Once upon a time, there lived a boy named Ali in a small village. His father, Karimuddin, was a farmer who owned a small piece of land and a few cows. Life was not easy for him, as it was hard to make both ends meet. He could not afford many helpers, so he worked in the fields himself with Ali and just one farmhand.

Ali had four younger siblings. Being the eldest, he had many responsibilities. Every day at dawn, he went to the tube well to water the fields. After that, he fed the cows and chickens, and then went to school. At noon, after school, he would take lunch for his father and the helper.

One chilly afternoon, as Ali was returning from school with some of his classmates, he passed the paddock and saw a middle-aged man standing by the roadside, talking to a crowd. The man was selling lottery tickets.

“Only two tickets are left! Hurry up or you’ll lose the chance to become a millionaire next weekend!” the man shouted again and again.

Ali stopped to listen. “If I win this lottery, I’ll become a millionaire. I can buy a car, some land for Father, and a big house,” he thought.

Without much hesitation, he took out the pocket money he had been saving for a month and bought one ticket. His friend, seeing Ali buy one, quickly bought the last ticket too.

They went home happily, talking about the money they would get and how they would spend it. Ali felt thrilled. He finished his chores, sat down for his homework and kept imagining his new life with the winnings of the lottery. The whole week passed in excitement and hope. He didn’t tell anyone at home about the lottery ticket. The thought of becoming a millionaire overnight made him smile.

Finally, the night before the draw arrived. Ali lay on his charpoy, his mind racing with dreams of the prize. With excitement and nervousness, he finally drifted off to sleep. The next morning, he hurried to school and then ran to the roadside where the man had promised the list of winners would be posted. His friend was already there, waiting.

“Ali, I have some news for you,” his friend said. His expression showed it wasn’t good.

“I don’t want to hear anything bad. Come with me to the lottery office so I can collect my prize,” Ali said quickly.

“There is no lottery office and there are no prizes!” his friend replied.

Ali was shocked. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“That man was a fraud. He ran away with everyone’s money. Some people have gone to the police to report it. We should go too,” his friend explained.

Ali felt crushed. All his savings were gone. It was a bitter lesson about fraud and false hopes.

Later that day, he told his parents everything. Karimuddin placed his hand on his son’s head and said, “No one can become a millionaire overnight. There is only one key to success, and that is hard work. If you work hard and stay positive, you can achieve anything.”

A few days later, the police caught the fraudster and returned the money to the rightful owners. From that day on, Ali worked harder than ever before. He was determined to achieve his dreams the right way, because he had learnt that there is no shortcut to success — only hard work leads to true rewards.

Published in Dawn, Young World, September 27th, 2025