The poor farmer had just two things — one a very small piece of land on which he would grow crops, and second a cow which would provide just enough milk for the family. Both of these were just enough for the livelihood of the farmer and his family. The farmer was a man of faith, content with whatever he had, and never asked for more.

But one fine day, the cow goes missing.

The farmer looked everywhere but the cow was nowhere to be found. The farmer not only loved his cow, but it was also very important for the financial survival of his family. After a futile day’s effort and having looked everywhere in the village, the distressed farmer returned home and went to sleep.

During his sleep, he had a dream where he saw the Almighty God standing in front of him.

The farmer could not hold back his tears, went onto his knees and explained his situation. God, as He always does, smiled in the most pleasant manner and said the following in the most soothing words —

My dear child,

I know that you are sad about your missing cow. I can help you get your cow back, but you would have to return me a favor.

Once you get your cow back, you have to sell it and donate 50% of the proceeds to the service of the needy and the poor.

I promise you once you do this, fate will shower its blessings onto you, all your sins shall be washed away, and you won’t have to worry a day about the livelihood of your family.

The farmer was very pleased to hear this. With tears in his eyes and folded hands, he nodded his head in agreement.

The next morning while the farmer was still asleep, he woke up hearing the loud and continuous moos of the cow. He immediately woke up, ran to the courtyard, and to his pleasant surprise, the cow was standing right there! The entire family was so elated to see this, and it appeared as if it was Christmas for all of them.

A few days passed merrily and suddenly the farmer remembered the promise he had made to God. He had to sell the cow and donate 50% of the proceeds to the service of the needy and the poor.

However, the farmer was not prepared to do this.

How could he sell his cow and only keep 50% of the money? God had already given him much less, while everyone else in the village had larger pieces of land and countless farm animals. Why should he be the one making such sacrifices?

But at the same time, the farmer was also very scared not to follow God’s instructions. Hence, he thought of a plan by which he would be able to follow God’s instructions and yet not lose his cow.

The farmer went to the market and bought a hen for a very small price of $1. The very next day, the farmer took both his cow and hen to the market and started looking for a buyer.

But he had only one condition — both the cow and the hen would be sold together.

One of the buyers came and was interested to buy both. The buyer said, “I will pay $100 for the cow and $1 for the hen. So the total proceeds for the sale would be $101.”

The farmer nodded to the offer, but said he had one condition —

You can take both for $101, but the price of the cow is $1 and the price of the hen is $100.

Although the buyer could not understand the logic behind the argument, he was least bothered. He paid the total sum of $101 and bought both the hen and the cow.

The farmer was elated as his plan had worked. He was generous enough to donate not just 50% of the proceeds from the sale of cow but the entire $1 to the poor.

That night he slept very peacefully.

When the farmer was asleep, God again came to his dream.

The farmer was a little ashamed to see God this time. He could not see God in His eyes, and hence kept his head down. After a long pause, God said the following with a very heavy heart —

My dear child,

Remember, promises and prayers are not a legal document — but based upon love, faith, trust and honesty.

You might not have been true to your promise, but I shall remain true! I still wish you all the happiness and success in the world.

The dream ended. The farmer woke up repenting all the wrong he had done.

The Silent Monk wonders that in the present state of the world where we are even ready to cheat God, how difficult would it be for all of us to trust each other?

If you have anyone in your life whom you can trust blindly, please value and cherish the same. Trust is often very hard to get by these days.

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