A Woman’s Magic Box

The Widow and Her Vegetables

In a certain village lived an old widow named Dhania. She used to sit on her veranda and sell greens and vegetables gathered by the other women of the village. At the end of the day, they would divide the profits among themselves.

People believed that Dhania had accumulated a lot of wealth, but the truth was that she was quite poor.

The Daring Thief

One day, the villagers grew afraid of a daring thief who stealthily entered homes at night, taking whatever valuables he could find. The village headman announced that anyone who could help catch the thief would be generously rewarded.

Poor Dhania thought to herself, “How I wish the thief would enter my house! I have nothing to lose. Yet, God willing, if I could help capture him, I would receive such a handsome reward!”

While the other villagers prayed for the thief to avoid their homes, the old widow hoped for a visit from him.

A Surprising Encounter

Finally, one night, the thief entered her house while she was luckily awake. With a sweet voice, she said, “My son! Have you come?”

The thief was taken aback. Dhania continued, “You will now take charge of your wealth, won’t you? Come on, measure and count it. Your wealth must have doubled!”

The thief was confused but stayed, curious about what she meant.

The Magic Box

The woman lit a lamp and held it up to the thief’s face, exclaiming, “What a blunder I almost made! You are not the thief who deposited his wealth in my magic box! You came here out of curiosity, didn’t you? Please excuse me, but I can’t tell you anything about it. If the villagers find out, I might lose my box and even be hanged for befriending thieves!”

“I haven’t heard anything about your box, but please tell me all about it,” the thief implored. “It’s like this: I have a strange box with me. If stolen property is placed inside it, the property will double by the next night. Last night, a thief deposited all his stolen wealth. Now it has doubled,” said Dhania as she opened her box, revealing cheap gilded ornaments and fake coins. The thief was astounded.

A Bold Proposal

“Listen, good old lady! Since you’ve shown me your magic box, let me enjoy its benefits at least once. Tomorrow night, I’ll bring some valuable things I’ve gathered. Please allow me to place them in your box, and I’ll come back for them the next night, of course, after giving you a fair share,” proposed the thief.

Dhania pretended to hesitate but eventually agreed, saying, “All right, but it will only be this once, mind you!”

The thief left, thanking her profusely.

The Capture

The next morning, Dhania met with the village headman and confided everything that had happened. The headman arranged for some strong villagers to hide inside and around Dhania’s house.

That midnight, the thief returned, carrying all the valuables and money he had recently stolen from various houses in the village and nearby areas. While he was placing his loot into Dhania’s magic box, the villagers sprang into action and captured him.

A Reward for Dhania

Dhania was duly rewarded by the headman. The people who had lost their valuables were able to retrieve them from Dhania’s magic box!

In nature, there are no rewards or punishments; there are only consequences.