In a lush green valley, there were two peaceful villages named Greenleaf and Stonehill. A wide, rushing river separated them, making it very difficult for people to visit each other or trade goods. Seeing this struggle, a kind King decided to build a sturdy stone bridge to connect the two sides.
At first, everyone was delighted. However, a dispute soon broke out. The people of Greenleaf claimed, "The bridge starts in our village, so it belongs to us!" The people of Stonehill argued back, "That doesn't matter! The path leads to our village, so it is ours!" Soon, the two villages were no longer friends; they were rivals fighting over a piece of stone.
The King tried to mediate, but the villagers were too stubborn. Finally, he called upon his wise advisor, Kavi, to solve the problem. Kavi met the villagers by the riverbank and listened to their arguments.
"I have a solution," Kavi said calmly. "If you want to own the bridge, you must follow this rule: The village that owns the bridge can use it to enter their own town, but they are strictly forbidden from using it to travel to the other village. The bridge will be a one-way entrance only."
The villagers fell silent. They realized that if they closed the bridge to others, they would also be trapped. If they couldn't travel to the other village to buy salt, cloth, or tools, their own lives would become very difficult. They understood that a bridge meant for one side is actually a wall that keeps everyone in.
With this realization, the anger vanished. They agreed that the bridge belonged to everyone. From that day on, the bridge served its true purpose—bringing the two villages closer together.
Moral
True value lies in sharing, not in owning alone.
