The Story of Aamar and Dukhu
Long ago, in a village, there lived two girls—Aamar and Dukhu. Aamar belonged to a rich and arrogant family, while Dukhu was very poor and lived with her elderly mother.
Dukhu's Hard Work
Dukhu spent her days spinning yarn on a spinning wheel (Charkha) and worked very hard. One day, a strong gust of wind blew away all her cotton. Dukhu began to cry and started chasing the wind to find her lost cotton.
On her way, she encountered many strange things:
A Cow: Who asked her to clean it. Dukhu lovingly cleaned the cow.
A Banana Tree: Which was covered in wild bushes. Dukhu cleared the bushes and cleaned it.
An Old Grandmother: Who lived in a magical house. Dukhu served her with great devotion.
Seeing her honesty and kindness, the grandmother showed her two chests and asked her to pick one. Dukhu chose the smallest and simplest chest. When she returned home and opened it, it was filled with precious jewelry and fine clothes! She became wealthy overnight.
Aamar's Greed
Seeing this, Aamar became jealous. She set out on the same path. But when she met the cow and the tree, she refused to help them, saying, "I don't do dirty work!"
When she reached the magical grandmother's house, she snatched the largest and shiniest chest without offering any service. However, as soon as she opened the chest at home, instead of jewelry, many snakes and scorpions crawled out. Aamar was punished for her greed and arrogance.
Moral of the Story
"The fruits of kindness and humility are always sweet, whereas greed and ego always lead to ruin."