAYAHSREE A/P SIVARAJA

Once upon a time, there lived a poor woodcutter at the edge of the village
near a forest. The woodcutter’s name was Eric. Eric lived a-day-to-day life by
selling his woods to the villages. Now, Eric was Friendly and kind. The people
and the children were kind to him too. They often offered him food and drinks.
At times Eric would pluck some lovely flowers and give them to the little girls
and he too carved some wooden toys for the little boys.

Every day Eric would go deep into the forest to find for his woods. One day
as he was chopping woods, the axe he was using slipped off his hand and fell
into the nearby river. Eric was shocked, he quickly jumped into the river and
started to search and search for the axe. He looked for it everywhere in the
water that he could possibly look for. Suddenly his legs got caught in the
weeds and he could not release himself. He struggled and struggled but it was
in vain. He was drowning. All of a sudden, he saw a lady in white with a wand.
She was giving her hand and soon he realized he was on dry land and beside
him was this lady. She gently stroked him and told him not to be afraid
because she was the water fairy. She asked him why he went so deep into the
water. With a tearful face and trembling voice he told her what happened to
him and his axe. Feeling sorry for Eric, the fairy assured him to she will try to
find it for him.

And before Eric could realize what was happening the fairy vanished into
the water and came out with a golden axe. Eric exclaimed, that it was not his.
So, the fairy plunged into the river and this time appeared with a silver axe and
Eric shook his head saying it was not his either. This time the fairy brought out
his very own axe, Eric was so delighted and said ‘Thank you, Thank you,
Thank you so much’. Seeing his honesty, the fairy gave Eric both the golden
and silver axes. Thanking her, he left the place cheerfully. On reaching the
village, he told his story to everyone and they were happy for him.

But one man was not, he was envious of Eric’s rewards. He then plotted to
get the golden and silver axes for himself too. At pre-dawn the next day, he
took his old rusty axe and left the village to head for the forest. And there at the
river he flung his axe and it fell into the river. He then sat by the river and
started to cry. On hearing this, the fairy came out and asked him the reason
why he was crying. He told her a fib. The fairy knew his plot and she played
along. She disappeared into the river and brought out the golden axe. The man
delightfully said it was his and he told her that he had lost his silver axe too.
The fairy, was outraged with the lies he spoke but wanted to see how far this
plot would go on. She went in and brought out the silver axe and the man’s
very own old and rusty axe. The man greedily snatched the silver axe from the
fairy’s hand when the fairy froze him and spun around her wand and turned
him into an ugly toad. He crooked and crooked and looked at the fairy pitifully.
But the fairy said to him this is what you get for your greed.

Moral Value : Always be honest and grateful with what you have