One day, while a woodcutter was cutting a branch of a
tree above a river, his axe fell into the river. When he
cried out, the Lord appeared and asked, "Why are you
crying?" The woodcutter replied that his axe has fallen into water, and he needed the axe to make his living.
The Lord went down into the water and reappeared
with a golden axe. "Is this your axe?" the Lord asked.
The woodcutter replied, "No."
The Lord again went down and came up with a silver
axe. "Is this your axe?" the Lord asked.
Again, the woodcutter replied, "No."
The Lord went down again and came up with an iron
axe. "Is this your axe?" the Lord asked.
The woodcutter replied, "Yes."
The Lord was pleased with the man's honesty and
gave him all three axes to keep, and the woodcutter
went home happy.
Some time later the woodcutter was walking with his
wife along the riverbank, and his wife fell into the river.
When he cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked him,
"Why are you crying?"
"Oh Lord, my wife has fallen into the water!"
The Lord went down into the water and came up
with Jennifer Lopez. "Is this your wife?" the Lord
asked.
"Yes," cried the woodcutter.
The Lord was furious. "You lied! That is an untruth!"
The woodcutter replied, "Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a
misunderstanding. You see, if I had said 'no' to Jennifer
Lopez, You would have come up with Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Then if I also said 'no' to her, You would have come up with my wife. Had I then said 'yes,' you would have given all three to me. Lord, I am a poor man, and I am not able to take care of all three wives, so THAT'S why I said yes to Jennifer Lopez."
The moral of this story is: whenever a man lies, it is for a good and honorable reason, and for the benefit of others. |
