🥭 The Old Man and the Mango Trees

A king was riding through a village. He saw a very old man, more than eighty years old, digging in the hot sun and planting small mango saplings.

The king stopped and asked, 'Baba, how old are you?' The man said, 'Eighty-five, My King.'

The king smiled. 'A mango tree takes many years to grow and give fruit. Do you really think you will eat mangoes from these trees?'

The old man kept planting and answered softly, 'No, My King. I will probably not eat from these trees.'

'Then why work so hard in this hot sun?' the king asked.

The old man stood up slowly and said, 'All my life, I ate mangoes from trees I never planted. Someone before me — someone I never met — planted them for me.'

'These trees are not for me. They are for my grandchildren, and for travellers who will rest in their shade. I am just returning a kindness I received.'

The king was so touched that he gave the old man a bag of gold. The old man laughed, 'See, My King? Everyone waits years for a tree to give fruit. Mine paid me before I even finished planting!'