The Honest Woodcutter

The Honest Woodcutter

Once upon a time, there was a poor woodcutter who lived near a forest. Every day, he would go to the forest to chop wood and sell it to earn a living. One day, while cutting wood near a river, his axe slipped from his hand and fell into the water.

The woodcutter was very sad because his axe was his only tool for work. He sat down by the river and began to cry.

Suddenly, a golden fish appeared from the water. The fish asked, “Why are you crying, good woodcutter?”

The woodcutter explained, “My axe has fallen into the river, and I don’t know how to work without it.”

The golden fish disappeared and returned with a golden axe. “Is this your axe?” it asked.

“No,” said the woodcutter, “that’s a golden axe. I only had an ordinary axe.”

The fish disappeared again and returned with a silver axe. “Is this your axe?” it asked.

“No,” said the woodcutter, “I only had a simple iron axe.”

The fish disappeared one last time and returned with the woodcutter’s old iron axe. “Is this your axe?” it asked.

“Yes, this is mine!” said the woodcutter, feeling very happy. “Thank you for returning it to me.”

The golden fish smiled and said, “Because you were honest and did not take the golden or silver axes, I will give you both of them as a reward.”

The woodcutter thanked the fish and went home. From that day on, he became even more prosperous, but he always remained humble and honest.

Moral of the Story: Honesty is always rewarded.

Moral Stories for Kids: Explore more stories with valuable lessons on mystorybook.me

The Golden Touch: Another story teaching the importance of being careful what you wish for. Find it on mystorybook.me.The Boy Who Cried Wolf: A great story on the consequences of dishonesty, available on mystorybook.me.