Truth and courage

When George Washington was a small boy he lived on a farm with his family. His father had an orchard of fine fruit trees. He had planted a cherry tree and had told everyone to be careful and not harm it while it was growing.

One day, little George was gifted a new hatchet. He was very excited and wanted to try it out. So he started cutting and chopping anything that he saw. In his excitement, he also chopped down the cherry tree without realising it. Soon enough, his father found the cherry tree cut down and was very angry. He demanded to know who had done it, but no one knew anything about it.

Finally, he asked George. George trembled with fear but decided that he should not lie. He gathered his courage and said,"I did it with my hatchet". His father asked, "But why did you cut the tree when I had told you to be extra careful with it?"

"I was playing with the hatchet and I did not think. I'm extremely sorry, father. I will always think before I act."

Although George's father was sorry to lose his cherry tree, he was glad that George was brave enough to tell the truth and to take responsibility for his actions. He said, "I am happy that you told the truth. Truth is a quality of God. You must always practice it." George never forgot his father's words.

With his qualities and love for truth, he went on to become the President of USA.

Moral: We tend to lie out of the fear of what might happen if we told the truth. With spiritual practice, our fears start reducing and we develop great qualities like always speaking thetruth and courage.