History and experience tell us that any one who tries to covet what belongs to others never lives happily and always suffers for their misdeeds.

Those who conspire to cheat others never prosper and always end up being punished. Here the proverb does not necessarily point out to material things alone.

Cheating here could be symbolic of broken promises, breach of agreement and lack of commitment.

Gokul and Nanda were two poor friends who lived in a small village. One day they decided to try their luck in the city and went in search of a job. Fortunately they were able to find good jobs and earned a lot of money.

They decided to return to their village. Gokul was an evil minded man and plotted to steal his friend’s money.

As they neared their village, Gokul told Nanda, “It is not safe to carry so much money. We will be robbed by thieves. So let us hide the money safely somewhere and take it later.”

Nanda was a good soul and trusted his friend and readily agreed. They hid the money under a tree and went home. A few days later Gokul returned, dug out all the money and quietly took it home.

One day he went to Nanda’s house and told him that he wanted some money and asked him to accompany him to the secret tree. When they dug the pit they found the money had gone.

Each accused the other of fraud and finally the matter was taken to court. The judges decided to visit the tree since it was the only witness.

Meanwhile Gokul hatched a wicked plan. He requested his father to sit in the hollow of the tree and asked him to pretend like the voice of the tree.

When the judges came and requested the tree to name the thief, the tree named Nanda as the culprit much to the astonishment of the entire village. But Nanda suspected foul play.

So he took some sticks and set them fire in the bottom of the tree. As the fire spread it became hot and Gokul’s father could not sit inside and jumped out of the tree.

Everyone knew the truth and the judges punished Gokul for cheating his friend. Finally Nanda got all his money from Gokul.