The Shepherd’s Treasure Summary, Moral and Objective
The Shepherd’s Treasure is a famous folk tale of Iran. This folk tale is the story of a poor shepherd and how his friendliness and wisdom won the heart of every people.
The Shepherds fame in the village
Once in the village of Iran, there lived a Shepherd. He uneducated due to lack of schools in the village. But his wisdom and friendliness made him famous. Many people go and meet the shepherd for advice.
Soon the king heard about the shepherd. He decided to visit the shepherd. He took the dress of a shepherd and went to the cave of the wise shepherd on the mule. As expected, the shepherd welcomed the guest and gave his piece of food. The king spent the night with the shepherd and decided to leave the next day. During his departure, the shepherd looked into his eyes and greeted him by saying “Your Majesty.”
The shepherd as a governor of the district
The king astonished by the shepherd’s wisdom and hospitality appointed the shepherd as a Governor of one district. Even after becoming a governor he remained as humble and polite as earlier. Soon he also became famous in the district for his wisdom, sympathy, and goodness.
Jealousy of Governor’s of other districts
The fame of the shepherd made other governors jealous of the shepherd. They started spreading fake stories of the shepherd’s wealth. They told the king that the shepherd always carries an iron box with him; this box must have jewels and precious stones. The king usually ignored the jealous governor’s fakelore, but it was now known that the shepherd carries an iron box. He summoned the shepherd to the palace.
The shepherd came to the palace on the camel. His iron chest was also tied with the camel. Now the king was angry. He thundered, “why do you keep this iron chest with you. What does it contain”? The shepherd smiled and asked his servant to bring the chest. Every people were eager to know what’s inside the chest. The chest was brought to the king, and the shepherd opened the chest. To everyone’s dismay, there was no gold or precious stone but a worn out old blanket. The shepherd proudly carried the blanket and said this my only treasure, master.
The king asked “why you carry such an ordinary blanket. You are a governor of a district”.
To this, the shepherd replied with the dignity ‘the blanket is his oldest friend. It will still protect me if my majesty sakes me form governorship”.
Raja was pleased, and all the governors were embarrassed. The king made him the governor of a bigger city immediately.
The moral/ objective of the story:
In this story, we see that a shepherd rose to fame with wisdom and humbleness; and even after becoming famous he remained as humble as he was earlier. This story teaches us to be polite and humble in every situation.
A Pact with the Sun
- A Tale of Two Bird.
- The Friendly Mongoose.
- The Shepherd’s Treasure.
- The Old-Clock Shop.
- Tansen.
- The Monkey and the Crocodile.
- The Wonder Called Sleep.
- A pact with the Sun.
- What Happened to the Reptiles.
- A Strange Wrestling Match.
Ref: A Pact with the Sun, NCERT.
