Once upon a time, an old man, on his deathbed, wanted to leave his son with one final lesson of wisdom - to do good purely for the sake of God. A few days later, he passed away.

One day, while his son was on a hunting trip, riding his horse with his weapon at his side, he saw an injured eagle unable to fly. Taking pity on the eagle, he took it home for treatment and insisted on releasing it after it recovered.

On the second day, during another hunting trip in the forest, he saw an unconscious man chained to a tree trunk. Taking pity on him, he wiped his face with water and untied him. As soon as the man regained consciousness, he carried him home, prepared a special place for him, and cared for him greatly, providing him with everything he needed, including medicine, clothing, food, drink, and rest.

On the third day, he went hunting again and saw a sick snake. He took pity on it and carried it home for treatment. The eagle recovered a few days later but refused to leave the house. One day, the eagle entered the house and landed next to the man’s wife. In its beak, it held a beautiful necklace of pearls, diamonds, and rubies. The woman, who had long suffered from the bitterness of poverty and hardship, rejoiced greatly at the necklace. The sick stranger watched the events unfold with great interest. After he recovered, he left the house. On the way, he heard a voice saying, “The king’s wife has lost a necklace, and whoever tells us where it is will receive one hundred gold liras.”

He thought to himself, “One hundred gold liras, and I am a poor man who owns nothing of the world’s riches.” He went to the king’s palace and told them that the necklace the queen was looking for was in the house of a hunter who had cared for him, done him a favor, sheltered him, treated him, and honored him. The king’s guards went to the house of that kind hunter, arrested him, accused him of theft, returned the necklace to the queen, and sentenced him to beheading.

The sick snake learned the whole story and wanted to offer its owner a service he would never forget in return for his kindness. The snake went to the palace, reached the king’s daughter’s room, and coiled around her. The king’s wife was frightened and hurried to tell her husband. Everyone seemed confused and did not know what to do. Then the minister said, “Let’s bring the hunter. Either he dies from the snakebite, or he saves the king’s daughter.”

The hunter was brought in, and he was ordered to get rid of the snake. The hunter then asked the king, “If I do that, how will you reward me?” The king replied, “I will pardon you and grant you the necklace.” The hunter entered the king’s daughter’s room, and the snake immediately went to him. He carried it and took it back with him to his house. He thought to himself, “The snake and the eagle returned the favor, but man did not.”

The moral of the story: Do good for the sake of God, without expecting anything in return from those you help. Do not expect others to repay your good deeds, for nothing is ever lost with God. He sees, hears, and knows. He is the Creator of mankind. Good deeds done to others are truly done for the sake of God, not for the sake of people. Do good to both those who deserve it and those who do not. And if you cannot find those who are worthy of it, then you are worthy of it.