Once upon a time, in the city of Vardhamana, lived a very rich and helpful merchant. He was so good at his job that the king made him run the whole kingdom! Everyone loved him, and the king was very happy.

Then, the merchant’s daughter got married. He threw a HUGE party! He invited the king, queen, and everyone important. He gave everyone yummy food and wonderful gifts.

But, a palace cleaner wasn’t invited, but he came anyway! He sat in a special seat only for important people. The merchant was very upset and asked his helpers to send the cleaner away.

The cleaner felt sad and wanted revenge. He thought, “How can I make the king dislike the merchant?”

Days later, the cleaner was sweeping near the king’s bed. The king was sleepy. The cleaner whispered, “The merchant hugged the queen!”

The king woke up! “Is that true? Did you see it?” he asked.

The cleaner quickly said, “Oh, I was up all night playing games! I’m sleepy and talking silly. Please forgive me!”

But the king wasn’t sure. He started to think the cleaner might be telling the truth.

The king became angry with the merchant and wouldn’t let him near the palace. The merchant was very confused.

The cleaner saw the merchant was sad and laughed. He shouted to the guards, “That merchant is powerful! He can get anyone in trouble!”

The merchant knew the cleaner had caused his problems. He thought carefully and invited the cleaner to his house. He gave the cleaner many nice gifts and apologized. He said, “I was wrong to send you away, but you shouldn’t have sat in that special seat.”

The cleaner felt happy and said, “I forgive you! I’ll help you.”

The next morning, the cleaner was sweeping near the king’s bed again. When the king was sleepy, he whispered, “The king eats cucumbers in the bathroom!”

The king shouted, “What?! That’s silly!” The cleaner again said he was just sleepy and talking nonsense.

The king thought, “If the cleaner is lying about me, maybe he lied about the merchant too!” The king remembered how well the merchant ran the kingdom.

The king invited the merchant back and gave him lots of gifts. He was happy to have him back.

The story teaches us: Always be kind and respectful to everyone!