(1) A rich man had many servants. One day his silver pot was stolen. He suspected that his servants had stolen the pot but he could not find out the culprit. At last he hit upon a plan. He sent for all his servants. He gave one stick to each and said, “All these sticks are equal in length. Each stick is one yard long. But by tomorrow morning the stick of the thief will grow one inch longer than those of others.”

All servants went back to their places. At night the culprit said to himself, “The master is very wise man. As I have stolen the pot, my stick will grow one inch longer and I shall be found out. It is better if I cut one inch off my stick.” So he took his stick and cut off one inch. The next morning the master called the servants and asked them to show their sticks. He saw that one stick was shorter than the other sticks by one inch. So the owner of that stick was identified as the culprit. The rich man got his silver pot back and the guilty servant was dismissed.

(2)A rich cotton merchant had a large stock of cotton. One night some thieves stole away a heap of cotton. He tried to find out the thieves, but he got no clue.

An old man said to the merchant, “Give a feast to your people and I shall catch the thieves.” The merchant agreed to it. When the guests were enjoying the feast, the old man shouted. “Cotton is still sticking to the beards of the thieves.” At this the guilty men at once took their hands to their beards to remove it. They were thus caught in the trap.

Moral: A guilty man possesses a guilty conscience. He is always fearful. Live a guiltless life. Be honest and straightforward to possess a clear conscience.