There was a very clever and cunning landlord who owned a large portion of land in an entire village. He would slyly lend small amounts of money to those in need who came to him for help. Taking advantage of the fact that many were not well-educated, he kept adding interest to the principal amount. Eventually, the repayment would increase so much that people couldn’t pay it back and ended up surrendering their land to the landlord.

Now, his eyes were on a piece of land owned by an old lady who lived near his house. She was all alone, with no family. She planted her own crops and lived a self-sufficient life. The landlord couldn’t figure out how to deceive her into giving up her land. So, he bribed a government official in the village and forged ownership papers in his name. Together with the official, he visited the old lady and served her a notice to hand over the land to him.

The old lady was shocked to hear this and pleaded, saying she had been living there her entire life. The land had been owned by her ancestors, her loved ones were buried there, and she had inherited it. “How can someone suddenly claim this land now?” she asked. She approached the local court, but the landlord had bribed everyone and presented the forged papers. As a result, the court delivered a judgment in the landlord’s favor.

Heartbroken, the old lady began preparing to vacate the land while the landlord and his associates stood watching, waiting for her to leave. With tears in her eyes, she approached the landlord and said,
“Sir, you have taken everything from me today. My entire life was spent here, but now I must leave. This is the land where I played, grew up with my family, and this soil is very dear to me.”
She added, “We all are made of soil, and so it’s natural to feel an attachment to it. Please allow me to take a basket filled with this soil with me. With that by my side, I’ll always have the scent of this place until I die peacefully.”

The landlord smirked. Since he had already taken her entire land without paying a rupee, he thought he might as well let her take a basket of soil so she would leave quietly. He said, “Fine. You can fill your basket.”

The old lady began filling her basket with soil. She overfilled it and struggled to lift it over her head. She then said to the landlord,
“Sir, will you please help me lift this basket onto my head?”

The landlord stepped forward to assist and said,
“Oh, you poor old lady! Didn’t you think before overfilling this basket? You can’t even carry this soil—how will you take it with you?”

With tears in her eyes, the old lady replied,
“Sir, this entire land was mine. I spent my whole life here. Yet, while I’m still alive, I cannot carry even a single basket of soil with me. I won’t be able to take it with me when I die either. You, sir, have taken so much land from others—how will you carry all of it with you?”

The landlord stood stunned. He realized his mistake and fell at the old lady’s feet, begging for forgiveness. He asked her to continue living there happily and returned her land.

Moral: Do not cheat, and don’t be greedy. Do not take more than you need. Be content with what you have—sometimes, it is enough for a happy life.