Once upon a time, in a small village surrounded by a dense forest, lived a poor but honest woodcutter named Hari. Every day, he would go into the forest to chop wood and sell it in the market to earn just enough to feed his family. Though life was hard, Hari never thought of stealing or cheating. He believed in working honestly, no matter how small the reward Moral Story.
One hot afternoon, Hari was cutting wood by the riverbank. After hours of hard work, he felt thirsty and tired. As he leaned over to take a sip of water from the river, his axe slipped from his hand and fell into the deep water.
“Oh no!” he cried. “That was my only axe. How will I earn my living now?”
Hari sat by the riverbank, feeling helpless. He prayed aloud, “Please help me, God. I’ve never done wrong to anyone. Please return my axe.”
To his surprise, the water of the river began to shimmer, and a beautiful angel appeared. She held a shining golden axe in her hands.
“Is this your axe?” the angel asked.
Hari looked at it and said politely, “No, that’s not mine. My axe was made of iron and quite old.”
The angel smiled and disappeared into the river again. After a moment, she emerged with a silver axe.
“What about this one?” she asked.
Hari looked again and replied, “No, that one isn’t mine either.”
Once more, the angel vanished into the water and returned holding a rusty iron axe.
“Yes!” cried Hari. “That’s my axe!”
The angel smiled and said, “Because you were honest and did not claim what was not yours, I will give you all three axes—the golden one, the silver one, and your original iron axe.”
Hari was overjoyed. He thanked the angel with all his heart. When he returned to the village and told the story, everyone praised his honesty. From that day forward, Hari lived a better life, not just because of the reward, but because of the respect and trust he earned from his fellow villagers.