One of the best folktale stories with moral lessons is the story of the non-fragile pottery. This story is a contribution from South Asian folklore to folktales from around the world. And this is included in Jataka stories too. The tale is about a pottery maker and his non-fragile pottery and it includes no instances of inappropriate content whatsoever, which makes this story one of the bedtime stories for kids or moral stories for kids. Enjoy Storytelling!
Once upon a time, there lived a potter. He was an honest man who made a living out of making pottery and selling it to the villagers. The pottery making was his life. He started making pottery when he was seven with his grandfather, who was a master potter in his village. Then, after his grandfather passed away, he worked with his father. And after his father passed away, he became the master potter in his village. The potter made various types of pottery ware. Cooking pots, vases, lamps, kettles, jugs, mugs, and teapots—he made everything.
One day, a deity appeared in front of him. “Pottery maker, I am giving you one wish. Because I have been watching you. You are an honest man. You don’t cheat your customers with low-quality products. So I am giving you a wish. So tell me. What do you wish for?” the deity asked.
The pottery maker pondered. Since his potterymaking was going well, he did not have any shortage of anything. However, he came up with a wish. “I want all the pottery I make to be non-fragile,” the pottery maker replied to the deity.
“Are you sure your pottery is non-fragile?” the deity asked.
“Yes, deity. Only I can make any type of pottery in any shape. But no matter how good I make them, they are still fragile pottery. I want them to be non-fragile,” the pottery maker replied.
“Well then. As you wish,” the deity vanished, saying that. The pottery maker quickly took a pot he was firing in the furnace. Then he threw it harder onto the floor. It didn’t break! The wish has been granted. “All my pottery will not break now!” the pottery maker was happy.
The pottery maker showed the villagers who came to buy his pots that his pots are not fragile. The news spread all around the village. And some people from surrounding villages also came to the pottery maker to buy pottery. The pottery maker was very happy and satisfied. He was happy because he was satisfied with his pottery being non-fragile and because he had a good business. Time passed like this.
After some time, day by day, no one bought pottery from this pottery maker. He looked around for the reason. He asked the people in the village why they were not buying from him anymore. The villagers said that they still have the pottery they bought from him last time. And also, the villagers praised him for making pottery that is not fragile.
The pottery realized his wish for non-fragile pottery was the reason for his fall. Day by day, he became poor. That night, he found the answer, and the deity reappeared.
“Pottery maker, I granted you a wish. But you don’t seem to have had a happy life,” the deity asked the potter.
“I did not see this coming deity. Please make them fragile again.” The pottery maker requested the deity.
“I came to give you one wish. So, is that the wish you want?” the deity asked. The pottery maker said yes and the deity gave him the wish. The pottery maker took one of his pots and threw it hard onto the floor. The pot shattered. The pottery maker felt so happy. Last time, he felt this happy seeing his pottery didn’t break. This time he was even happier to see his potter break.
This story tells us the importance of making the right decisions after thinking carefully about the aftereffects.