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The Wise Woman and the Stone
by unknown
[parable]
A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found
a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler
who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food.
The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give
it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing
in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him
security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return
the stone to the wise woman.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said, “I know how valuable
the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something
even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you
to give me the stone.”