The golden chain story

The golden chain story
(Favourite Story From Malaysia)

Many years ago, there was a fisherman in Malaysia whose name was Mahmud. He was a kind man but he dreamed of nothing else but how to get rich. He was not really interested in catching fish. He had heard tales from his father and grandfather of treasure ships being sunk off the coast of Malaysia. So he visited all these places in the hope of being able to

fish up some treasure from the bottom of the sea.

One day, while he was dozing in the hot sun, he felt something tugging at his fishing line. He pulled it in to see what he had caught. It was such hard work that he wondered what it was. As his fishing line came out of water, he was surprised to see that he had caught a heavy golden chain.

He learned over the side of the ship to pull in the chain. “It must be worth thousands of dollars,” he thought “I shall be able to buy a big house with padi field around it.”

The chain seemed to be endless. The more he pulled, the more there was. “I can buy some jewelry for my wife,” he thought. “There will be no need for me to work any more. I can hire men to work for me.” The chain filled his boat. He did not notice that it was so heavy that his boat was beginning to sink. “I can buy a rubber estate and a coconut plantation--- a herd of buffaloes. My wife can have a chicken farm too. I can open a bank account. I ---I --- Ugh!” the water closed over his head. He tried to swim up through the water but his legs were trapped in the golden chain.

That was the last that was ever seen of him.

His wife, children and friends were very sad when he did not return home that evening. His wife said, “He was a good man but it is a pity that he was so greedy. The old saying is quite right --- “Greed leads a man to his destruction just as a camel is led by its driver.”