Page 256 - Kailaspati: Paramhans Hansdevji Avadhoot

Tulsidas said:
तुलसी ये बचि में सच, उपजे घिघधोि। वशीकिि इक मंत्र है, त्याज दे वचि कठयोंि॥
tulasī ye bacana meṃ saca, upaje ghanaghora, vaśīkarana ika maṃtra hai, tyāja de vacana kaṭhoṃra.
Baba then said, a physical wound automatically heals but the wound created by a harsh word or an insult goes deep and does not heal quickly. he then told us a tale to justify this point of view:
Once a lion suffered severe pain as a thorn was stuck to his paw. Failing to take the thorn out, it decided to go for the help of man, the greatest creation of God on earth. But not a single man was there in that dense forest. Taking this into account, it went for the human habitation. There he came across a wood-cutter. When the wood-cutter, on seeing the lion, was about to flee, it assured him saying, “i am in distress, so i am seeking your help. You need not be frightened and must not flee.”
The wood-cutter turned back and said, “how can i help you?”
The lion said, “a thorn that has stuck to my paw is giving me severe pain. Please help me.”
immediately, the wood-cutter came to it and within a short while took out the thorn. having been relieved of the pain and feeling safe, the lion, out of gratitude, said, “in exchange for your service i will pay you some coins, made of silver and gold. i have killed a lot of people and have collected all of their jewellery. You please come with me to the dense forest. You need not be frightened as i am the King of this forest.”
With these words, the lion took the wood-cutter to the dense forest, offered him jewellery of gold and silver, and bade him goodbye. at the time of departure, it requested that man to come to him for more jewellery, if he needed.
Overjoyed, the wood-cutter returned to his cottage. after a few days, he went to the lion once again and took some jewellery. as the wood-cutter had been collecting jewellery again and again, his wife suspected that her husband might be involved in theft. One
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