The Prize Money

A girl called Nayana was always getting herself into trouble. She would quarrel with her siblings, the servants in the house, her friends at school and even the neighbours. She always said that everyone troubled her. Mother would say, “Nayana, God doesn’t love ill tempered people”.

One day her mother told her a story:
A lady drove into a city in her new car and by the evening had eight dents/ scratches on the car. She told the traffic policeman, “I really think the people of this city do not know how to drive. This is the eighth time, someone has bumped into me since morning.”

Mother went on to ask Nayana, “Whose fault do you think it was?” “Well, surely the lady was a terrible driver herself,” said Nayana. Mother said “In that case perhaps you are also not a real good driver in life, I’m sure everyone can not always try to get you into trouble. Okay, lets make a deal. Today, if you can control your temper and stay away from trouble, I’ll give you Rs.50 in the evening.”

Her brother, sister and servants tried their best to annoy her, because they knew that today she was under pressure.

They went out of their way to ignite her anger. But she had her attention fixed on the prize money and she did not snap back at them.

The day passed. Mother gave her the prize money, but there was a note attached to it: “Nayana, I am ashamed of you. For the love of God you could not control your temper even for a minute. For the love of money you could do it for an entire day.”

Do you think Nayana was ill tempered, after that? Living for the love of God is living life well. Think about it.