Gold Coins in the Well

Villagers whispered that a moneylender threw coins into the well to ‘wash’ them from guilt. Tenali washed the rumor instead.

He arranged for boys to draw water the next morning with bright brass ladles. Sunlight turned the buckets into mirrors. At noon he invited the moneylender to drink; as the man leaned in, Tenali dropped a coin into the bucket. “See how all coins look like yours when the water is public?” he said. “Let your generosity be as visible as your wealth.” The moneylender funded a school; the rumor drowned of natural causes.