It was the best of times for poachers and the worst of times for ordinary people and animals in the Land of Nowhere.
A drought
The villagers were badly hit by a long period of dry weather. Rivers and streams ran dry and there was hardly any water in the wells. People had to walk long distances to bring drinking water. Animals started roaming in the village looking for water. Poachers who came from the city were killing the animals and taking their flesh to be sold to city dwellers. They did not face a scarcity of water as there was a well to meet their needs.
A discussion
A few elderly villagers met at the village fair and discussed what they should do to find water. A villager got up and said that there was a well full of water in the city.
He said that they should meet the city dwellers ask them to give them some water. An elderly man protested by saying, “They won’t give us water even if we ask for it. The only way is to steal the water.”
Another villager got up and said, “We can steal only a few buckets of water from the well, but they are not enough for the village. Therefore, we have to steal the whole well.”
“That’s a good idea,” said all the villagers assembled at the fair.
“If you are willing to come with me for the operation, get ready with all the implements necessary to steal the well,” said a well-built villager.
To steal the well
On the appointed day the team left for the city. When night fell they started digging the ground around the well. The sound they made aroused the suspicion of city dwellers.
“What are you doing there?” a city dweller questioned the villagers.
“As we have run short of water we decided to steal this well” a villager said still digging the ground.
“You fool! Don’t you know that a well cannot be stolen?”
“But our leader said we can steal the well,” the villager said.
“He must be a bigger fool than you,” the city dweller said.
A solution
He also said that if the villagers wanted water he could supply it through a pipeline.
The team of villagers agreed to the suggestion. After a few hours a pipeline was laid and villagers received enough water.
The villagers celebrated the event by distributing sweets to city dwellers who promised not to kill animals roaming in the village.
The villagers and city dwellers in the Land of Nowhere lived happily thereafter.
