Always Do Good

A woman used to cook food every day for her family, and she would prepare one extra roti (flatbread) for any hungry passerby. She would place that roti near the window so anyone could take it.

Every day, a hunchbacked man would come and take that roti. Instead of saying “thank you,” he would walk away muttering, “The evil you do will remain with you, and the good you do will come back to you.”

Days went by, and this continued. The hunchback kept taking the roti and kept muttering the same words: “The evil you do will remain with you, and the good you do will come back to you.”

The woman became irritated with him. She thought to herself, “What a strange man—he doesn’t even say a word of thanks, and instead, he keeps mumbling something I don’t even understand.”

One day, out of anger, she decided, “I must get rid of this hunchback.”

So, she mixed poison into the roti she prepared for him. But when she was about to place it near the window, her hands started trembling. She stopped and thought, “Oh God, what am I about to do?” She quickly burned the poisoned roti in the fire and made a fresh one to place by the window.

As usual, the hunchback came, took the roti, and walked away muttering, “The evil you do will remain with you, and the good you do will come back to you,” completely unaware of what the woman had been planning that morning.

Every day, when the woman placed the roti on the window, she would pray to God for the safety, health, and return of her son, who had gone away to build a bright future. She had not heard from him for months.

That very evening, there was a knock on the door. She opened it and was stunned—her son was standing there. He had become thin and weak, his clothes were torn, and he was starving.

As soon as he saw his mother, he said, “Mother, it’s a miracle I’m here… Today, when I was just a mile away from home, I was so hungry I collapsed. I would have died…!! But then a hunchbacked man passed by. He saw me, lifted me up, and when I asked for food, without hesitation he gave me his roti, saying, ‘I eat this every day, but today you need it more than I do. Take it and satisfy your hunger.’”

When the mother heard this, her face turned pale. She leaned against the door for support as the realization struck her—how that very morning she had mixed poison into the roti. If she hadn’t destroyed it in the fire, her own son would have eaten it and died.

At that moment, she fully understood the meaning of those words: “The evil you do will remain with you, and the good you do will come back to you.”

Moral:
Always do good, and never stop yourself from doing good, whether or not you receive praise or appreciation at the time.

Always stay happy – what you have is enough.
One whose heart is joyful possesses everything.