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."