A man in the Old West was being tried for stealing a horse.
You need to remember that stealing a horse in the Old West was
a very grave and serious offense. A person could be hanged if
found guilty of such a deed.
It so happened that the man whose horse had been stolen had
always made it a point to get the best of any person with whom
he had any dealings. He had never tried to do anything good for
anyone other than himself. Consequently, the man whose horse
had been stolen didn't have a single friend in the entire town. The
case was tried and presented to the jury.
The evidence against the accused man was pretty strong. After
about thirty minutes of deliberation, the jury returned to the court
chambers.
"Gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict?" The judge
asked. The chairman of the jury stood up. "Yes we have, your
honor," he replied.
"What is your verdict?" inquired the judge.
There were a few moments of silence and then the chairman
spoke. "We find the defendant not guilty if he will return the
horse."
After the judge had silenced the laughter in the courtroom, he
admonished the jury. "I cannot accept that verdict. You will have
to retire until you reach another verdict," said the judge. The jury
went back into their room to deliberate toward another verdict.
No member of the jury had any particular liking for the man
whose horse had been stolen. At one time or another he had
gotten the best of each of them. About an hour passed before the
jury could reach another verdict. They re-entered the courtroom.
They took their place in the jury box and the courtroom grew
silent.
"Gentlemen of the jury," began the judge, "have you reached a
verdict?" The chairman of the jury stood up.
"Yes we have, your honor," he replied. "What is your verdict?"
asked the judge.
The courtroom was totally silent. You could have heard a pin
drop. Everyone eagerly awaited the verdict. The chairman read
the decision reached by the twelve good men, tried and true.
"We find the defendant not guilty, and he can keep the
horse!"
The courtroom burst into laughter!
Moral of the story: If you spend your life trying to take
advantage of others, never caring about them in any way
except what you can get from them or what they can do for
you, you will end up a loser, like the man who lost his horse.
If you desire a friend, then be a friend. If you desire for
other people to help you, then help other people. If you
desire justice at the hands of others, then practice justice
toward them.
Regardless of what you may think, the old Biblical
admonition is true. We do reap what we sow.
