The Honest Woodsman

Today I was thinking about one of my favorite classic stories, the tale of the Honest Woodsman. The Greek version of the fable goes like this:

Once upon a time there was a woodsman who was out to work cutting trees to support his family. While cutting a certain tree, he loses his grip on his axe, which causes it to go flying into the river. The man is much grieved by this, seeing as the axe was the only tool with which he could provide the means to feed his wife and children. Depressed and despairing, the man consigns himself to sit on the bank of the river and mourn his loss. He had hardly been seated for five minutes when, to his suprise, Hermes suddenly appears to him and asks what is wrong. The man explains his situation to the messenger of the gods, and Hermes offers to dive into the river and retrieve the axe for the poor woodcutter. The man gladly agrees. Hermes enters the water for a few moments, then returns holding an axe that is made of pure gold. The god presents it to the man, but the man refuses to take the valuable tool, saying that it does not belong to him. The kind Hermes sets the axe of gold on the bank and dives into the river again. This time, he returns with an ax made of pure silver, but the woodcutter refuses to take it for the same reason as with the golden axe: It did not belong to him. The man explains to Hermes that his axe is just a regular one with a wooden handle. So, Hermes dives in a third time and returns with the axe that the man recognizes as his own. Overcome with joy, the woodsman repeatedly expresses gratitude to his benefactor. Hermes is impressed with the honesty of this man, and tells him that he has passed his test. As a reward, Hermes tells him that he gets to keep all three axes as a gift, then disappears. The woodsman goes home a very wealthy man.

Meanwhile, a jealous neighbor watches this event take place. As soon as nobody is watching, he hurredly goes to the river and tosses his own axe in, then pretends to be in sorrow. Hermes appears to him as well, and asks him what the matter is. The second man lies and says he accidentally lost his axe, and Hermes dives into the river and returns with another axe made of gold. The neigbor greedily clames it as his own. Displeased with the neighbors' lack of honesty, Hermes delivers a blow to the man's head with the blunt end of the axe, and as a punishment leaves the other man's axe at the bottom of the river before disappearing.

So, the moral of this story is that honesty is the best policy. Being honest may be hard at first, especially if there are immediate consequences, but the blessings we recieve in the end far outweigh the instant gratification of being dishonest. Being dishonest only postpones inevitable grief. It is far better to be honest in our dealings with others and with ourselves.