The Farmer and the Snake
A farmer's trust in a generous snake is shattered by his son's greed, in this story about broken trust.
In a village lived a farmer whose field bordered a large snake's burrow. One day, the farmer noticed a gold coin lying near the burrow's entrance. Delighted, he picked it up and took it home.
The very next day, he found another gold coin in the same spot. This continued day after day, and the farmer realized that the snake living in that burrow was leaving him a gold coin every single day, almost like a blessing. He began to revere the snake as a deity and would offer it milk each morning out of respect.
Over time, the farmer grew quite wealthy. One day, he had to travel to a neighboring village on urgent business. He explained everything to his son and instructed him, "Go to the burrow every day, and whatever coin you find there, bring it home."
The son dutifully collected a gold coin each day, but greed soon crept into his heart. "If this snake gives one coin every day," he thought, "there must be an enormous treasure buried deep inside that burrow. If I kill the snake, I could take it all at once."
One day, as the snake emerged to leave its daily coin, the son struck at it with a heavy stick. The snake narrowly escaped back into its burrow, badly wounded and deeply enraged.
From that day forward, the snake never emerged from its burrow again, and the gold coins stopped completely. When the farmer returned and learned what had happened, he was devastated. He scolded his son harshly. "What have you done? It was giving us so much without us even asking, and you tried to harm it!"
The farmer went to the burrow and begged for forgiveness, but the snake replied, "The trust between us can never be restored. Your son tried to kill me, and I can never forget that. I will give no more coins, nor should you ever trust me again."
Moral: Betrayal driven by greed destroys relationships permanently. One should never try to force or seize more than what is naturally and freely given.