Long ago in a Khmer fishing village, there lived a poor man who caught crabs by the river every day. One afternoon, while he was collecting his traps, he found one crab that shone strangely — its shell glimmered like bronze under the sunlight.

The man thought,
“This one must bring me luck. I will take it home and eat it!”

When he reached home and was about to cook the crab, it spoke in a calm voice,
“Kind fisherman, please spare me. If you return me to the water, I will bless your nets with fortune.”

The man was startled, but his hunger made him hesitate. His wife said,
“Listen to it — no ordinary crab can speak.”

So the man decided to let it go. The next morning, when he cast his nets, they came up full — so full that the fish almost broke the ropes! From that day, the man’s family lived in comfort and peace.

Years later, whenever he saw a crab crawling near the shore, he would smile and whisper,
“Good deeds always come back, just like the tide.”

👉 Moral of the story: Compassion and mercy always return with blessings.