One day, while a woodcutter was cutting a branch of a tree above
the river, his axe fell into the river. When he cried out, the Lord
appeared and asked,
"Why are you crying?" The woodcutter replied that his axe has
fallen into water.
The Lord went down into the water and reappeared with a golden axe.
"Is this your axe?" the Lord asked. The woodcutter replied,
"No."
The Lord again went down and came up with a silver axe. "Is this
your axe?" the Lord asked. Again, the woodcutter replied, "No." The
Lord went down again and came up with an iron axe. "Is this your
axe?" the Lord asked. The woodcutter replied, "Yes."
The Lord was pleased with the man's honesty and gave him all three
axes to keep, and the woodcutter went home happily.
One day while he was walking with his wife along the riverbank, the
woodcutter's wife fell into the river. When he cried out, the Lord
again appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying?" "Oh Lord, my
wife has fallen into the water!" The Lord went down into the water
and came up with Jennifer Lopez. "Is this your wife?" the Lord
asked. "Yes," cried the woodcutter.
The Lord was furious. "You cheat! That is an untruth!" The
woodcutter replied, "Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a
misunderstanding. You see, if I said 'no' to Jennifer Lopez, You
will come up with Catherine Zeta-Jones. Then if I also say 'no' to
her, you will thirdly come up with my wife, and
I will say 'yes,' and then all three will be given to me.
But Lord, I am a poor man and I will not be able to take care of
all three wives, so that's why I said yes this time."
The moral of the story is whenever a man lies it is for an
honorable and useful reason.