Once, in a small village, there lived a boy named Raton. He was 10 years old. Raton had a sweet face, but he had a bad habit— he used to tell lies.
If he was late for school, he would say, "A dog chased me on the way!"
If he lost a friend's pen, he would say, "I already gave it back to you!"
If his mother asked, "Did you eat anything from the sweet shop?" Raton would immediately reply, "No, Mother, not at all!" — even though there was a stain of sweets on his shirt.
The people of the village would laugh and say, "Whatever that boy says, the opposite is the truth."
Raton had a wise old grandfather. One day, his grandfather called him and said, "Dear, telling the truth is not a difficult job. But hiding a lie is very hard. One day, you will understand."
Raton listened, but he didn't take it to heart.
Then, one day, something happened:
In the middle of the village stood a huge Banyan tree. Under the tree was a stone statue of an old sage. The villagers believed that whoever spoke the truth in front of this statue would find peace in their heart. But whoever told a lie in front of it would lose their voice!
Raton laughed when he heard this. He said, "Come on, I want to see if my voice really stops or not!"
The next morning, Raton took his best friend Sagar to the statue. He decided to tell a lie in front of it to see what would happen!
Standing in front of the statue, Raton declared loudly:
"I never tell lies. I have not told a single lie in my entire life!"
Suddenly, the rustling of the banyan leaves stopped. The birds stopped chirping. But from Raton's mouth... no more words came out!
He tried to shout— "I told a lie!" — but no sound came from his throat. Sagar got scared. Raton started to cry, but his crying made no sound either!
The Lesson Begins:Raton could not speak the entire day. He couldn't sleep that night. He finally understood— his voice was truly gone.
The next morning, at dawn, Raton went back to the statue when no one was watching. He folded his hands and bowed his head, trying to speak, but no words came. Then, in a whisper, he thought in his heart, "I have told lies. I have told many lies. I will never lie again. I promise this is the truth."
The moment he finished this silent promise— suddenly, the leaves of the banyan tree started rustling again. The birds began to chirp. Raton cleared his throat and called out, "Sagar!" — his voice had returned!
Sagar came running. Raton hugged him and cried, "I got my voice back! I have promised to always speak the truth!"
Sagar came running. Raton hugged him and cried, "I got my voice back! I have promised to always speak the truth!"
The End of the Story:From that day on, Raton never told another lie. The villagers were amazed to see how the naughty boy had become so truthful.
One day, his grandfather hugged him and said, "Your real success is not that you got your voice back. Your real success is that you have seated the truth upon the throne of your heart."
From that day, Raton was known in the village as "Truthful Raton."
Moral of the Story:A lie has short legs; it cannot walk far. Truth stands tall, forever.