The Broken Pot

Once upon a time, there was a very poor man who lived all alone. He didn't have much food, but he saved a little bit of rice every day in a clay pot. He hung the pot near his bed and watched it carefully. He hoped to sell the rice one day to get some money.

One day, the pot was full of rice. The man was very happy. He thought, "I can sell this rice tomorrow and make some money!"

That night, as he lay in bed, he couldn't stop thinking about the pot of rice. He was so excited that he fell asleep and started to dream. In his dream, the pot was overflowing with rice.

He dreamed about what he would do with the money from selling the rice. First, he would buy some eggs. The eggs would hatch into baby chickens, and he could raise them into hens. He could sell the hens and use the money to buy goats. The goats would have babies, and soon he would have many goats.

Next, he would trade the goats for cows. The cows would also have babies, and he would have many cows. They would give him a lot of milk.

He could use the milk to make butter and yogurt. He could sell the butter and yogurt at the market and earn even more money. With this money, he could buy a big house. Everyone would see how well he was doing. A rich man might even ask him to marry his daughter. Then he would have a wife, and soon they would have a baby.

His child would be full of energy and play all day, making a lot of noise. Annoyed, he would pick up a stick and chase his child to quiet them down.

In his dream, the man grabbed a stick near his bed and started swinging it around. Sadly, he hit the clay pot, breaking it, and all the rice spilled out onto the muddy floor.

Suddenly, the man woke up and saw the mess. His dream had felt so real, but now he was awake, and all his plans were gone, just like the rice on the ground. The poor man realized that he had been so busy dreaming about the future that he forgot to take care of what he had in the present.