Once upon a time, there was a man sitting in the streets begging for alms from everyone who passed by. When he saw the king approaching from a distance, he thought that the king would take pity on him. So when he saw the king in front of him, he said to him: “Your Majesty, could you give me a coin?” He was greatly surprised when the monarch, staring at him, replied: “And you, what will you give me? Remember that I am your master.” The beggar, who did not know how to react, replied: “But, Your Majesty, I have nothing to offer you.” “You must have something, look in your bag,” said the king.
Angry, the beggar began to rummage through his few belongings and found a loaf of bread, an orange and five grains of rice. He thought that giving him everything was too much, so he only offered him the rice. The king gave him five gold coins, one for each grain of rice. The beggar saw that this was a good deal and said to the king: “Wait, don’t go away, I think I can give you something else.” But the king refused his offer, saying: “I can only give you back what you have given me from the heart.”
Like the beggar, many act thinking about what they will receive in return, but in life the greatest happiness will come from what we do sincerely, from the heart, without expecting to be rewarded.