Weekend Story-A Tale Of (Dis)Honesty

Once, a king wanted to test the honesty of his subjects, so he devised a clever plan. He commissioned a team of workers to create a large metallic barrel and had it placed at the town square. The king then issued a decree that the head of every household must bring a jug of milk in the night and pour it into the barrel. Little did the people know the true purpose behind this unusual request.

Upon receiving the king’s order, the townspeople wondered at the strange dictat. They knew they had no choice in the matter. However, one man, eager to save the expense of milk, came up with a cunning idea. He decided to carry a jug of water instead, thinking that his deception would go unnoticed amidst the darkness of the night.

As night fell, the man stealthily made his way to the barrel and poured the jug of water into it, convinced that he had outsmarted everyone else; his jug of water would go unnoticed in a barrel full of milk.

The following morning, the king arrived at the town square to inspect the collected milk from the households. Much to his dismay, he discovered that the barrel was filled with nothing but water!

The irony of the situation became apparent – “I don’t have to contribute the milk; The others will do it.” every person had assumed that someone else would contribute milk, just like the dishonest man who had attempted to deceive the test.