Charitable relief

Once upon a time, there was a small village that had no source of income. The villagers were poor and lived off the land they cultivated. One day, a terrible drought struck the village causing the crops to wither away. The villagers were left with nothing to eat or sell. They were hungry, thirsty, and in dire need of help.

One generous person, a merchant passing through the village, came to their aid. He decided to help the villagers by giving them some money to buy food and water to sustain themselves. The villagers were grateful for his generosity and thanked him wholeheartedly. They asked him how they could pay back the kindness he had shown them.

The merchant smiled and said, “I do not want anything in return. I believe in giving without expecting anything in return. That, my friends, is what we call ‘charitable relief‘ or ‘alms‘.”

The word ‘alms‘ soon became a popular term in the village and people started using it whenever they wanted to express their gratitude for someone’s generosity. In this way, the clue ‘Charitable relief‘ and its answer ‘ALMS‘ became associated with the idea of giving generously without expecting anything in return, just like the merchant who helped the village during their time of need.