The Cost of a Glass of Water

Art: Lisa D'Cruz, 5, India

On a train platform in a little-known town in India, a young boy sold drinking water. He could pay his school fees with the money he earned.

Every day he went to the stream, filled water in a large clay pot, and carried it to the railway station which was a mile away. Whenever a train stopped for a while, he entered the train compartments and shouted,

“Water, water to drink,
Cool water from the stream!”

Thirsty passengers, weary of travelling and the heat, bought water from him to drink.

One day, as usual, the boy entered a train compartment and shouted,

 “Water, water to drink,
Cool water from the stream!”

“Come here, boy!” beckoned a stout man in silk clothes. He wore rings studded with precious stones on all his fingers.

The boy went to the man and poured out a glass of water.

“How much for a glass of water?” asked the man.

The boy looked up at the man and answered,

“Fifty paise, sir.”

“Fifty paise for a glass of water? That’s too much for the water that you got for free from the stream. Can you give it to me for twenty paise?” argued the man.

The boy smiled quietly, poured the water from the glass back into his clay pot, and walked away to sell water in another compartment.

Now, a wise man was a witness to this scene. The boy’s mysterious smile puzzled him. He followed the boy and asked him,

“Tell me, boy, why did you smile?”

The boy replied,

“Sir, I smiled because that rich man was not thirsty at all. He just wanted to know the cost of a glass of water.”

The wise man asked,

“Why did you feel that the rich man was not thirsty?”

The boy answered,

“Sir, I know from experience that the person who is really thirsty will never ask for the cost of the water. He will first drink the water and then ask the cost. When people ask for the cost of the water before drinking it, I know that they are not thirsty at all.”

The wise man nodded at the boy’s answer and smiled too. 
The boy went on his way shouting, 

“Water, water to drink,
Cool water from the stream!”

(Lesson: Those who seek Truth, do not waste time in petty arguments.)

(Retold from a story told by Girish)