Good evening to the honourable judges, the time keeper, teachers and my

beloved friends. Today, I am going to tell you a story entitled “The Woodcutter
and The Axe.”

Once upon a time there was a poor woodcutter. He was very poor but he was always
honest. One hot day, he took his axe and went inside the nearby forest in search of
wood. After searching for a long time, he found one good tree near a river inside the
forest.
“ Hemm.. this tree is good. I can get lots of firewood”
So, the woodcutter started to work.
„Swish, swoosh, swish swoosh..”

„Plop..”
Oh no! As the woodcutter was cutting the woods, his axe slipped from his hands
and fell inside the river. The river was very deep. So he couldn't get into the water to
take his axe out. He started crying.
“ Oh..oh..what am I going to do?”

“ I have lost my precious axe. Oh dear, oh dear..”

Suddenly, a beautiful angel appeared from inside the river water.
“ Why are crying my dear woodcutter?”
She asked.
“ Oh, I have lost my axe…now I won‟t be able to cut woods anymore.”
The woodcutter told her how his axe fell inside the water. The angel went inside the
water and after sometime came out with a golden axe in her hands. The woodcutter
refused to accept that golden axe. The angel again went inside the water. This time
she came out with a silver axe and gave it to the woodcutter. Again the woodcutter
refused saying that his was not a silver axe. The angel dived into the water. This
time she came out with the woodcutter's iron axe. The woodcutter happily accepted
his axe and thanked the angel. The angel was pleased with his honesty. The angel
rewarded the gold and the silver axes to that woodcutter. The moral of the story is
honesty always gets rewarded.