The Half Burnt Log

Once there lived a couple. The husband was a merchant who had to travel to distant places to sell his goods. One day he was on a business trip, leaving behind his pregnant wife. He travelled for many days and nights exchanging goods in different places.



One stormy night, he was walking through the forest looking for shelter when he saw a light sparkling at a distance. He followed the path to the light thinking that some fellow merchants might have taken shelter. Upon walking closer, he saw three female figures sitting around the fire and deciding the fate of a new born child. They were the angels of fate. He tried not to listen, but his curiosity got the better of him. The man hid behind a tree and listened to their conversation. He overheard them saying that the baby would live as long as the log kept burning in the hearth of the new born’s house. . As soon as he heard it, he remembered his pregnant wife who was due to deliver on that day.

He rushed home and discovered that his wife had given birth to a son. He also saw a piece of wood burning in the fireplace. So he took the burning log and put out the fire by pouring water on it. He took the half burnt log and locked it away where no one could find it.

The baby grew from a toddler to a lad and as the time went by he grew up to a handsome young man. But with him also grew his arrogance, snobbery and disrespect for his parents and others. The father tried his best to mend his ways but the son was beyond correction. He spent his father’s hard earned money on drinking, smoking and gambling. Sometimes he would disappear for days altogether and return only when his money was exhausted. On the days when he got drunk, he would come and abuse his aging parents.

One day he went a step further. He hit his parents. The father was heartbroken and cursed his fate for fathering him. It was a misery for the family. He remembered the half burnt log he had hidden ages ago. Out of frustration, he took it from its hidden place and put it on fire. The log burned out and so the son died.

Thus it is believed that we should not let all the logs burn out in our hearth.