Inspiration & Credit: https://childhood-stories.com  Tamil stories

A wealthy industrialist had a son. The wealth had accustomed the son to risky behavior and bad habits. The industrialist tried very hard to set him on the right path, but to no avail. He sought help from a wise elder to correct his son's behavior. The Elder met with the industrialist's son and took him for a walk.

Their stroll led them to the forest. The elder, pointing to a plant, asked the boy, "Can you uproot this plant?" The boy pulled the plant out very easily. The elder then showed the boy progressively larger plants and asked him to uproot them. He did so successfully. Then, the elder pointed to a thornbush and posed the same question. With some effort, the boy managed to pull out the thornbush.

Next, the elder led him to a small tree, which required great effort to topple to its side.

Finally, the elder pointed out a large, sturdy tree and asked the boy to uproot it. The boy stood there speechless and motionless, not knowing what to do. Then, the elder spoke to the boy, saying, "Habits are like this. You can uproot bad habits in their early stages. If they grow stronger, it becomes difficult to break free from them and adopt good habits."

Lessons: If bad habits become a way of life, it is difficult to recover from them. You should nip them in the bud and cast them away.