English Learning Short Story With Subtitles | Improve English Through Stories

Summary

In a kingdom ruled by a wise and fair King, a minister seeks help for his failing business. The King tasks three men with collecting the freshest vegetables from the kingdom’s gardens, offering a lesson in hard work and honesty. While one man works diligently and thrives, the others take shortcuts—one mixes fresh and spoiled vegetables, and the other fills his bag with leaves. As the men face the consequences of their actions, the King’s lesson becomes clear: honesty, hard work, and integrity lead to success, while laziness and dishonesty lead to failure and regret.

Takeaways

• 😀 The king was wise, fair, and loved by his people for his ability to listen to and solve their problems.
• 😀 The minister sought help from the king for his struggling business, despite hiring trusted and skilled workers.
• 😀 The king decided to test the three men working for the minister by giving them a task involving gathering vegetables.
• 😀 Each of the three men had different approaches to the task: one worked hard, one was lazy, and one tried to cheat.
• 😀 The first man selected the best vegetables, hoping to impress the king with his honesty and hard work.
• 😀 The second man took a shortcut, mixing fresh and spoiled vegetables, believing the king wouldn’t notice.
• 😀 The third man filled his bag with leaves and plants, thinking only the size of the bag mattered, not the contents.
• 😀 The king gave an unexpected order to lock the three men in separate rooms and survive on the contents of their bags for 20 days.
• 😀 The first man thrived by eating fresh vegetables, staying healthy throughout the 20 days.
• 😀 The second man faced sickness from the spoiled vegetables and eventually died after several days.
• 😀 The third man, who had only leaves and plants, became too weak to survive and died, realizing the consequences of his laziness and dishonesty.
• 😀 The story teaches the importance of making honest decisions, working hard, and avoiding shortcuts, as they lead to long-term success and avoid regret.

Q & A

Why did the people love the King in the story?

The people loved the King because he was wise, fair, and always listened to their problems, trying to help them in every way possible.

What problem did the minister bring to the King?

The minister explained that despite hiring three clever and trusted men, his small business was still losing money and not improving.

What task did the King give to the three men?

The King asked the three men to visit the kingdom’s vegetable gardens and fill their bags with the best and freshest vegetables they could find. They were given half a day to complete the task.

How did the three men approach the task differently?

The first man worked hard to collect fresh, clean vegetables. The second man mixed fresh and spoiled vegetables to save time. The third man filled his bag only with leaves and plants, thinking the size of the bag was all that mattered.

What was the King's unexpected command after the men returned with their bags?

Instead of inspecting the bags, the King ordered the soldiers to arrest the three men and lock them in separate rooms for 20 days without food, instructing them to survive only on the contents of their bags.

What happened to the first man during the 20-day confinement?

The first man, who had collected fresh vegetables, had no trouble surviving the 20 days. He ate the vegetables every day and remained healthy.

What was the outcome for the second man?

The second man, who had mixed spoiled vegetables in his bag, became sick from eating them. His condition worsened, and he eventually passed away before the 20 days were over.

What happened to the third man, and what did he realize before his death?

The third man, who had filled his bag with leaves and plants, had nothing to eat and became weak from hunger. He died before the 20 days were up. Before his death, he realized that his laziness and dishonesty led to his suffering and that he had chosen the easy way out, which cost him his life.

What is the central moral of the story?

The central moral is that every decision we make has consequences. Hard work, honesty, and integrity lead to long-term rewards, while laziness and dishonesty may seem like shortcuts but ultimately lead to failure and regret.

What lesson can be learned from the different outcomes of the three men?

The differing outcomes of the three men highlight the consequences of their choices. The first man’s hard work paid off, while the second man’s dishonesty led to illness and death, and the third man’s laziness and dishonesty led to his premature death. The lesson is that shortcuts and dishonesty ultimately result in negative consequences.