Once there lived a boy named Krishna on the banks of the river Kaveri. He was the eldest among five children. Krishna’s father was a very lovable and hardworking man. Even though he worked hard， his earnings were not enough to meet both ends.
　　At nights， with only a quarter-filled stomach， the children could not sleep. To make them sleep， Krishna’s father used to play the flute1 and tell them stories about the mercy of the river Kaveri. Through his stories Krishna started loving the river very much and he thought of the river as a goddess.
　　Once， on a rainy day， Krishna’s father fell ill. Seeing his siblings2 crying for food， Krishna went to the market and a merchant gave him the work of loading and unloading heavy sacks3. With a starving stomach， he worked hard till the evening. From the wages4 he got， he bought food for his family and medicines for his father.
　　從前有一个男孩名叫克里希纳，他住在卡维里河畔。他是五个孩子中年龄最大的。克里希纳的父亲是一个非常可爱而勤奋的人。尽管他努力工作，但他的收入还不够维持生计。
　　晚上，孩子们只能填饱四分之一的肚子，睡不着觉。为了让他们睡着觉，克里希纳的父亲常吹奏笛子，给他们讲关于卡维里河的仁慈的故事。通过他的故事，克里希纳爱上了这条河，他认为这条河是位女神。
　　一次，在一个雨天，克里希纳的父亲生病了。看到他的兄弟姐妹们哭着要吃的，克里希纳去了市场，有个商人给了他装卸沉重袋子的工作。他饿着肚子，努力工作到了晚上。他用薪水为家人买了食物，给父亲买了药。
　　On his way， when he reached near the river， he heard somebody crying from the river. He ran towards the river and saw a man crying for help—he was drowning. Krishna put the things on the bank of the river and jumped into the river. It was very dark and the river current was rough. But he swam towards the man and saved him. The man was very happy and thanked him. He asked about Krishna’s whereabouts5 and went away.
　　Suddenly Krishna thought of his home and ran to take the food he had kept on the bank. To his shock， he found that the river had washed away all the things. He cried loudly and asked the river， “How can I go home without the food？ You ate all the food for my family and made us hungry， but even then I thank you for helping me to save a man.”
　　He sat there crying for many hours. He even forgot about the time. It was late night. He slowly walked towards his house. When he reached near his house he heard the music of his father’s flute. He ran to the house. He could not believe his eyes. The man whom he had saved was sitting there.
　　Krishna looked at his father. Then his father told him what had happened. That man was a noble and rich merchant of the nearby village. On his way to the village he had to cross the river Kaveri. While crossing， he had accidentally fallen down into the water. He was very impressed with Krishna’s courage and helping mentality. So he had come to Krishna’s house with food for the family and was waiting to see Krishna to give him a good job in his shop.