1. The Stone Cutter (A Japanese Tale)
Once upon a time there lived a stonecutter who cut slabs of stone from the great stone mountain for houses. He worked hard but was content.
One day he carried a stone to a wealthy house. He became jealous when he saw all the beautiful things and said to himself, “If only I was rich, how happy I would be.” A voice answered him, “Your wish is heard; a rich man you shall be.” When he went home, his little house had turned into a palace. He was beside himself with joy and he soon forgot his hard toil and began to enjoy his riches.
By and by he became bored. One hot day, he saw a carriage passing by with a prince shaded by an umbrella. He became jealous and said to himself, “If only I was a prince, how happy I would be.” A voice answered him, “Your wish is heard; a prince you shall be.” The next thing he knew, he was a prince surrounded by servants who catered to his every whim.
But the sun still beat down on him. He became jealous. “The sun is mightier than I. I wish I could be the sun.” A voice answered him, “Your wish is heard; the sun you shall be.” Suddenly he turned into the sun and shone his beams across the earth.
One day, a cloud passed between him and the earth and he became enraged. “This cloud is more powerful than I am. Oh, that I were a cloud, I would be mightier than any!” Again the voice answered, “Your wish is heard; a cloud you shall be.” Soon he was flooding the earth with rain and blocking out the sun.
No matter how much he rained on the earth and destroyed towns and villages, he came to realize that he could not move the great stone mountain. “That rock is mightier than I am. Oh, if I were only that rock.” Once more the voice answered, “Your wish is heard; the rock you shall be.” And the rock he became, full of pride in his power withstanding the heat of the sun and the power of the rain.”
One day he heard a strange noise and looked down to see a stonecutter cutting chunks of stone from his surface. “Could it be that a man is mightier than a rock? If only I were a man.” Again the voice answered, “Your wish is heard. A man once more you shall be.”
And a man he became, toiling at his trade of stone cutting. He never again longed to be someone or something else.

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