All Good Deeds

Authors notes: This is an old story I've heard sometime ago and I wish to share it with you.


All good deeds...


A long time ago in a land far away there used to be a man, a very poor man. He was so poor that at times he didn't even have anything to eat for days and days. But he was a good man, a kind man but more importantly an honest man who didn't harm or bore any ill will to anyone.

One day he was walking in the market place trying to find work or something to eat. Suddenly he stumbled upon a little blue sack that was discarded on the side of the street. He took the little sack and put it in his pocket. At the end of the day he went home and before he went to sleep he opened it to find inside a beautiful jade necklace and a ring with a large ruby that took his breath away. They both looked to be very precious and could fetch a large sum of money. He was delighted that his luck was about to change if he could sell this treasure which happened to land in his hands. He put the little blue bag underneath his pillow and slept a happy man.

The next day he went to the market to look for work once again. When suddenly he heard an old man shouting, "I have lost a very precious thing and I have a large reward for anyone who has seen it or returns it to me."

At first he didn't want to believe what he was hearing or that what this old man was looking for was the same small bag he found on the street. What ever the reward would be he did not think it would come as close to the price of those very expensive necklace and ring. But his conscious could not let him lie or ignore what he was hearing. However he had to make sure that what this man was looking for was the same as what he found in the street. So he approached the old man and asked, "what was it you lost?"

The old man replied, "a small thing but it was very precious to me."

"What was the color of the thing you lost?" The poor man asked.

"Blue," the old man replied.

"What was inside the blue thing?" The poor man asked again.

"A necklace of jade and a ruby ring," the old man replied.

The poor man knew the truth and what he had in his house belonged to this old man. So he told him about what he found and took him to his home to give him back the blue bag with the things inside.

The old man was very delighted and he took out a few gold coins to give to the poor man as a reward but he refused saying, "I can not take your money."

"Why not?" The old man was surprised.

"I believe that this was a test for me if I could remain true to myself in this ordeal," the poor man explained, "if I was intended to get such wealth then you would not have been sent to reclaim it back."

The old man left the poor retched guy in his misery once again and went on his way.

A few months passed and the poor man knew he could not survive like that anymore. He had to do something else he was doomed to live in this misery for the rest of his life. He went to the dock to look for work and he found a ship leaving for a land far from here. He made a deal with the captain of the ship that he would work on board in exchange for his passage to that far land where he might have better luck or make something for himself in this life.

The ship sailed the next day. After a month at sea a huge storm rocked the ship and played with it like a feather, blowing it to pieces across the barren sea. The poor man managed to survive holding on to a strip of wood to be washed on the shore of a sparingly inhabited island.

The people on the island welcomed the poor man and gave him shelter. But he refused to take their charity unless he worked for it or helped the people of the village in some way. The only work that he could find was as a teacher in the village school. It turns out that the old teacher had died a few months ago and the village was in need of a teacher. Even though he was a poor man but he was an educated fellow. He knew math, science, history, astronomy, art, as well as many things and the village people were delighted for him to take this job. A few months passed and he became a respected man in the village but he was still a poor man.

One day a friend came to him and said, "now that you are one of us and you have settled in our land why don't you find a girl and get married here."

The poor man said, "thank you my friend but I am still new here and I am a poor man with no wealth in my name. Who would even think of giving me their daughter's hand in marriage?"

The friend smiled and said, "I know of a rich girl whose father had died a few months ago and she might agree to marry you."

The poor man was surprised and said, "that is impossible. No rich girl would marry a man like me. I have no money to give her. I can't even afford to give her a marriage ring."

"That rich girl I am talking about is a special girl in our village," the friend tried to explain, "she is the daughter of the old teacher of our school, the one who died and you have taken his place. She is the richest woman on the island but like her father she is a very educated woman. Many have tried to suit her however very few people in our village even know how to read or write so she could not find anyone who she was attracted to or even came close to her wealth or education. But you are an intelligent  man, a man of knowledge be it without wealth at this time. So leave it to me, I'll talk to my wife to talk to her. Maybe she will accept to marry you."

Days passed and the rich girl agreed to meet the poor man. After a few dates the two agreed to get married and they lived in the rich girl's house.

One day the rich girl called after the wife of the friend. She wanted to tell her about her marriage. "I am not very happy with my marriage," she explained, "I might have made a big mistake marrying this man. I have a feeling he married me for my money."

"But why are you saying that?" the wife of the friend asked, "you two are so much alike. I don't think you can find anyone who is so kind, honest, intelligent than this man. So what made you think he married you for your money?"

The rich girl was about to cry but she tried to explain, "we have been married for a few weeks but every time we sit together he always looks at my neck and my hand as if admiring the jewelry I am wearing. Not once did he look into my eyes even when we are making love."

"Frankly my dear I don't know why would a man do that, but I don't believe he is after your money," the wife of the friend said, "the only way to find out is to confront him about it." So the rich girls decided to do as her friend told her.

The next day while the newlyweds were sitting at dinner she asked, "oh my husband why do you always look at the jewelry on my neck and on my hand and not into my eyes? Don't you find me attractive or are those precious stones more beautiful than me?"

The poor man looked at his wife and asked, "who gave you those jewels my wife? And can I see them?"

The rich girls was sad that her husband was again asking about the jewels but she took off the necklace on her neck and the ring from her finger and gave them to him saying, "my father gave those to me before he died. They belonged to my mother and his mother before me."

"Did he give you those in a blue bag by any chance?" The husband asked.

The rich girl stood up and yelled out in surprise, "How did you know the color of the bag?"

So the husband told her about the old man who lost his blue bag and how he returned it to him. "I have returned back a lost treasure because it was the right thing to do. And for that I have been compensated with more wealth and treasures I could imagine as well as the greatest treasure of all and that is you," the husband finally said before they fell into each other's arms and lived happily ever after.