Great people have been very truthful since their childhood. When Mahatma Gandhi was a small child, he was never late in reaching school. Though he did not have a watch or clock with him, he would guess the time by looking at the position of the sun in the sky.
One day the sky was overcast with clouds and it began to rain. Gandhi did not care getting drenched by the rain. However, because of the clouds in the sky, he could not guess the time of the day. That day he was late in reaching his school. The principal of the school was very strict. He asked Gandhi about the reason for coming late. Gandhi told him the truth, but the principal did not believe him. The principal fined him for arriving late. It made Gandhi weep. His friend asked, “Why are you weeping for such a small punishment”. Gandhi replied, “I am not crying because I have been fined. I feel hurt, because the principal thought that I was lying. I always speak the truth. No one has ever accused me of lying.”
When the principal came to know why Gandhi cried, he called him to his office and praised him for his courage of speaking the truth. He returned the fine saying it was a reward for his truthfulness.
Gopal Krishna Gokhale was a great leader of India. When he was a student, he once took the help of a senior friend in solving a difficult problem of Mathematics. The teacher thought that Gokhale had himself solved the problem. He praised him in the class and also rewarded him. However, instead of being happy, Gokhale began to cry. When the teacher asked him the reason, he told him that he had taken the help of a student in solving the problem.
His truthfulness very much impressed the teacher. He said, “You need not return the reward. Take it as a reward for your truthfulness.
Moral
The value of truth is greater than any loss.
Source: Pragya Tales Part 2
