Aesop

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Retold by The Legendary Connection

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Once upon a time, there was a hardworking woodcutter who lived in a small village. Every day, he would go into the forest to chop wood with his trusty ax. One day, while he was cutting trees near a pond, his ax slipped from his hands and fell into the deep water.

“Oh no!” the woodcutter cried. “What shall I do? My ax is gone, and without it, I cannot work!”

He sat down by the pond, feeling very sad. Just then, a mysterious man, who was the god Mercury, appeared beside him. "What have you lost?" the god asked kindly.

“I’ve lost my ax,” said the woodcutter. “It fell into the pond.” Without saying another word, the man jumped into the water. A moment later, he came out, holding a shiny golden ax. “Is this your ax?” the god asked. The woodcutter shook his head. “No, that’s not my ax. My ax wasn’t made of gold.”

The god smiled and jumped into the pond again. This time, he came out with a beautiful silver ax. “Is this your ax?” he asked. “No,” said the honest woodcutter. “My ax wasn’t made of silver either.”

The god nodded and dove into the pond one more time. This time, he returned with the woodcutter’s simple, well-worn ax. “Is this your ax?” the god asked. “Yes!” cried the woodcutter. “That’s my ax! Thank you so much!” The god smiled again. “You are an honest woodcutter,” he said. “Because you told the truth, I will give you both the golden ax and the silver ax, along with your own, because I am the god Mercury.” The woodcutter was amazed. He thanked the god and happily went home with all three axes.

A little while later, the woodcutter met one of his neighbors and told him the whole story about how he had lost his ax and how the kind man had rewarded him for his honesty. The neighbor, hearing this, thought to himself, “I would like a golden ax, too!” So, the neighbor went to the same pond and purposely threw his ax into the water. Then he sat down and began to cry loudly, “Oh no! I’ve lost my ax! What shall I do?”

Just as before, the god Mercury appeared. “What have you lost?” he asked. “I’ve lost my ax,” said the neighbor, pretending to be sad. The god jumped into the pond and came out with a golden ax. “Is this your ax?” he asked. The neighbor’s eyes lit up. “Yes, yes! That’s my ax!” he said, excitedly.

But Mecury frowned. “That is not true,” he said. “This is not your ax. You are not an honest woodcutter, and because you lied, you shall not have the golden ax.” The neighbor, disappointed, said, “Then get me my own ax.”

“Get it yourself,” the man replied, and with that, he disappeared into the water, never to be seen again. The dishonest woodcutter was left with nothing, and he learned an important lesson that day: it’s always better to tell the truth.

Original Source: Young, Ella Flagg; Field, Walter Taylor. The Young and Field Literary Readers, Book 2. Project Gutenberg December 26, 2011 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/38412/38412-h/38412-h.htm#THE_HONEST_WOODCUTTER