"THE YOUNG BOY AND THE SIX COINS"

"THE YOUNG BOY AND THE SIX COINS"
(author unknown)

There was a boy who was always happy and cheerful. One day, he went to an old man and asked him,

"Sir, what is the biggest destroyer of happiness? I have a happy nature and I'm chatting and laughing most of the time. However, I fear that one day, I'll become sad and sorrowful. Tell me how to stay happy and positive everyday."

The old man thought for a moment, then nodded and said,

"Alright, I'll tell you what you want to know. But before I tell you, you have to agree to do something for me."

The boy asked, smiling at his serious face,

"Okay, sir, what is it?"

The old man answered,

"There's an empty drum in my backyard, I want you to fill it up with water. I'm too old and weak to fetch water from the river. If you do that, I'll reward you with two coins. Two coins, all for you, boy!"

The boy was suddenly filled with excitement and enthusiasm as he was in great need of money. He grabbed a bucket and hurried down the stream to fetch the water. A short while later, he went back to the old man and told him he had filled the drum with water.

However, the old man said,

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, there is another empty drum in my kitchen. Would you mind filling it up as well? I'll offer you another two coins as a reward, a total of four coins! You'll buy a lot of things for yourself with all that money. Four coins, all for you, boy!"

The boy was so determined to get the four coins, he didn't think twice about it. He quickly took the bucket and rushed down the stream. In no time, he had already filled the drum with water. However, when he returned to the old man, he said,

"Oh my goodness, I'm such a forgetful old man! I forgot that there is another empty drum in my garden. If you can fill it up with water too, I'll add extra two coins to your money and you'll get six coins altogether. You'll have a lot of money for yourself. Six coins, all for you, boy!"

A look of cheerful excitement flashed across the boy's face. He found himself thinking about what he would buy with all the money, he couldn't control his emotions. It didn't take long for him to fill up the third drum and return to the old man. He was tired and exhausted. However, instead of offering the boy the six coins, the old man frowned and mumbled,

"Oh, no, I think I'm the most forgetful old man in the whole world! I forgot that I have no coins with me. I'm so broke, I don't have any money to give to you. I'm sorry, but you have to go home empty handed! Nothing for you, boy!"

Upon hearing that, the smile on the boy's face suddenly vanished, replaced with a look of sad surprise. His happiness was completely lost and replaced with sadness and disappointment.

Just then, the old man surprisingly hugged him tightly for a moment, then smiled broadly and said to him,

"Don't worry, boy! The truth is, I've got some coins for you! Everything I did was an intention to teach you a valuable lesson about life. When you asked me to tell you what the biggest destroyer of happiness is, I came up with a plan to make you sad, so that I can teach you properly and effectively. Listen, the biggest destroyer of happiness is your EXPECTATIONS. It's because you expected six coins from me, that's why you became sad when you didn't get them. When we do something for others, we tend to expect some favour or feelings from them which may not happen. Most of the time, our expectations are too high or unrealistic to be fulfilled by someone. We expect people to love us because we love them. We expect people to be good to us because we are good to them. We always expect things to go our way. All of these things can easily cause frustration, disappointment, discouragement, stress, anger and resentment. However, if we lower our EXPECTATIONS of people and understand that they won't always live up to it, we can stay happy in life."

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