Story #3

Once upon a time, there was a man who lived near a very large and beautiful mountain.  He went to the mountain every day to cut stone from the side of the mountain. He would then shape the stones and sell them to peole to use as gravestones.  He loved to spend time outdoors and for this reason he enjoyed his work.

One day the stonecutter's buisness took him the house of a very rich man.  The stonecutter was in awe of all the wonderful possessions and comforts of the rich man's home.  All the way home, he continued to think about the many things he saw in the rich man's house that he did not have in his.  Slowly the stonecutter began to envy the rich man.  He was so consumed by this jealousy when he arrived at the mountain side the next day he screamed out in anger,  "I wish I was a rich man!"

Now there happened to be a great spirit who lived in the mountain that was known to help men become rich and prosper. The spirit he the desperate man's cry and immediately replied,  "As you wish, you are a rich man!"

As the man walked home that day he thought he musted have dreamed that the mountain was talking to him.  To his suprise, when he arrived at the place where is humble home used to be, he found a huge mansion and servants to welcome him. The man was so overjoyed with his new way of life, that he forgot he was ever a stonecutter.

The rich man remained fascinated with his many possessions, until one day when he realized that he was completely uncomfortable because of the unbearable heat.  He was already annoyed with his situation when he saw a procession passing by outside his window.  Just as he was about to look away, the rich man saw the prince whom the procession was for. A servant followed the prince, holding an umbrella up over his head, to shade him from heat.  When the rich man saw this he thought that it was unfair that he did not have a servan to carry an umbrella over his head.  Once again he called out as though the world had done him an in justice saying, "I wish I was a prince!"  Once again, the spirit heard and promptly answered, "As you wish, you are a prince!"

The man enjoyed being a prince very much.  He loved the fact that everyone around him had to do anything he told the to.  He became obssessed with his power and every day he tested it to how far his power really extended.  He quickly realized that there was not a person living that would not obey him.  He was very pleased until he realized that no matter how hard he made his people work, all of their crops were still scorched by the sun.  The prince was enraged to find that he could not keep the sun from ruining his crops.  Again he called out to the spirit, knowing that he would be heard, "I wish I was the sun!"
Again, the spirit answered saying, "As you wish, you are the sun!"

The sun looked down on the earth and saw everything.  He thought to himself, "There is nothing I see that is not affected by me in some way, I could not possibly be any more powerful."  Just as he was thinking this, he saw a cloud pass by beneath him, casting a shadow on the earth.  This was absolutely intoleable to the sun.  How could anything be able to stop the sun from shining on the earth. For the fourth time he made his plea, "I wish I was the cloud!"
The reply came instantly,  "As you wish, you are a cloud!"

Well, it wasn't long before he realized that all of his movements were controlled by the wind, so he wished to be the wind.  When he was the wind he saw that he could move anything but the great mountain.  When he  became the mountain, he loved himself more than ever.  He knew that there was not a force in nature that could move him.

 The mountain was happier than ever.  One day a man walking over the hills, as the mountain saw him approaching he noticed how small than was compared to his height.  Then the mountain watched in horror as the man pulled a pick from behind his back and began to chip a way at his side.  "This man is able to destroy me slowly, even though he is small, I wish I was the stonecutter!"  Immediately the spirit changed him back to his original form.  The changed man looked up at the sky and smiled at the beauty around him.
 
 

The photograph was taken by Mike Fulford, this guy is a great photographer who is selling his product but also giving it away for free.
My story is adapted from a text titled The Stonecutter by D.L. Ashliman. Please click here for full bibliographical references.
 

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