This is a nice story from the collection of Jataka
Tales. Once upon a time, there lived a merchant in a small village. The
merchant dealt in different kinds of goods. He wanted to sell his goods
in the town, in order to gain good sum of profits. One day, he decided
to go to the town to try his fortune. He arranged for some men who could
go along with him. During the journey, he had to pass through a desert,
so he also arranged for water, rice and firewood.
According to the plan, he packed his goods in several carts and set out
for the journey along with his mates. When they reached the desert, the
sun was shining on the fine sand, making it severely hot. In the day
time, no one could dare to walk on it. One could only think of travel
through the desert during the night time, when the moon made the sands
cool. So, the merchant and his people waited for the night to start
their further journey.
With the arrival of night, they started their journey. One of them, had
knowledge about the stars, so he was guiding the way to other people by
reading the position of stars. They traveled for the whole night without
taking any break. At daybreak, they stopped and camped. They released
the oxen from the carts and fed them. They made fire, cooked the rice
and ate the food to their fill. They spread a huge covering over all the
carts and the oxen. Subsequently, all the men laid down under it, to
rest till the sunset.
When the sun set in the early evening, they again built fire and cooked
rice. After the meal, they folded the covering and tied the oxen to the
carts. As soon as, the sand became cool, they again started their
journey across the desert. Night after night, they traveled in such
manner and rested during the day time. On the last morning, the one who
was guiding the group said, “In one more night, we will cross the
desert”. Every one was happy to hear this, as all of them were
tired.
After taking meal in the evening, the merchant said, “Now, you
people can throw the water and the firewood because tomorrow we will
reach the town. Tie the oxen and start”. The Guide took his
position at first in the line of the carts, but instead of sitting and
guiding the drivers, he laid down in the cart on the cushions. Soon, he
was in a deep slumber because he had not slept for many nights and in
the daytime, the sun had been so strong that he had not slept properly.
The oxen went on, for the whole night. Near daybreak, the guide awoke
and looked at the last stars fading in the light. He said to the
drivers, “Stop! We are in the same place where we were yesterday.
The oxen must have turned about while I slept”. They released the
oxen, but there was no water for them to drink, as they had thrown away
the water the previous night. They spread out the covering over the
carts and the oxen rested tired and thirsty. The men lay down too,
saying, “Without wood and water, we are lost”.
Every one was tired and sat down. The merchant thought, “This is
no time for me to sleep. I have to find water. The oxen cannot start
unless they get water to drink. The people need water other wise they
cannot cook rice. If I give up, we will lose. There must be water
somewhere below”. He walked down and down, keeping a close watch of
the ground. Finally, he saw some grass and thought, “There must be
water somewhere below otherwise that grass would not be there”.
He ran back, shrieking to the people, “Get the spade and the
hammer”. All of them jumped up and ran with the merchant to the
spot where he saw the grass. They started digging and after much toil,
they struck a rock. After this, they could dig no further. The merchant
jumped down into the hole they had dug and kept his ear to the rock. He
called to them, “I can hear water running under this rock. We must
not give up”. Then, the merchant came out of the hole and said to
the serving boy, “My boy, if you give up, we are lost. Please go
down and try”.
The boy stood up raising the hammer high above his head and hit the
rock with his full strength. He didn’t give up, thinking the words
of the merchant. Every time the hammer came down, he thought that
everyone must be saved. Ultimately, the rock broke, the boy hardly got
any time to come out of the hole and it was full of water. All the men
drank water, as if they could never get enough. They watered the oxen
and took bath.
After drinking and bathing, they split the extra wooden yokes and axles
from their carts. They made a fire out of it and cooked their rice. They
had their meal and rested through the day. They also placed a flag on
the well, so that the passing travelers could see and have water. After
the sunset, they started their journey and reached the town in the
morning. They sold the goods making huge profits and happily returned
back to their village.
Moral: Will and Determination can achieve anything.
