The Value of Time

Once upon a time there lived a man in a small village, he was very worried about his son his son was lazy and careless he never worked. He just wandered here and there in the village all day long. One day, the man decided to teach his son a lesson. 

He called his son to him and he said gently, "Son, there is a watch kept inside the cupboard bring it to me."

The boy went and opened the cupboard. He took out the watch and came back to his father. 

The father looked at the watch and said, "Now take this watch to the market, ask everyone you meet, how much they think it is worth."

The boy nodded and went to the market with the watch. He showed the watch to different people.

One man said it was worth 500 rupees another said 1,000 rupees someone else said 800 rupees. Everyone gave a different price. Some people even gave the same price, but no one agreed completely. 

The boy came back home and said, "Father, everyone told me a different price for the watch. Some said 500, some said 800, and some said 1,000."

The man smiled and said, "Alright, put the watch back in the cupboard."

The next day, the man called his son again.

He asked him to bring the same watch. The boy brought it and gave it to his father. 

Then the father said, "Now go to the market again. This time don't ask the price of the watch, ask the people the price of the time inside this watch."

The boy was confused. He didn't understand what his father really meant, still be obeyed and went to the market again. 

He asked the people he me, "How much is the time inside this watch worth."

People looked at him strangely, some laughed at him, some told him to go away and some said what a foolish question.

The boy felt embarrased and sad. Finally he stopped at a small shop, where an old man was working. The old shopkeeper was busy repairing watches. When the boy asked him the same question the old man paused his work.

He looked at the boy with a kind smile, he understood what the boy was trying  to ask.

He said softly, "Son, you cannot put a price on a time. You can give million of rupees, but you cannot buy back even one second of your life. That is why you must use your time wisely. 

The boy listened carefully. The old man continued, "time has one bad thing and one good thing the bad things is it passes the good thing is you can choose how to spend it. Everyone in this world has 24 hours in a day the rich and the poor both the difference is how they use those hours."

The boys eyes filled with understanding something changed inside him. He thanked the old man and went home quickly. He told his father everything that had happened in the market.

The man smiled with pride and placed his hand on his son's shoulder. From that day on, the boy's life changed completely. He started working hard, he bagan using his time wisely. He stopped wasting his days, wandering around.

He understood, the real value of every moment.

"Friends time is free for everyone, but it is priceless. You cannot buy it, but you can use it. You cannot keep it, but you can spend it. Once it is gone you can never get it back. So use your time wisely."