(#420) Honesty (© David Minkoff)

One day, a poor woodcutter was cutting a branch of a tree above a river when his axe fell into the river. When he began crying, God appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying?"
The woodcutter told him that he had dropped his axe into water.
God went down into the water and reappeared with a golden axe.
"Is this your axe?", God asked. The woodcutter said "No".
God again went down and came up with a silver axe.
"Is this your axe?" God asked. The woodcutter said "No".
God went down again and came up with an iron axe. "Is this your axe?", God asked. The woodcutter said, "Yes".
God was so pleased with the man's honesty that he gave him all the three axes. The woodcutter went home happy.
Many months later, while the woodcutter was walking with his wife along the river, she fell into the river. When he began crying, God appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying?"
"My wife has fallen into the water and I can’t swim."
God went down into the water and came up with Jennifer Lopez. "Is this your wife?", God asked.
"Yes", he said.
God was furious, "YOOOOOU CHEEEEAT!! Now I am going to punish you."
The woodcutter quickly said, "Please forgive me, My Lord. It is a misunderstanding. If I said "No" to Jennifer Lopez, you would have come up with Joan Collins. If I also said "No" to her, you would have finally come up with my wife and I would say "Yes". Then you would give all the three women to me. I am a poor man. I would not be able to look after all three of them, so that's why I had to say "Yes"...