The story of the woodcutter and his axe is one of the best folktale stories with moral lessons coming from South Asia. The story is in the Jataka stories in Buddhist literature too. Despite this story being a fable, the Jataka story has become a folktale in the region. If you are seeking moral stories for kids, maybe as bedtime stories, this might be a perfect choice. Have heartwarming storytelling time!
Once upon a time, there lived a poor man. This man was a wood cutter. He cut down trees for other people. For each tree he cut, he received a small amount of money as compensation. But it was not enough for him to fulfill his needs. The wood cutter had to do something about it. One night after a tiring day, the wood cutter got into thinking.
He thought of all the things he could do. But he could not imagine him doing those things. He could not be a farmer because he did not have any land. And he did not know how to make pottery or anything. The only thing he knew was that he was cutting down trees. Therefore, since he didn’t know anything else to do, he decided to work on what he already knew.
The wood cutter set up new goals for him. He decided to go early and cut down more trees. He thought that if he cut down more trees, he could earn more. Satisfied with his new plan, the woodcutter went to sleep with a new hope.
The next morning, the wood cutter woke up early. It was going to be his first day of his new plan. He took his axe, food, and water and went to the jungle. Then, he started working. By the end of the day, he had cut down ten trees. He was happy. His plan was working.
The second day, too, the woodcutter woke up early, took his axe, food, and water, and went to the jungle. That day, he cut a total of nine trees down.
Then, on the third day, the woodcutter woke up early, the same as the last two days. And I went to work. That day, he could cut only eight trees.
Day by day, the number of trees he can cut down goes down. The woodcutter noticed that and decided to go to work early. So, on the fourth day, the woodcutter woke up even before sunrise and left the house. That day, he could cut eight trees. Still, he could not cut 10 trees like the first day.
The next day was his fifth day. That day, he woke up even earlier than the last day. But he could only cut down seven trees. The next day, he woke up earlier and started working in the dark before the sunrise. But he could cut only six trees.
The woodcutter was confused. He could not think of any reason why the number of trees he can cut down in a day gets lower and lower, even though he puts more time into his work.
A tree deity who was living in a banyan tree nearby and saw the poor woodcutter was sad. He was watching this wood cutter work hard. And he knew the reason for this wood cutter to fail on his plan. The deity decided to help out this poor, hard-working man. So, he talked to the man.
“Human!” the deity’s call echoed in the forest.
“Who is there?” the scared woodcutter asked.
“I am the deity who lives in this banyan tree. I am talking to you out of kindness,” the tree deity replied.
The woodcutter’s fear faded away.
“You seem to be a worried human,” the deity said.
“Yes deity. I am worried. I get a very small amount of money from cutting down trees. That amount is not enough for my family. I have to feed my kids. So, I thought to cut down more trees, hoping to earn more. The first day, I cut down ten trees. The second day, I cut nine trees. The third day, I could cut only 8. Then I woke up early and came to work. So, on the fourth day, I could cut eight trees. No matter how much time I spend working, the number of trees I can cut down in a day is getting low. My plan doesn’t work. So I am worried,” the man explained.
“I know human. I was watching. Do you want to know the reason for your issue?” the deity asked.
“Yes, deity, I want to know,” the wood cutter replied.
“How many times have you sharpened your axe since the day you started cutting trees this time?” the deity asked.
“Not a once,” the woodcutter replied.
“Not a once! That is the reason for your issue. You think you can be successful if you work harder. Make time for your work. So you don’t think about sharpening your axe. Taking time to sharpen the axe seems like a waste of time for you. But it is not. To be successful, you need to be consistent. To be consistent, you need to focus on everything that is related to your work. You need to allocate time for sharpening your axe too.” The deity’s voice echoed in the forest.
The woodcutter understood what went wrong. He worshiped the deity, thanked him, and went home. The next morning, he woke up early with the sunrise and sharpened his axe. Then he started cutting trees. He cut down ten trees. Then, the day after that, he again sharpened his axe in the morning and started working. That day, too, he could cut down ten trees. The woodcutter thanked the deity every time he passed the banyan tree, where the deity lived.