When a man bought a farm for only a thousand dollars, he was unaware that the seller tried to cheat him. Soon, he stumbled across a bag of dollar bills in the attic and a letter that changed his life forever.
It was a typical day for 71-year-old Sebastian when he was on his farm, harvesting the corn he had planted months ago. Walking under the sun with a broken straw basket, he threw the ripe corn one after the other into the basket, hoping he could sell them in the market for a few bucks.
Sebastian had lived all his life in the tiny house beside his farm. He had married a girl he liked and later raised his three boys, James, Fred, and Kyle, with her until she suddenly passed away in her sleep. Losing his wife at an early age left Sebastian devastated while making him feel protective of his sons.
Once the brothers grew up, Sebastian gave them the money he had saved. They bought houses and lived separately, eventually leaving their elderly father alone. However, Sebastian did not mind not having his sons around because his work kept him occupied all day.
He would wake up early to exercise and have breakfast before leaving for work. Then, he would return home tired, have dinner, and sleep immediately. The elderly man stuck to his routine and kept himself busy on the farm, leaving him with no time to think about other things.
One day, Sebastian was on the farm when he suddenly felt dizzy. He lost his balance after his vision blacked out, making him fall to the ground. Luckily, his neighbor was passing by and quickly came to help him.
“Hey, Sebastian! Are you okay?” the neighbor asked in a shaky voice, but Sebastian did not respond.
A few minutes later, Sebastian opened his eyes and found himself inside his neighbor’s house. He looked around but couldn’t recall what had happened on the farm.
“Why am I here?” Sebastian asked his neighbor.
“You fainted, Sebastian. Don’t you remember?” the neighbor asked.
“I fainted?” Sebastian frowned. “I can’t recall anything.”
That day, the elderly man decided to visit the doctor because he had been feeling dizzy over the past few days. He thought he might have fainted because of over-exertion, but the doctor told him something unexpected after running a few tests.
“I’m sorry, but you don’t have much time left, Mr. Sebastian,” the doctor said. “Your reports indicate your cancer has progressed to a point where it cannot be treated. I suggest you spend these last few weeks with your family.”
The following day, Sebastian passed away with none of his sons by his side.
It turned out that Sebastian had been ignoring the symptoms of cancer for months, and now the doctors couldn’t do anything to reverse the damage. However, Sebastian wasn’t worried about his health. He only thought about his farm.
“Who would take care of it once I die? I must inform the boys about my condition,” Sebastian thought while reaching for his phone. He called his sons individually and told them he had little time left.
As expected, none of his sons stopped him from working on the farm. They told him they felt sad but didn’t visit or help him with work. Ultimately, Sebastian had to work on his farm till his body gave up and forced him to stay home.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“Dad, we have hired a nurse for you,” James said after learning that his father was bedridden. “We can’t visit you, but she will help you with everything.”
“You don’t have to spend money on me, son,” Sebastian replied weakly. “I will leave this world sooner or later.”
“No, Dad,” James said. “Please don’t say that.”
“Save some money for your future, James,” Sebastian replied. “Why don’t you and your brothers visit me one by one instead of hiring a nurse?”
“Dad, you know we’re all busy with our wives and kids,” James told his father. “We can’t visit you.”
Sebastian felt sad when his sons refused to visit him. He wanted to see them one last time before he died, but it seemed impossible. None of his three sons were interested in meeting him.
A few weeks later, Sebastian called his sons and told them about his will. He felt extremely unwell that day, making him think about his farm and his sons.
“Please take care of my farm,” he told his sons.
“My grandfather built it with his own hands, and my father also worked on it tirelessly. Sons, this fertile land will bring you lots of money if you look after it and work hard.”
The following day, Sebastian passed away with none of his sons by his side. He felt lonely during the last moments of his life, but none of his sons cared about that. James, Fred, and Kyle arranged a small funeral for their father and buried him in the graveyard near the farm.
While Sebastian expected his sons would take care of his farm, the three men never returned to their father’s house. They didn’t care about the farm or work on it because they were too busy living their lives with their families.
A few months later, James received a call from a lawyer, informing them that Sebastian had taken a loan for fertilizers and livestock feed, and now the brothers had to pay the debt.
“But we don’t have any money!” James protested. “Dad never told us about this debt.”
Later that day, James met his brothers and told them about the phone call, and they soon came up with a solution. “I think we should sell the farm and use the money to pay the debt,” Kyle suggested.
The next day, the brothers visited the farm but were disappointed after looking at its condition. “Who’s going to buy this? The farm is destroyed, and this house is so shabby!” Fred said. “Do you guys think we can sell this?”
“Do we have a choice?” James asked. “We don’t!”
The brothers put their late father’s farm on sale, but no one wanted to buy it. Everyone could tell it was abandoned and thought the price the brothers were asking was too much.
“Should we edit the photos and make the house look better?” Kyle asked his brothers. “We can advertise in the newspaper and lower the price.”
“You’re right, Kyle,” Fred said. “That’s the only way we can get rid of this farm.”
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
A few days after the brothers published an ad in the newspaper with edited photos of the farm, they received a call from a stranger interested in buying it.
“But why is it so cheap?” the potential buyer, Harry, asked.
“I am selling this farm because I have to move to another town for work,” James lied. “I need to sell the farm as soon as possible, so I thought lowering the price would help.”
“Oh, I can understand,” Harry said. “When can I look at your farm before I buy it?”
“I don’t think that’s possible,” James said. “I am already in touch with two people willing to buy it without visiting. I don’t have enough time, Harry, but I promise you won’t get a better deal than this. You’re buying the farm for $1K. Believe me, that’s an insane deal!”
Unaware of James’ ill intentions, Harry paid his last thousand dollars and bought the farm. He planned to move in with his wife and two kids after his sister betrayed him by taking his parents’ house and land. She made him sign documents by lying to him and never gave him his part of the inheritance.
“Now I understand why they sold the farm for a thousand dollars!” Harry thought.
After buying the house, Harry felt happy that he had invested his money in the right place, unaware that James and his brothers were laughing at him. “We’ve fooled him!” they said and laughed at Harry for buying their late father’s abandoned farm.
Two days later, Harry arrived at the farm with his family and was delighted to see the farm he had bought from his children’s college fund. He had invested the money, hoping it would give him a huge return that he would use to send his kids to college.
However, upon entering the abandoned house, Harry and his wife realized they needed to repair the entire place. “How will we pay for the renovation?” his wife asked.
“Don’t worry, we will work on the farm and revamp this house ourselves,” Harry said. “I know it would take a lot of time and hard work, but I’m sure we can make things work.”
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
Soon, Harry and his wife began working on the farm and transformed it into something extraordinary. They planted new seeds, bought new livestock, and made their farm look beautiful with limited resources. Harry’s new farm gave him his first monthly earning a few months later. His neighbors were stunned to see how he and his wife had revamped Sebastian’s old farm into a beautiful place.
One day, Harry was working in the field when he saw two men standing outside his house. “How may I help you?” Harry asked them.
“Are you the owner of the farm?” they asked him.
“Yes,” Harry nodded.
Then, the two men told him they wanted the owner to pay the debt Sebastian’s sons never paid. “The previous owner of this farm took loans that he never paid back. I’m sure you knew this before buying the farm,” one of the men said.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“Now I understand why they sold the farm for a thousand dollars!” Harry thought. Then, he promised the men he would soon pay the debt by using the money he made by working on the farm. He even gave them an initial deposit so they would trust him.
The next day, Harry cleaned the farm and got rid of the trash inside the house. He was in the attic when he climbed the ladder to reach the topmost drawer of a storage cabinet. He opened it and pulled out a black plastic bag. “What’s inside?” he wondered.
Suddenly, the bag ripped apart, and multiple wads of dollar bills dropped on his head. “Oh my!” Harry exclaimed. “What’s all this?”
Then, Harry pulled out the other bag and was shocked to see it was also filled with a lot of money. Besides the money, he also found an envelope with a handwritten letter inside. Harry read it aloud:
“If you are reading this letter and don’t know who I am, that means my sons ignored my will.”
“I’m Sebastian, and I asked my three sons to care for my farm after my death. I wanted them to look after the piece of land I had inherited from my grandfather, William. He worked hard to set up the farm so I could earn money. He taught me how to work on the farm, and I wanted my sons to learn the same. However, it seems like my sons don’t want to work hard.
Whoever reads this letter must have bought the farm from my sons. I don’t know what they told you, but I hope you take care of my beloved land. It will require a lot of hard work and finances, so I decided to take care of the latter. I am leaving this money for you. Please invest it in my farm and make it one of the best in town. I want to see my land flourish, wherever I may be. I want people to visit it. I want my farm to attract people from the city.
I hope you fulfill my dream because my sons probably refuse to respect my last wish.”
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
After reading the letter and counting the money Sebastian had left, Harry was stunned. He could use that money for his children’s college fund, but he chose to be honest instead. He used part of the money to pay Sebastian’s debt and invested the rest in renovating the farm.
Harry made the farm look exactly like Sebastian wanted it and named it ‘William and Sebastian’s Farm.’ Soon, it attracted the neighbors, who regularly bought eggs, milk, and vegetables from Harry. Even people from neighboring towns visited the farm, allowing Harry to earn money.
A year later, Harry had saved money that was ten times his kids’ college fund. He believed buying the farm was the best decision of his life because it helped him in many ways. He was also grateful to Sebastian for leaving the money.
Since the farm had become a hot tourist spot, James, Fred, and Kyle also learned about it. They were shocked to see how Harry had changed the farm into a beautiful place and instantly regretted not working hard as their father had told them.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“Hi, Harry!” James said. “I love how the farm looks now! I’m sure you must be earning a lot of money.”
“Yes,” Harry smiled.
“Buying the farm has changed my life!”
“Well, since we offered you such a low price for it, why don’t you share your profit with us?” James tried to trick Harry. “You can give part of your income to us, and we will divide it evenly.”
“What?” Harry chuckled. “Why would I share my income with you? I paid a huge price after buying the farm from you. My wife and I worked day and night to restore everything. You guys didn’t help us in any way.”
James shifted his gaze toward the ground and began thinking of another way to fool Harry. The brothers needed money because they had taken bank loans and had nothing to repay.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Harry made an offer that the brothers could not resist. He knew they needed money, so he asked them if they wanted to work on the farm full-time.
“I will pay you all a monthly salary,” Harry said. “I know you guys need money.”
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
Soon, the brothers began working at the farm and realized they should have listened to their father’s advice. Working tirelessly made them realize how difficult it was to earn money.
One day, James was cleaning the attic when he found a $500 bill on the floor. “Oh my!” he gasped while picking it. “Who left this here?”
His eyes glistened while he looked at the bill, and he thought of a million ways he could spend this money, but his inner voice stopped him from stealing it. “I should return it to Harry,” he thought.
Surprisingly, Harry laughed when James told him about the bill. “It’s your bonus for honesty, James! You can keep it!” Harry said. It turned out that he had intentionally kept the bill in the attic to test the brothers.
Since Harry loved his farm and felt grateful for owning it, he taught his children how to grow crops and care for livestock. When they grew older, they went to the city to attend university but frequently visited the farm to help their parents.
After watching his children work hard on the farm during their free time, Harry was relieved that his farm was in safe hands. Unlike Sebastian, the farm was the least of his worries when he was on his deathbed because he was confident his children would look after it.
What can we learn from this story?
- Hard work is rewarded sooner or later. When Harry bought the farm, he realized he had to work hard before he could start earning money. He wouldn’t have reaped the rewards of his tireless efforts if he had shied away from working hard.
- Teach your kids the importance of money at an early age. Sebastian’s children did not know the value of money because he always gave them everything they wanted. They never realized how hard their father had worked to earn money.
This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only.
Share this story with your friends and family. It might inspire them and brighten their day.
