Three rich ladies met every day by the river. They sat there and talked the whole day. Once the three ladies quarrelled.One of them said，“Look，how white and beautiful my hands are! ”Another one said，“My hands are more beautiful. The third one said，Mine are the most beautiful ones. ”An old beggar woman came up to them. “Beautiful ladies，”she said，“I’m hungry. Please give me something to eat. ”
But the three ladies gave her nothing. They only asked，“Tell me，old woman，which one of us has the most beautiful hands?”A peasant woman was also sitting by the river. She was poor and her hands were rough because of hard work. The old woman came up to her and said，“I’m hungry. Please give me something to eat. ”The peasant woman took out her only cake she had and gave her a half.
The old woman ate it and drank some water. Then she took the peasant woman by the hand，brought her before the rich ladies and said，“Now，I will tell you whose hands are the most beautiful. The hands of the poor peasant woman are rough because of work，but they give us food . They are far more beautiful than your hands which have never done anything.”
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