How to learn the lessons of gratitude?

 Once upon a time, in Silbaripur kingdom, there was a very simple man named Somu. All his good luck started when he bought a brown horse from the market. This horse helped him go to far places very fast as a middleman for business.

Slowly, in every business, he started making profit. Soon, he became a big shot in that place. Somu used to ride on his strong brown horse for everything. He never hesitated to give his horse top quality moth bean, chickpeas, and wheat to eat.

Years passed by. In between, the running power of the brown horse started to decrease. At the same time, Somu's behavior towards his horse also started to change. He reduced its food. He got angry with the horse -

"If you can't pull much, then you only need less food."

Finally, when the horse was no longer good for riding, he went to the horse market and bought another one. For some days, he tied the old brown horse behind the stable where nobody could see it.

One day, he went in front of the brown horse and mumbled -

"If you are of no use to me, I will not even give you plain water, hmm... walk..."

Somu held the brown horse and dragged it to a lonely place and left it there. To make sure it doesn't come back home, he blindfolded the horse and walked back. After Somu left, the brown horse couldn't move forward even a little bit and stayed standing there for a long time. Then, it fell down tired!

The next day, in the morning, a saint was passing by that way. He saw this and said -

"Oh God, some bad person has tied this horse's eyes and left it here!"

After that, the saint untied it and gave it water and food from his bag. But, by then, he had nothing left for himself to eat. However, the saint couldn't just leave seeing the pitiful look of the old horse.

The saint slowly went with the old horse to nearby houses to beg for food. Most of the people in the houses didn't give anything. Finally, after walking and walking, he reached in front of Somu's house!

When Somu saw the horse again in front of him, he shouted -

"Hey, you fake saint... you came to my place with the horse I left? Neither you nor this dying horse will get even plain water from here. Anyway, you can ride on this old horse if you want."

When Somu's mocking laughter filled the air, the saint cursed -

"You wicked man, who showed no gratitude towards the horse that helped you so much once, your fate is to wander and die on the streets!"

Hearing that, Somu roared with laughter -

"That's what will happen to you. A beggar's curse won't affect me, go away... from in front of me!"

The saint walked away with the horse. After going some distance, the brown horse fell down on the roadside, tired, and died!

At that time, a clerk who was returning to the palace asked the saint for information. In reply, the saint didn't say anything. Instead, he dipped a feather in the ink in his market accounts book and wrote -

"Veeru... have you forgotten the lessons you learned when you were young? Shouldn't we avoid hurting not only humans but also animals? Is it fair to make the animals in this kingdom work hard until they become old and then abandon them? The horse of the rich man Somu has died lying on the street!"

The clerk reached the palace from the market and showed the saint's note to the king.

The king was shocked after reading it!

Long ago, a saint who taught him in the gurukulam for two years used to call him Veeru. During the time when smallpox spread, everyone left that place. After that, it was known that the saint had gone to Kosalapuram.

The king immediately ordered the soldiers -

"Wherever you see the saint, bring him to the palace in a palanquin."

The king called the soldiers who punish criminals and said -

"Exile Somu to Chithirapuram. Don't even allow him to take his bag. Let that wicked man go to the wicked kingdom."

Since the saint had gone to Kosalapuram, the soldiers searched everywhere but couldn't find him. At the same time, Somu was taken across the border of Silbaripur kingdom and sent into Chithirapuram.

Then, Somu mumbled -

"The most valuable thing I have is the jewels in my purse, more valuable than all my wealth. With the money I get from selling these, I will live like a lord in Chithirapuram. Anything is possible for a rich person in this wicked kingdom. You cannot defeat me, children."

He smirked. He walked towards the main road through a deserted narrow path. After walking some distance, a gang of robbers surrounded Somu -

Somu said without any fear -

"I don't even have a bag with me. I am fasting. I don't have even a single coin with me. Because, I am going to the offering at the Chithirapuram temple."

The leader of the robbers looked Somu up and down and then got angry -

"Looking at his silk clothes, it's clear he is rich. He doesn't look tired from fasting at all. Search him properly and then let him go."

Somu resisted them for some time, not allowing them to touch his clothes, but they beat him all over. They took the jewels from his purse and stomped on them. By then, Somu had lost consciousness from the head injury.

Later, when he woke up sometime, he realized that his wealth had been robbed.

He cried loudly and ran for a long distance without knowing where he was going. His mind became unstable, and he wandered on the streets with very few clothes. The wicked people of Chithirapuram didn't even pretend to see him. After a few days, Somu fell down on the roadside without food and died!

Moral of the story -

To show gratitude, a dog wags its tail. A cat rubs against your leg. Hens and other pet birds make small sounds as signs of love. Cows, goats, and bulls make mooing sounds. An elephant, on the other hand, raises its trunk.

Because humans know how to act well, they simply smile showing their teeth without any real gratitude or obligation inside. Nowadays, there's a trend of making faces at those who helped us in the past. When favorable situations arise due to financial power, authority, or beauty, they might even show shocking arrogance, commanding power, annoyance, and harm.

However, this has a long-term consequence - this is what children see and hear and grow up with!

Parents in families who show ingratitude and denial might face the same experience as the old horse in this story in the future!

A life that might end in old age homes, hospital verandas, orphanages, or roadsides – which are like the stable of loneliness and hellish suffering! Or, the role of a guard dog in huge houses!