Beware of accusing others without solid proof

An old man once spread rumours that his neighbour was a thief. As a result, the young man was arrested. Days later, the young man was proven innocent.

After being released, the man sued the old man for wrongly accusing him.

In court, the old man told the judge, “They were just comments, they did not harm anyone.” The judge told the old man, “Write all the things you said about him on a piece of paper. Cut the paper and throw the pieces of paper out.

Tomorrow, come back to hear the sentence.” The next day, the judge told the old man, “Before receiving the sentence, go out and gather all the pieces of paper that you threw out yesterday”.

The old man said, “I cannot do that! The wind must have spread them and I won’t know where to find them.” The judge then replied, “Similarly, simple comments may destroy the honour of a man to such an extent that one is not able to fix it.” The old man realised his mistake and asked to be forgiven.

Moral: Do not blame anyone without knowing the fact or a truth. You may ruin someone’s reputation for no fault of theirs.