Misunderstanding

Once upon a time there was a learned and wise man, but he got very proud of himself and his knowledge. He became high-headed, uppish and arrogant. On one very hot and sunny day, after his long journey, he got very thirsty. As he walked, he suddenly noticed a small straw house and water well just next to the uninhabited mason house. A woman was standing nearby the well, so he went to ask her for a cup of water. She decided to take some water from the well, but before she handed the jug with water to him, she bent down and threw some leaves into the jug.

The wise man was outraged, but he did not tell anything. In his mind he said to himself: "How will I repay for that impudence she dared to do???!" So he said: "Thank you for the water, woman. As you are so nice to me, I will give you a good advice for your life. Why do you dwell in such a poor cottage near such a good mason house that you keep empty? Move in it, your children will appreciate it too." The man knew that people who had lived in the house died because of the bad position of the house.

After many years he went through the country again and stopped for a while to see the woman. There were more children than before here, and they were nice and looking healthy. So he asked the woman: "Do you continue living all the time here and keep the same quality of health?"

"Yes, since the moment you gave me your advice, and in my everyday care for husband and children, I've chased away the evil with love," said the woman.

The wise man was surprised at her kindness and asked again, "So why did you put those leaves into my water?"

She said, "I noticed that you were very thirsty. You would drink it ravenously and it would only damage your health. So I put some leaves into the water and you had to drink it slowly."

The wise man immediately went away, as he was very much ashamed by the ordinary and completely illiterate woman; consequently, he also abandoned, for good, his scholastic treasures of knowledge. He realized his bad manners and forever stopped being arrogant again.