It is best to apologise for mistakes | stories in english
A king lived in a town. He enjoyed hunting more. He had hunted the wild beasts in the jungle with his weapons and was sleeping peacefully under the shade of a temple tree on the border of the village.
Suddenly a stone came from somewhere and hurt the king and disturbed his sleep. The surrounding guards went to all four sides, caught a middle-aged woman, brought her and placed her before the king.
The king looked at the lady and said, “Why did you throw the stone at me? It disturbed my sleep and hurt me too.”
The woman looked at the king and said, “O King, I used to cut firewood in the forest,chop it, sell it in the country and feed my children with that income.”
On the way I saw fruits on the tree. I remembered my children. Isn’t it the mother’s duty to satisfy the children’s hunger?
I took a stone and threw it at the tree to pick the fruits. I couldn’t see from the distance that you were sleeping in the shade of this tree.
The stone I threw disturbed your sleep and injured you too. I am responsible for this mistake, please forgive me,” she pleaded.
The king looked at the woman and said, “Girl, you are apologising for the mistake you have made. That shows your good behaviour. I have forgiven you”, and ordered the guards to give the woman two cows and money for her expenses.
The guards who were around said to the king, “O king, we are surprised that you have forgiven the woman who had thrown a stone at you and given her a gift.”
The king looked at the guards and said, “Guards, an ignorant tree bears fruit if the stone is thrown in it. How should we behave if we are wise? And she did not throw the stone at me on purpose.
When she hit the fruit with a stone, it accidentally fell on me and hurt me. She regretted her mistake and apologised to me.
Not only that, she threw a stone at the tree to satisfy her children’s hunger. Wasn’t that her duty as a mother? She did so for her children.
I gave her a gift as a good king should do.” The guards were overjoyed to hear the king’s explanation.
Moral : Repenting and asking for forgiveness is the best virtue. Therefore, if we have committed a mistake, we should apologise to the person concerned.
A great lesson.