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Cow and Pig

There was once a man who was very rich and very miserly at the same time. The villagers disliked him intensely for his miserliness.Saddened by the attitude of the villagers towards him, one day he said to them, “You’re jealous of me and you don’t understand my love for money but you dislike me; that much I know. When I die, I won’t take anything with me. I will leave it all for others. I will make a will and I will give everything to charity then everyone will be happy.”

Even then people mocked and laughed at him. The rich man said to them, “What is the matter with you? Can’t you wait a few years to see my money go to charity?”

The villagers didn’t believe him. He said, “Do you think I’m immortal? I’ll die like everyone else, and then my money will go to the charities.” He was perplexed by the outlook of the villagers.

One day he went for a walk. All of a sudden it started raining heavily so he took shelter under a huge tree which also sheltered a pig and a cow. The pig and the cow entered into conversation which the man overheard and he could understand their conversation.

The pig asked the cow, “How is it that everybody appreciates you and nobody appreciates me? When I die, I provide people with bacon, ham and sausage. People can also use my bristles. I give three or four things, whereas you give only one thing: milk. Why do people appreciate you all the time and not me?”

The cow replied, “Look, I give them milk while I’m alive. They see that I am generous with what I have. But you don’t give them anything while you’re alive. Only after you’re dead do you give ham, bacon and so forth. People don’t believe in the future; they believe in the present. If you give while you are alive, people will appreciate you. It is quite simple.”

From that moment on the rich man turned charitable; helped the poor and needy in his village.

Even small help rendered on time is much better than help done when it is not necessary or useful. Timely help can genuinely make a difference to someone desperately in need.