The Clever Trout

Once upon a time, there lived a fisherman. He was used to idling. He often would tell his wife, "One should never do things in a hurry. That is the way people make mistakes."

Though his wife agreed, yet she felt that her husband usually took a long time to decide. The fisherman liked his work very much. He went for fishing just for fun.

So, one afternoon he set out for fishing. The fisherman thought. "I am hungry and a couple of trouts will be sufficient for me."

He tried to catch fish but failed. At last he managed to catch a very small trout. The trout said raising his head from the grass, "Oh! Kind sir, please set me free."

The fisherman said with utter surprise, "Why? To put you back? It's taken a whole afternoon to catch you, and you are all I have got for my tea!"

The trout replied. "If you leave me in the river, I will grow bigger. The next time when you catch me, I will tastier for you."

"That's correct," the fisherman agreed, and threw the trout into the river.

No sooner did the fisherman do that, the trout raised his head from the water and said. "Thank you! But I shall know better than to take your bait in future and no fisherman will be able to catch me ever."

The fisherman exclaimed, "What shall I take with my tea? Instead of talking to the trout I should have taken it to my home." And from that day onwards he started talking less and doing his work much quicker.

Moral: Talk less and work more.

(Once Upon A Time Vol.1, Dhingra, Delhi - India)