Page 40 - Moral Stories Vol 5

Once there was a gurukul in a forest. One day, one of the disciples approached the guru and asked, “Guru Ji, can you tell me what gives the most happiness to human beings?”
The guru said, “Dear Ananda, walk into the forest until noon and return back to the gurukul by evening. You will find the answer for your question”. Ananda bowed to his guru and set off into the forest. He walked for about two hours and felt thirsty and tired. He wanted to drink some water but there was no river close by. Suddenly, he heard a voice. When he looked around, he found a coconut tree.
It said, “Ananda, please take a coconut and drink its delicious water to quench1 your thirst”. Ananda was very happy to hear this. He drank the coconut water and thanked the tree for quenching his thirst. He saved a coconut for later and continued walking. As the day grew, the sun shone brighter and brighter and soon, Ananda felt very hungry. He wanted something to eat. This time, he heard a gentle voice. It was a mango tree. The mango tree offered him some delicious mangoes to eat. Ananda ate some and saved some for later. He again thanked the tree for feeding him and moved on. It was a hot day and as the noon approached the heat was unbearable. Ananda wished that he had a dip in cool river water.
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