The Farmer and the Well

A farmer needed a water

source for his farm, so he
bought a well from his
neighbor. However, The
neighbor was cunning. The
next day, as the farmer came
to draw water from his well,
the neighbor refused to let him
take any.

When the farmer asked why,

the neighbor replied, “I sold you the well, not the water,” and walked away.
Distraught, the farmer went to the emperor to ask for justice. He explained
what had happened.
The emperor called on Birbal, the wisest of his nine courtiers. Birbal
proceeded to question the neighbor, “Why don’t you let the farmer take water
from the well? You sold the well to the farmer, did you not?”
The neighbor replied, “Birbal, I did sell the well to the farmer but not the
water within it. He has no right to draw water from the well.”
Birbal said, “Look, since you sold the well, you have no right to keep the
water in the farmer’s well. Either you pay rent to the farmer or take it out
immediately.” Realizing that his scheme had failed, the neighbor apologized
and went home.

A. Answer the following questions.

1. Why did the farmer buy a well?
2. Why did the neighbor deny the right of the farmer to take any water
from the well?
3. How did Birbal resolve their problem?
4. If you were the farmer, what would you do in that situation?
5. What was the consequence of the neighbor’s action?

B. Directions: Analyze the characteristics of the characters in the story by

describing them using a table. Write down your traits and the important
actions you had done based on the story.

Characters Traits Important Actions

Farmer
Neighbor
Birbal

C. Write a short reflection on the statement below. You can relate it to your
personal observations and experiences at home and in school.(10 pts)

“Cheating will not get you anything. If

you cheat, you’ll pay soon enough.”