THE STONE CUTTER

There was once a stone cutter who was dissatisfied

with himself and with his position in life. One day he

passed a wealthy merchant's house. Through the

 open gateway, he saw many fine possessions and

important visitors.

"How powerful that merchant must be!" thought

the stone cutter. He became very envious and

wished that he could be like the merchant.

To his great surprise, he suddenly became the

merchant, enjoying more luxuries and

power than he had ever imagined, but was

envied and detested by those less wealthy

 than himself.

Soon a high official passed by, carried in a

sedan chair, accompanied by attendants and

escorted by soldiers beating gongs. Everyone,

no matter how wealthy, had to bow low before

the procession. "How powerful that official is!"

he thought. "I wish that I could be a high official!"

Then he became the high official, carried

 everywhere in his embroidered sedan chair,

feared and hated by the people all around. It

was a hot summer day, so the official felt

very uncomfortable in the sticky sedan chair.

He looked up at the sun. It shone proudly

 in the sky, unaffected by his presence. "How

powerful the sun is!" he thought. "I wish that
I could be the sun!"

Then he became the sun, shining fiercely

down on everyone, scorching the fields, cursed

 by the farmers and laborers. But a huge black
cloud moved between him and the earth, so

that his light could no longer shine on everything

below. "How powerful that storm cloud is!" he
thought. "I wish that I could be a storm cloud!"

Then he became the storm cloud, flooding the

fields and villages, shouted at by everyone.

But soon he found that he was being pushed

 away by some great force, and realized that it

was the wind. "How powerful it is!" he thought.

"I wish that I could be the wind!"

Then he became the wind, blowing tiles off

the roofs of houses, uprooting trees, feared

and hated by all below him. But after a while,
he ran up against something that would not move,

no matter how forcefully he blew against it -

 a huge, towering rock. "How powerful
that rock is!" he thought. "I wish that

I could be a rock!"

Then he became the rock, more powerful than

anything else on earth. But as he stood there, he

 heard the sound of a hammer pounding a

 chisel into the hard surface, and felt himself

being changed. "What could be
more powerful than I, the rock?"

 he thought.

He looked down and saw far below him the

figure of a stone cutter.
 

Author Unknown

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