YOUR GOOD ACTUALLY PAYS

A woman baked bread for members of her family
and an extra one for a hungry passerby. She kept
the extra bread on the Window-sill, for
whosoever
would take it away. Everyday, a hunch-back
came and took away the bread. Instead of
expressing gratitude, he muttered the following
words as he went his way: "The evil you do
remains with you: The good you do, comes back
to you!" This went on, day after day. Everyday,
the hunch-back came, picked up the bread and
uttered the words: "The evil you do, remains
with
you: The good you do, comes back to you!" The
woman felt irritated. "Not a word of gratitude,"
she said to herself... "Everyday this hunch-back
utters this jingle! What does he mean? "One day,
out of despiration, she decided to do away with
him. "I shall get rid of this hunch-back," she
said. And what did she do? She added poison to
the bread she prepared for him! As she was
about to keep it on the window sill, her hands
trembled. "What is this I am doing?" she said.
Immediately she threw the bread into the fire,
prepared another one and kept it on the
window-
sill. As usual, the hunch-back came, picked up
the bread and muttered the words: "The evil you
do, remains with you: The good you do, comes
back to you!" The hunch-back proceeded on his
way, blissfully unaware of the war raging in the
mind of the woman. Everyday, as the woman
placed the bread on the window-sill, she offered
a prayer for her son who had gone to a distant
place to seek his fortune. For many months, she
had no news of him.. She prayed for his safe
return. That evening, there was a knock on the
door. As she opened it, she was surprised to find
her son standing in the doorway.. He had grown
thin and lean. His garments were tattered and
torn. He was hungry, starved and weak. As he
saw his mother, he said, "Mom, it's a miracle I'm
here. While I was but a mile away, I was so
hungry that I collapsed. I would have died, but
just then an old hunch-back passed by. I begged
of him for a small part of his food, and he was
kind enough to give me whole bread. "As he
gave it to me, he said, "This is what I eat
everyday: today, I shall give it to you, for your
need is greater than mine!" "As the mother heard
those words, her face turned pale and red. She
leaned against the door for support. She
remembered the poisoned bread that she had
made that morning. Had she not burnt it in the
fire, it would have been eaten by her own son,
and he would have lost his life! It was then that
she realized the significance of the words: "The
evil you do remains with you: The good you do,
comes back to you!" Do good and; Don't ever
stop doing good, even if it’s not appreciated at
that time.