The Art of Deception

Ratan fell seriously ill. At his request, his friends carried him to the temple, where he gazed at the deity and proclaimed, “If I recover, I will sell my cow and offer the proceeds to the temple fund!”

To everyone’s relief, Ratan recovered. The villagers reminded him of his promise to the deity. Determined to fulfill his vow, Ratan took his cow to the market but brought along a cat as well.

At the market, he attempted to sell the cow for one rupee, but with a condition: the buyer had to purchase the cat, which he priced at ninety-nine rupees. Remarkably, he managed to sell both animals and offered the one rupee he obtained for the cow to the deity.

As Ratan exited the temple, he chuckled at the thought of having easily deceived the deity. However, the echo of his own laughter suddenly filled him with fear—he realized he did not know how the deity would react to his trickery.