In a quiet little village lived a very rich farmer. His family’s fields were large and the crops grew well; and the fruit trees in the orchard were so full of fruit that their branches were bent. The upstairs was so full of grain from last year’s harvest that the roof beams were crumbling. In the stables were several fat cows and a clean, beautiful horse, looking very spirited.
The rich farmer walked into the house and saw the large iron boxes filled with gold coins, a satisfied smile appeared on his face. He stood there, looking at the possessions while thinking to himself, “I’ve really earned a lot in my life.”
Just as he was thinking this, suddenly, it seemed like someone was knocking on the door in his mind. The voice did not come from outside the door, but from deep inside his heart.
The voice asked him a few questions, “Have you ever done anything good? Have you ever cared for others? Ever helped the poor? Are you really satisfied? Or do you want something more?”
Hearing these questions, the rich farmer’s heart felt a little uncomfortable. He thought for a while and then answered, “To be honest, I have never been gentle with my family, nor have I cared about the difficulties of the poor. If a beggar comes to my door to ask for food, I don’t even want to look at him. I don’t believe in God and only think about how to make more money. Even if I already have everything, I still feel that it is not enough.”
The rich farmer was shocked himself after saying these words. He felt his legs a little weak and had to sit down to rest.
Just then, there was another knock on the door outside – this time someone was really knocking on the door of the room. The rich farmer opened the door and saw that it was his neighbor standing at the door. This neighbor was a poor man with many children at home, and life was difficult.
The neighbor bowed his head and said, “I know you’re rich, and I know you’re usually not very willing to help. But my children are so hungry that I have no choice but to come and ask you to lend me some grain.”
The rich farmer was silent for a while after hearing this. It was true that he was usually reluctant to help others, but this time, something seemed to have changed in his heart. He looked at the neighbor in front of him and finally spoke, “I’m not the kind of person who would just give away anything, but I can give you a little more than you asked for. However, you have to promise me one thing.”
The neighbor hurriedly asked, “What is it? Tell me, I’ll promise anything if it helps the child.”
The rich farmer said, “If I die one day, please guard my grave for three days and nights.”
When the neighbor heard this, he was a little scared, but he really needed the grain so badly that he nodded his head and agreed. After getting the grain, he carried the bag back home.
The rich farmer didn’t know why, but always felt a little uneasy in his heart. A few days later, he suddenly fell to the ground and never woke up.
No one knew why he died, and no one felt sorry for his passing. People just buried him according to the rules.
The neighbor who had asked for his help did not like the rich farmer, but since he had promised to keep watch over the grave for three days, he decided to go and fulfill his promise.
On the first night, he came to the cemetery and sat down in front of the grave. It was very quiet around him, with only the moonlight on the ground, and occasionally an owl flew by, making a “cooing” sound. He sat there all night and returned home without incident.
The next night, everything was the same. He went to the cemetery again, sat at the grave, and nothing happened.
By the third night, he felt something was wrong. He always felt that something would happen tonight. Sure enough, when he walked outside the graveyard, he saw a man standing there. The man looked old, had a scarred face, sharp eyes, and was wearing a tattered shirt and on his feet were a pair of very large boots.
The neighbor went over to him and asked, “Are you looking for something? Aren’t you afraid to stay here?”
The man smiled and said, “I’m not afraid of anything. I used to be a soldier, and I have no place to go tonight, so I want to spend the night here.”
The neighbor heard this and thought the man was quite interesting, so he said, “If you’re not afraid, why don’t you stay with me to guard the grave.”
The soldier nodded, “Sure, I’ll accompany you. I’m a soldier anyway, and standing guard is more than familiar to me.”
So the two sat together in front of the grave and waited to see what would happen.
For the first half of the night, everything was peaceful. But in the second half of the night, there was a sudden sharp sound in the air. Then they saw a terrible shadow appear in front of them – it was the devil!
The devil roared out, “Get out of the way, you two! The man lying in this grave is mine, and I’m going to take him. If you don’t leave, I’ll break your necks!”
The soldier wasn’t scared at all; he said, “Who are you? Who are you to order me around? I am not one of your men. And I’m not going to be afraid of you. We are just going to sit here today.”
When the devil saw that hardness would not work, he planned to use another method. He changed his tone to a gentle one and said to the two men, “Since you don’t want to leave, how about I give you some money and let you go home?”
The soldier smiled and said, “That sounds good. However, one bag of money won’t be enough. If you can give me enough gold coins to fill this boot of mine, we’ll let you take the people.”
The devil said, “Okay, I’ll go get it.” With that, he disappeared.
The soldier took off his left boot, handed his neighbor a knife, and said, “Help me cut off the sole of this boot; we are going to make a trap.”
The neighbor did as he was told and then placed the boot in a small hole and covered half of it with grass. The soldier laughed and said, “When the devil comes later, we’ll make him suffer.”
After a while the devil came back with a bag of gold in his hand.
The soldier pointed to the boot and said, “Pour it in.”
The devil poured the gold into the boot, but the boot was actually not yet full. The soldier frowned and said, “That’s too little, go get some more.”
The devil sighed and went back to get a bigger bag back.
Once again he poured the gold into the boot, and it still wasn’t full. The devil was so angry that his face turned red.
The soldier pretended to be angry and said, “Why are you so petty? Are you unable to give up? If you don’t give enough, we won’t go.”
The devil gritted his teeth and made another trip, this time bringing back a heavier bag of gold. Exhausted and gasping for breath, he poured all the gold into his boots, but they were still empty.
The devil couldn’t hold back any longer and reached out to grab the boots. But just then, the first rays of sunlight appeared in the sky and shone on the devil.
The devil shrieked in terror, turned and fled. And the soul in the grave, as a result, was not taken.
When the day dawned, the neighbor looked at his boots full of gold coins and was overjoyed. He said to the soldier, “Let’s divide this money equally.”
Instead, the soldier shook his head and said, “You can distribute this money to the poor people in the village. I want to move in with you and we will live a peaceful life together until we grow old.”
And just like that, the story ended.
Story Summary: The Power of Kindness and Commitment
This story tells us several truths:
Wealth is not everything: although the rich farmer was rich, he was not happy and had no friends. No one liked him in his life, and no one grieved for him after his death.
Promises should be taken seriously: although the neighbor didn’t like the rich farmer, he kept his promise and insisted on keeping the grave for three days. This attitude of keeping one’s word is worth learning from.
Kindness Sometimes Comes from Unexpected Places: The soldier was originally just a vagabond, but he used his wisdom and courage to protect the dead soul. Sometimes, real heroes don’t always dress decently, but they have a brave heart.
Greed ultimately fails: The devil wanted to take away the rich farmer’s soul, but it was so greedy that it always tried to get rid of people with the least amount of money, and ended up getting nothing instead.
Helping others is helping yourself: The neighbor ended up with a large sum of money, which he chose to share with the poor instead of keeping it all to himself. This shows that sharing is a virtue and a reward.
