Four travelers once asked an old woman to keep a small bundle for them.
“We’ll all come back together,” they told her. “Please give it back only when all four of us are here.”
The woman agreed and carefully put the bundle away.
A few days later, one of the travelers returned alone.
“I’ve come to collect our bundle,” he said.
The old woman shook her head.
“I was told to return it only when all four of you are here.”
The man smiled.
“The others sent me. They said you should give it to me.”
“But they aren’t here,” the woman replied.
“They’re waiting just outside the village,” he explained. “They asked me to bring the bundle to them.”
The woman hesitated.
After thinking for a moment, she finally handed him the bundle.
The man quickly disappeared.
Later, the other three travelers arrived and asked for their belongings.
The old woman immediately realized she had been tricked.
“I thought he came on your behalf!” she said.
One of the travelers sighed.
“We specifically told you not to give it to anyone unless all four of us were here.”
The woman nodded sadly.
“I understand now.”
The lesson was simple:
A promise is only useful if you remember exactly what you promised.