A Woodman, felling a tree by
the side of a
river, let his axe drop by accident into the
stream.
Being thus suddenly deprived of
the tool by
means of which he gained his livelihood, he sat
down upon the bank, and lamented his hard
fate.
To his surprise Mercury
appeared, and
asked him what was the
matter. Having
heard the story of the man's
misfortune, he
dived to the bottom of the river, and, bringing
up a golden axe, inquired if that were the
one he had lost.
On his saying that it was not his, Mercury
dived a second time, and returning
with a
silver axe in his hand, again demanded of the
Woodman if it were his.
This also the Woodman refused, saying that
it was none of his. Mercury disappeared
a
third time, and brought up the axe that the
man had lost. This the poor man took with
joy and thankfulness.
So pleased was Mercury with the honesty
of
the man, that he gave him the other two axes
in addition to his own.
The Woodman, on his return home, related
to his companions all that
had transpired.
One of them resolved to see if he could secure
the same good fortune to himself.
He ran to the river,
and threw his axe in
on purpose, then sat down upon the bank to
lament his sad fate.
Mercury appeared as before, and demanded
to know the cause of his grief. After hearing
the man's account, he dived, and brought up a
golden axe, and asked him if that were his.
Transported at the sight
of the precious
metal, the fellow eagerly answered that it was,
and greedily attempted to snatch
it. The
god, detecting his falsehood
and greed, not
only declined to give him the golden axe, but
refused to recover for him his own.
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