An old man who lived in a small side street of Mumbai had to put up with the nuisance of boys playing cricket and making a lot of noise outside his house, at night.
One evening when the boys were particularly , he went out to talk to them. He explained that he had just retired and was happiest when he could see or hear boys playing his game, cricket. He would therefore give them 25 rupees each week to play in the street at night. The boys were thrilled, for they could hardly believe that they were being paid to do something they !
At the end of the first two weeks, the boys came to the old man’s house, and went away with their 25 rupees. The third week when they came back, however, the old man said he had money and sent them away with only 15 rupees. The fourth week, the man said he had not yet received his from the government and gave them only 10 rupees. The boys were very , but there was not much they could do about it.
At the end of the fifth week, the boys came back again and knocked at the old man’s house, waiting for their . Slowly, the door opened and the old man appeared. He apologized that he could not afford to pay them 25 rupees as he had , but said he would give them five rupees each week without fail.
This was really too much for the boys. “You expect us to play seven days a week for five rupees!” they yelled. “No way!”
They stormed away and never played on the street again.
