The Noblest Deed (A Story in English)

 Once there was an old man who tested his sons by giving them a task of performing the noblest The son who performed the noblest deed was awarded a gold chain and a costly ring.

In a small town named Nandgiri, there was an old man. He had three sons. One day, he divided all his property among his sons, but retained a gold chain and a costly ring. He said to his sons, "I give you a three months' time. Whoever of you performs the noblest of deeds, will get this gold chain and this costly ring." All the sons walked away.

After three months, all the three sons returned to the old man. The old man asked the eldest son, "Tell me which good deed did you perform?"

"Father, said the eldest son, "While on my journey, I found a bag full of gold coins and rupees lying on roadside. I enquired about the bag. confirmed the identity of its owner and returned the bag to its owner.

The old man admired the deed and his honesty. He asked the second son, "What did you do which you can call a noble deed?"

The second son smiled and said, "During the course of my journey, while passing by a river, I found a young boy drowning. Though I myself am not perfect at swimming, however, I jumped into the river and saved the boy's life."

The old man said, "Your deed is worth praising. It is a noble deed indeed."

Next, the old man turned towards the third son and asked, "What noble deed did you do, my son?"

The youngest son said,

"During my course of stay at the town, a person picked up a M quarrel with me and became my enemy. One night, he came to kill me while I was asleep. As he wanted to stab me, I woke up. I caught him red-handed. However, when he begged pardon, I forgave him."

The old man said, "Amongst all of you, the youngest has performed the noblest of deeds, because no other quality is as noble as to forgive."

The old man gave the ring and the gold chain to the youngest son.