THE LAZY MAN AND COCONUTS

Once there was a lazy and foolish man. He was too lazy to work as a farmer. He went round the village every day and did all kinds of little things for people. He was happy to make just enough money to live from day to day.

                He was very good at climbing coconut trees. One day this lazy man was walking through a coconut plantation – a place where there were a lot of coconut trees. The owner of the plantation stopped him.

                “Good afternoon, my friend,” the owner said. “Do you want to make some money by climbing the coconut trees and cutting down some coconuts for me?”

                “How much will you give me?” asked the lazy man.

                “I’ll give you two nuts from each tree you climb, “the owner said, “ and there are twenty-five trees.”

                The lazy man agreed. He started to climb one of the trees. When he reached the top, he said to himself.

                “There are twenty five trees. That means there will be fifty nuts for me. If I sell the nuts, I’ll get enough money to buy twice as many cheap nuts. Then I’ll take out the oil from them. After that I’ll sell the oil and make a lot of money.

                “With the money I’ll then buy many chickens. The chickens will grow up and lay many eggs. The eggs will hatch into chickens. I’ll take care of the chickens. In time these chickens will grow up and lay more eggs. They too will hatch into other chickens. I’ll have many, many chickens.

                “I’ll then sell all the chickens and make a lot of money. With the money, I’ll buy some expensive presents and a ship. I’ll go to another country. There I’ll meet a very beautiful princess and I’ll ask her to marry me …”

                As he was talking to himself, the lazy man moved from side to side. He was very excited and happy. He forgot that he was up on a coconut tree. He let go of the trunk and fell to the ground.

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GATHERED FROM MY OLD TEXT BOOK