A Hundred Silver Coins!

“The happiness that one derives from virtues is far superior to the happiness that you get from the possession of wealth.” (BHAGWAN BABA)

A man had a pouch of silver coins that he had saved over the years. He had finally completed the target figure of a hundred silver coins. One evening his friend was over and he proudly told him that he had collected a hundred silver coins. So passionate was he about the coins that he wanted to show them to his friend. So he emptied out the pouch on the table and carefully started counting them. One, two, three, twenty eight, seventy four, ninety nine. Where was the hundredth coin? How was this possible, he had counted them just yesterday!

He re-counted them one, two, twelve, twenty four, thirty nine, seventy two, ninety one ninety nine!

No! It couldn’t be! He started all over again for the third time, grouping them into heaps of ten each now. One, two, eighteen, thirty one, Sixty three, eighty two… ninety two, ninety nine and hundred!!! Yes! Now he got it right! He was happy now! Gleefully he looked across the table to see his friend share his joy. Life was perfect and God was great! It was great to be alive!

A year later, the man was filling ink into his ancient fountain pen. How he loved this pen, which his father had given him on his eighteenth birthday. Old school, but precious nevertheless. The inkpot was almost empty, so he tilted it to one side for the ease of filling up the pen. It slipped and crashed on to the floor and broke! But, wait a moment; what was it that tumbled out of the inkpot? A coin? A silver coin! Oh my God! A silver coin! THE SILVER COIN! Could it be the hundredth silver coin?

His mind flash backed to the day when he had counted his silver coins in the presence of his friend. Twice they had added up to ninety nine. The third time they were a hundred.

Thoughtfully, yet desperately he dialled his friends’ phone. “Hey Nimish! Do you remember, you were over at my place for dinner last year in June, silver coins, ninety nine, hundred, did you put in the hundredth coin?”

He waited with bated breath as Nimish spoke after a taking a deep breath. “Yes my friend, I did!” “But why?” he gasped in amazement. “My friend you were so sure that you had a hundred coins that I thought if you are not able to find the hundredth one, you would think I am a thief. I didn’t want to be branded to be a thief so I quietly put a silver coin into your heap.”

Sometimes, an honest man has to go to such extremes to keep his character free from blemishes!