Once upon a time, there lived a good man in a good village. He was blessed with a nice house, productive fields and a loving wife. When a little baby boy was born to him, he was overjoyed. He looked after and pampered his son a lot. The son grew up to be a healthy and handsome teenager. His father was very proud of him indeed.
One day, the door was knocked and the villager was surprised to find four of his neighbors standing at the door. They complained that his son was beating little children and teasing the girls of the village. This was a big shock for the proud father. He flew into a rage and said that this was surely a false allegation made by the jealous neighbors. Taking care of their children was not his responsibility. Firstly his son was a nice boy and could not possibly do anything wrong, and secondly, even if he was doing it, they should arrange for the protection of their own children. And he told his poor neighbors to get lost.
As time passed, the complaints by the fellow villagers became more and more frequent, but the proud father was convinced that this was all a conspiracy and the whole village was jealous of him. They were just looking for an excuse to snatch his house and fields.
But we should all remember what the wise old people said: as you sow, so shall you reap. The handsome teenager became a tall strong man and his proud father grew old and weak. Now the son will not give his father food, and beat him up whenever he felt like it. When his friends consoled him, the proud father explained that this was not really his son who was abusing him. It was actually his evil friends and jealous neighbors who were using his simple innocent son to get him beaten. And still he was proud of him.
Finally, the whole village realized that the son was now stronger than his father and was no longer under his control. They called a panjayat and decided to expel the son from the village. The proud father got very angry and warned them that they will never be able to defeat his strong and brave son and snatch his house and fields. The only solution was that the village should accept his abuse as he had himself accepted it. But the villagers had had enough. They all got together with their sticks and axes and went after the son.
I hope you remember the story of the weak sticks that made a strong bundle. Although the son was taller and stronger than any other villager, and did actually thrash quite a few of them, he could get no help from anyone, while the villagers just kept on coming till the son was tired and bruised and finally ran away from the village, never to return. The father lived the rest of his days in peace in his peaceful home and peaceful village. But whenever the topic of his son came up, the proud father insisted that it was indeed a great conspiracy.
