బంగారు గొడ్డలిThe Golden Axe

Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived a poor woodcutter named Ramayya. Every day he went into the forest, chopped firewood and sold it at the market to feed his family.

One day, as he was cutting a branch from a tree on the riverbank, his axe slipped from his hands and fell into the river. Ramayya sat down on the bank and began to weep. “That axe was all I had to earn my living. What do I do now?” he thought.

Just then, the river goddess rose out of the water. “Why are you crying, my child?” she asked. Ramayya told her everything that had happened.

The river goddess dived into the water and came back holding a golden axe. “Is this yours?” she asked. “No, mother, it is not mine,” said Ramayya. She dived again and brought up a silver axe. “This one isn’t mine either, mother,” he said. The third time, she brought up an iron axe. Ramayya’s face lit up. “Yes, mother, that is my axe!” he cried happily.

Pleased by his honesty, the river goddess gave him all three axes as a gift and vanished.