A peasant had four sons. Of them, the two elder brothers were very selfish. On the contrary, the younger brothers were quite generous and men of amiable disposition. They were liked by all. The elder brothers were jealous of their popularity. As the time passed, they all grew up and were married.

 

The peasant was a well-to-do person of his village. He began to consult his younger sons in matters of business. This added to the annoyance of the two elder brothers. One day they both went to their father and said, “Dear father! we all the four brothers are your sons and expect you to treat all of us alike. But we have observed that you are more favourably disposed towards our younger brothers than towards us. We haven’t been fortunate enough to win your affection to that extent. You should not be prejudiced against us.”

 

In an affectionate tone, the old farmer denied that he harboured a sense of prejudice against them. He told them that they were as dear to him as the two other sons. They were quite convinced of the sincerity of the words of their father and went away fully satisfied.

 

The next day the peaceful atmosphere of the village was disturbed by an untoward happening. The two of the peasant’s next door neighbours fell out. As the peasant was the chief of the village. it was his duty to resolve the dispute between the quarrelling parties. Some people approached him and requested him to  use his good offices to bring about a reconciliation between the two neighbours. He sent both of his younger sons to mediate a settlement. They went to the two neighbours and succeeded in their attempt to settle the dispute. The neighbours became reconciled, bringing about The people were full of praise for the role played rapprochement between the quarrelling neighbours. by the younger sons in This gave rise to their popularity. The only persons who did not feel happy about it in the village were their elder brothers. They could no longer bear to see all this happen. They complained to their fathers in-law against the partial attitude of their father towards them. So far it was a matter between the father and his sons but now it became known to the people of the village. It was a new topic for discussion among the people. Their fathers-in-law wrote letters of complaint to the peasant.

 

The peasant was known for his sagacity. He did not lose the balance of his mind. He had already thought of a plan to pacify the atmosphere. He arranged a feast after two days and invited all the eminent citizens of the village to it. Invitations were also sent to the relatives of the elder sons. Everyone was present at the time of the feast. Nobody knew the purpose behind it. They were there because the peasant, a respectable citizen of the village, had invited them all. But they were all eager to know of the purpose behind the feast. Dishes had been served and the people had occupied their seats when the peasant stood up facing the guestsand said. “Dear friends! you are all anxious to know as to what led me to organise this feast. I take up the opportunity to disclose the purpose. Both of my elder sons have charged me with partiality. I have organised it to atone for my fault. All the four sons of mine are going to dine with you but they will have to do so in a special condition. Their hands will remain stretched out as they will be bound together with straight sticks of the same the peasant finished his statement, the stretched out hands of the four sons were tied to sticks. There were two special cabins, and the sons divided into two groups. Each group was allotted a cabin. In the first cabin sat the two elder brothers. The cabins were so designed that the people could see the brothers eating but the two groups could not see each other. They began to eat. Each of them took up a piece of food in his hand but, as the hands were stretched out and bound with straight sticks, they could not bend them. This prevented them from eating. They were sitting with the pieces of food in their hands. They could not succeed in bringing the pieces to their mouth. The other people were eating. When they looked at the two brothers, they were ashamed.

 

In the second cabin sat the two younger bro- thers. They sat down to eat with their hands tied to sticks. They sat facing each other. Ramu took up a piece of food and put it into the mouth of Shyamoo. Shyamoo took up a piece of food and pushed it into Ramu’s mouth. They were thus able to eat without bending their hands and were loudly cheered by the people.

 

This drama lasted for about half an hour. The people showed greater interest in it than in the food being served to them. The bell rang as soon as 31 minutes were over.

 

The four brothers came and took their seats on the dias in deference to their father’s wish.

 

 The peasant asked the elder brothers in presence of all the guests if they had eaten their food. In a low voice they confessed that they could not. Now the peasant turned to the younger sons and same question to them. They replied affirmatively. Then, the peasant turned to the audience and inquired if he had prevented the elder brothers from eating their food. The people said, “No.” The peasant again inquired if he had helped the younger sons to eat their food. The reply was in the negative. The peasant grew serious and said, “I stand guilty of the charge of partiality in the sense that I entrust the task to those who possess common sense and whose hands stretch out spontaneously to help others. There was pin-drop silence. No voice of the charge of partiality was heard.