A Grain as Big as a Hen's Egg

Children found the huge grain in a ravine; a traveller bought it and sold it to the king as a curiosity. The wise men could not identify it until a hen pecked a hole in it, showing it was a grain of corn.

That the king should ask the old peasants, as some might have heard from their fathers when and where such large grain grew.

He was old, bent, toothless, ashy pale, walking with two crutches. He could hardly see or hear, and said he had never sown, reaped or bought such grain — grain was always small; the king should ask his father.

He walked with one crutch and heard a little better. He said grain was larger in his time but not this big; there was no money — people grew their own corn and shared it. He suggested asking his father.

The grandfather was the oldest yet walked without crutches, with clear eyes, good hearing and distinct speech. He recognised the grain — 'corn like this grew everywhere in my time.' In his day there was no buying or selling of bread and no money. The land was free — 'My field was God's earth... Land was free... Labour was the only thing men called their own.'

(1) Why did the earth bear such grain then and not now? (2) Why is the oldest man the healthiest (no crutches)? The grandfather answered: because men have ceased to live by their own honest labour and now covet and depend on the labour of others — this has weakened both men and the earth.

A simple, honest life of self-labour and sharing brings health, plenty and happiness; greed, private property and dependence on others' labour bring weakness and want.

Children found it in a ravine; a traveller bought it and sold it to the king as a curiosity.

The son (youngest) used two crutches, the father one, and the grandfather (oldest) none — the oldest was the healthiest.

'My field was God's earth; wherever I ploughed was my field. Land was free; labour was the only thing men called their own.'

No; there was no money — everyone grew his own corn and shared it.

Why the earth no longer bears such grain, and why the oldest man is the healthiest.

The story teaches that a simple life based on honest labour, sharing and freedom from greed keeps both people and the earth healthy and productive. When men stop living by their own labour and start coveting and depending on others, both they and the land grow weak. Honest work is the key to a good life.

They lived simply and honestly, growing their own corn and sharing freely. There was no money, no buying or selling of bread, and land was free like God's own earth. Only labour was considered a man's own — a life of self-reliance and contentment.

The irony is that the OLDEST man is the HEALTHIEST — bright-eyed, strong and needing no crutches — while his younger descendants are weaker, because the older generations lived by honest labour.

ଗଭୀର ସଙ୍କୀର୍ଣ୍ଣ ଉପତ୍ୟକା।

own.