In
the south of Spain, there was a small village whose people were very joyful and
lucky. The children played under the shade of trees in the gardens of their
home. A shepherd boy whose name was Tom, stayed near the village with his
father, mother and grandmother. Early morning each day, he takes his herd of
goats up the hills to find a suitable place for them to graze. In the afternoon
he would return with them to the village. At night his grandmother would tell
him a story. The story of stars. This story really interested Tom. As usual, on
one of these days, as Tom was watching his herd and playing his flute he
suddenly saw a wonderful light behind the flower bush. When he came towards the
branches he saw a transparent and most beautiful crystal ball.
The
crystal ball was glittering like a colorful rainbow. Tom carefully took it in
his hand and turned it around. With surprise suddenly he heard a weak voice
coming from the crystal ball. It said; "You can make a wish that your
heart desires and I will fulfill it." Tom could not believe that he had
actually heard a voice. But he became so engrossed in his thoughts for he had
so many wishes but he must wish for something which was impossible like the wish
to be able to fly. He said to himself, if I wait till tomorrow I will remember
many things. He put the crystal ball in a bag and gathered the herd, happily
returned back to the village. He decided that he would not tell anyone about
the crystal ball. On the following day also, Tom could not decide what to wish
for, because he really had everything he needed.
The
days passed as usual, and Tom appeared to be very cheerful that the people
around him were amazed to see his cheerful disposition. One day a boy followed
Tom and his herd and hid behind a tree. Tom as usual sat in one corner, took
out the crystal ball and for a few moments looked at it. The boy waited for the
moment when Tom would go to sleep. Then he took the crystal ball and ran away.
When he arrived in the village, he called all the people and showed them the
crystal ball. The citizens of that village took the crystal ball in their hand
and turned it around with surprise. Suddenly they heard a voice from inside the
crystal ball, which says, "I can fulfill your wish." One person took
the ball and screamed, "I want one bag full of gold." Another took
the ball and said loudly, "I want two chest full of jewelry."
Some
of them wished that they would have their own palace with grand door made from
pure gold instead of their old houses. Some also wished for bags full of
jewelry, but nobody asked for gardens in their palaces. All their wishes were
fulfilled but still the citizen of the village were not happy. They were
jealous because the person that had a palace had no gold and the person that
had the gold had no palace. For this reason, the citizens of the village were
angry and were not speaking to each other. There was not even one garden which
existed in the village where the children could play. The patience of the
children was running out and they were uncomfortable. Tom and his family were
happy and pleased. Every morning and afternoon he would play the flute.
The
children could not wait anymore and decided to return the crystal ball to Tom.
The parents and neighbours went to him. The children said to Tom; "When we
had a small village we all were happy and joyful." The parent also spoke.
In one way or another nobody is happy. The expensive palaces and jewelry only
bring us pain. When Tom saw that the people were really regretful, he said I
have not wished till now, if you really want everything to return to its own
place, then I will wish for it. Everyone happily agreed. Tom took the crystal
ball in his hand turned around and wished that the village become the same as
it was before. Everyone quickly turned towards the village and saw it became
the same old village with gardens full of trees and fruits. Once again the
people started to live happily and the children played under the shade of
trees. From the next day and everyday at sunset the sound of Tom's flute could
be heard in the village.
The
Moral: This story
teaches us that we should be happy and content always, with whatever we have
and not to be greedy, because of the following reasons (Wise Old Sayings):
Money
cant Buy Happiness
MONEY can buy bed, but not sleep;
MONEY
can buy books, but not wisdom;
MONEY
can buy food, but not appetite;
MONEY
can buy medicine, but not health;
MONEY
can buy finery, but not real beauty;
MONEY
can buy paintings, but not the artistry;
MONEY
can buy a house, but not a home;
MONEY
can buy luxuries, but not culture;
MONEY
can buy companions, but not friends;
MONEY
can buy marriage, but not love;
MONEY
can buy clothes, but not personality;
MONEY
can buy anything, but not heaven;
MONEY
can buy tombstone, but not death;
MONEY
can buy almost everything, but not the dignity and respect of being who we are!
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