moral stories in english
Sivayya and Gangamma were a couple who worked for the landlord of Rama puram. One evening, while returning home after finishing work, Sivayya smelled the delicious aroma of fried dough balls coming from his neighbor’s house. His mouth watered as he thought of eating the sweet treats. He came home and told his wife, “I want to eat fried dough balls.” He pushed the rice gruel that she had served him aside.
“Are we rich or something? Fried dough balls are a luxury for us who can barely make ends meet,” Gangamma scolded him. Sivayya felt humbled and reluctantly ate the rice gruel.
After the Brahmins had finished eating at the Shraddha ceremony, some of the food and fried dough balls were left over. The landlord didn’t know what to do with them. “If there is any food left over from the Shraddha ceremony, throw it in the nearby pond,” said one of the Brahmins. “It will reach the Pitru Devatas.”
That year, the landlord was making arrangements for his father’s Shraddha ceremony. Sivayya was there to help with all the preparations. On the day of the ceremony, Sivayya was serving food to the Brahmins. He saw that there was still some food and fried dough balls left over after the Brahmins had finished eating. He remembered what the Brahmin had said about throwing the leftover food in the pond.
Sivayya gathered up the leftover food and fried dough balls and took them to the pond. He was about to throw them in when he heard a voice.
“Sivayya, what are you doing?” asked the voice.
Sivayya turned around and saw a strange man standing behind him. The man was wearing a white robe and had a long beard.
“I am throwing away the leftover food from the Shraddha ceremony,” Sivayya replied.
“Why are you doing that?” asked the man. “The food is still good to eat.”
“The Brahmins said that I should throw it away,” Sivayya said. “They said that it would reach the Pitru Devatas.”
The man smiled. “I am Shiva,” he said. “I am the one who receives the offerings made to the Pitru Devatas. The food that you are about to throw away will not reach me. It will go to waste.”
Sivayya was shocked. He couldn’t believe that he was talking to Lord Shiva himself.
“Please forgive me, Lord Shiva,” he said. “I didn’t mean to waste food.”
“I forgive you,” Shiva said. “But I want you to learn a lesson from this. Never waste food. Food is a gift from God. It should be cherished and not wasted.”
Sivayya nodded his head. “I will never waste food again, Lord Shiva,” he promised.
Shiva smiled and disappeared. Sivayya took the leftover food and fried dough balls home. He and his wife ate them with relish. Sivayya never forgot the lesson that he had learned from Lord Shiva. He never wasted food again.