In a small village, a farmer had to give a huge amount of money to a moneylender. The moneylender was an old and ugly man. He liked the farmer’s beautiful daughter. He proposed a bargain. He said that he would waive off the debt if the farmer let him marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified to hear this. The money-lender then suggested that they should let the Divine decide the matter. He said that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble in an empty bag. The girl would be asked to pick one pebble from the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would marry the money-lender and her father’s debt would be waived off. If she picked the white pebble, she would not have to marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven. But, if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be sent to jail. From the path full of pebbles in the farmer’s field, the moneylender picked up two pebbles. The girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag. The girl put her hand into the moneybag and picked a pebble. But without looking at it as she drew it out of the bag, she fumbled and let it fall onto the path full of pebbles. The pebble was immediately lost among all the other pebbles. The girl apologized for her act and suggested that they should look into the bag for the other pebble that was left. That way, they would know which pebble she had picked. The moneylender could not admit his dishonesty. And that’s how the girl changed what looked like an impossible situation into an advantageous one.

MORAL: Most problems do have a solution, we just need to think differently.