Once upon a time, there lived a miser called Ali in a village in Uttar Pradesh.

One day Ali decided to visit the neighbouring town on business. He carried 100 pieces of gold in a purse. After walking for a kilometre, Ali decided to stop at a dhaba for a quick bite. But when he fished into his pocket for the purse, to his horror he realised that it was missing. Distressed and shocked, Ali looked around to see whether he had dropped the purse anywhere inside the dhaba.

He suddenly remembered that the purse must have fallen from his pocket when he had taken out his handkerchief to wipe his face. He retraced his steps back on the road he had taken, but failed to find his purse.

An anguished Ali, rushed to the town and met officer-in-charge Avinash Dubey. ?I have lost all my money. I am ruined. I have no where to go. Please help me,? wailed Ali. The officer-in-charge offered a glass of water to Ali and after hearing his story, said: ?You must offer a reward to whoever returns your purse. Otherwise you will never get your purse back .?

Ali thought for a while and then agreed to pay a reward. ?I will pay a reward of 10 pieces of gold,? he said. The next day, the officer-in-charge announced that whoever returns Ali?s purse will be given 10 pieces of gold.

A few days later, a farmer brought a purse to Dubey. ?I picked up this purse, which was lying by the roadside,? said the farmer. Dubey immediately asked Ali to visit his office. When the miser arrived, Dubey showed him the purse, ?Is this yours?? he asked. Ali?s face lighted up. ?Yes, it is. Allah be praised. Thank you very much,? he said. Ali counted the money and was happy to find that his gold coins were intact.

On leaving Dubey?s office, the farmer asked Ali about his reward. ?How dare you ask for the reward. There were 100 and ten pieces of gold in the purse. But now 10 pieces are missing. I did not say anything in front of the office because you would have been in trouble. But you have already taken the 10 pieces of gold. So, you will get no reward,? said Ali.

?That?s a blatant lie. The purse contained only 100 pieces of gold. You are lying to avoid paying me the reward,? said the anguished farmer.

But the miser was a hard nut to crack. He refused to budge from his position. ?I will not give you a reward even if you cut me into pieces. You are a thief. If you disturb me any longer, I will hand you over to the police. You should thank your lucky stars that I am letting you off so easily,? said Ali.

Realising that arguing with the miser was an exercise in futility, the farmer left. Not one to give up so easily, he filed a petition in court.

A few months later, Ali received a summon asking him to appear in person in court. A baffled Ali wondered what could have gone wrong. Ali rushed to the village head, who advised him to pay heed to the court?s order.

An anxious Ali went to the town area on the scheduled date. On seeing the farmer in court, the miser realised what went wrong. ?He walked to the farmer and sneered, ?So, you are the trouble-maker? You were satisfied stealing my money. Now, you want more. The judge will realise you are bluffing.?

The farmer did not lose his calm. Instead, he smiled and said, ?Justice will be done. Just wait and watch.?

The judge took his seat and the curious onlookers trickled into the courtroom. The judge called upon Ali and farmer to narrate their stories. After hearing both sides, the judge announced a recess of an hour before giving his verdict.

After recess, the judge asked the miser, ?How many pieces of gold were there in your purse??

?One hundred pieces and ten pieces, your honour. The farmer took 10 pieces from that purse,? said the farmer.

?But this purse contains only 100 pieces of gold. So, it can?t be yours,? said the judge. With that, he handed over the purse to the farmer and said: ?This purse is rightfully yours. You can have it. As for as you Mr Ali, I guess you have to wait till the police finds your purse.?

The farmer walked out of the court room jubilant, while a devastated Ali realised that dishonesty never pays.