The Clever Wife And The Lazy Husband

Long ago, in a small village in India there lived a farmer and his wife. The farmer was very lazy and never wanted to work, and was always looking for an easy way to get food. One fine day, the farmer while crossing through a garden saw a mango tree full of juicy mangoes. The farmer climbed up on the compound wall of the garden to steal the mangoes.

It was the garden of a rich merchant. The garden also had a pond full of fish. As soon as the farmer noticed the fish, he jumped into the compound. He saw that no one was watching him so he plucked some juicy mangoes and also caught a few fishes from the pond. Stuffing both in his bag, he ran home. "Here, I have brought some good food today," he said to his wife, taking out the fish and some mangoes from his bag.

The farmers wife was excited to see such delicious food as they had not eaten mangoes and fish for a long time. But then she thought for a while," He never goes to work; how did he manage to bring home the mangoes and the fish?" She took the bag from her husband and asked," Where did you get these from, dear?" The husband said with pride," I stole them from the rich merchant's garden." The wife was shocked to hear this!" 

The farmer's wife thought to herself earlier my husband was lazy, but now he has become a thief too! How shameful! "So, the clever wife decided to teach her lazy husband a lesson. She pretended to be happy and said," Good that you stole from the merchant's compound; there are plenty of mangoes and fish there. I will prepare a delicious feast today. Go and take a bath in the meantime." With happy thoughts of the feast, the man went to take a bath while his wife went into the kitchen to cook the fish. As she prepared the meal, its mouth-watering aroma spread in the entire house. "I can't resist the temptation!" thought the lazy man, finishing his bath, quickly. His mouth began to water. "Come quickly, dear!" called out his wife. "The food is almost ready."

When the clever wife saw her husband coming, she quickly untied her hair, picked up the pan of fish in her hand and stood up. As soon as her husband entered the kitchen, he saw a horrid-looking figure staring at him. "How dare you steal from my garden?" yelled the wife. "W...What! Your garden!" asked the man, scared. "Yes, I am the ghost guarding the garden," replied the wife, angrily. "I saw you stealing from my mango tree and my pond! Now I have taken possession of your wife's body. And I am going to kill you!" Hearing this, the man fell to his knees and begged for mercy." Then go and throw this vessel of fish into the pond and swear by me that you won't be lazy anymore, and that you will work hard, and that you will never steal again," said the wife. "I promise, O Ghost!" said the man.

The farmer took the vessel of fish and threw it in the pond and vowed never to steal again. From that day on, he was a changed man and not lazy anymore. Thus, the clever wife had taught her Lazy husband a valuable lesson.