The Honest Woodcutter

🌳 NARRATOR:
Once upon a time, a kind woodcutter lived in a small village.
He was poor, but he worked hard every day.

One day, he went to the forest.
He had an old iron axe.

💦 NARRATOR:
Near the trees, there was a deep river.
The woodcutter slipped, and—SPLASH!
His axe fell into the water.

🧍‍♂️ WOODCUTTER:
“Oh no! My axe! I can’t cut wood without it.”

✨ NARRATOR:
Suddenly, the water sparkled.
An old man with a long white beard came out of the river.

He was the mountain spirit.

🧔‍♂️ MOUNTAIN SPIRIT:
“Did you drop this gold axe?”

🧍‍♂️ WOODCUTTER:
“No, sir. That is not mine.”

🧔‍♂️ MOUNTAIN SPIRIT:
“Then, did you drop this silver axe?”

🧍‍♂️ WOODCUTTER:
“No, that one is not mine either.”

🧔‍♂️ MOUNTAIN SPIRIT:
“Is this old iron axe yours?”

🧍‍♂️ WOODCUTTER (smiling):
“Yes! That’s my axe!”

🎁 NARRATOR:
The mountain spirit smiled.

🧔‍♂️ MOUNTAIN SPIRIT:
“You are honest. So I will give you all three axes.”

He gave the woodcutter the gold, silver, and iron axe.

🏡 NARRATOR:
The woodcutter went home happily.
He told his story to the villagers.

😈 NARRATOR:
One greedy man heard the story.

🧔‍♂️ GREEDY MAN:
“I want a gold axe too!”

So he threw his axe into the river on purpose.

✨ NARRATOR:
The mountain spirit appeared again.

🧔‍♂️ MOUNTAIN SPIRIT:
“Did you drop this gold axe?”

🧔‍♂️ GREEDY MAN (lying):
“Yes! That’s mine!”

😠 NARRATOR:
But the mountain spirit frowned.

🧔‍♂️ MOUNTAIN SPIRIT:
“You are not honest. You get nothing.”

He went back into the river.

🌈 NARRATOR (ending):
The greedy man lost even his old axe.
But the honest woodcutter lived happily ever after.

Honesty is the best reward.

THE END.