" That 's easy . Just close your eyes and I 'll take you there . But first , you must come with me to the ugliest place on earth . " And so the little girl closed her eyes - and she started to hear music . When the girl opened her eyes she saw they 'd arrived at an amazing place . It was a very large room , decorated with beautiful paintings and tapestries on every wall . Sparkling chandeliers hung from the high , vaulted ceiling , and a plush , ornate rug covered the floor . There was a band of musicians playing a sweet melody ; jugglers and clowns , acrobats and magicians , all putting on an incredible show . But most amazing of all was the huge table in the center of the room . All around it sat men , women and children , dressed in bright , colorful clothes . But the girl hardly saw them because she was looking at what was piled high on the table - the most delicious , mouth - watering , finger - licking , lip - smacking , melt - in - your - mouth , food . From one end of the table to the other , there was one fantastic dish after another - the sight and smell of it made the girl start drooling . And when the girl did , she saw that although the room was beautiful , and there was plenty of delicious food , still , there was something wrong . Very wrong . The people at the table looked thin , pale , and very miserable . The girl looked at the angel , and her eyes filled with tears . " No wonder they 're unhappy . Their spoons are too long for them to put the food in their mouths . No wonder they 're miserable . They 're starving ! " The angel replied , " Yes . Isn 't it sad ? But we 've seen enough of that . Now ! To the most beautiful place on earth ! Close your eyes again . " And the girl did - and she started to hear music . When the girl opened her eyes again she saw they 'd arrived at an amazing place . In fact , it looked just like the other place - the same beautiful room , the same musicians , jugglers , clowns , acrobats , magicians - the same table with the same delicious food - and the same people , with the same long spoons ! And although the place seemed exactly like the ugliest place on earth , the little girl noticed that something was different . Very different . The people all looked well - fed and very happy . And then she saw why . The people were using their long spoons to reach across the table and feed each other . " Yes , " the angel replied with a smile . " And that , my little friend , is the only difference between the ugliest and the most beautiful place on earth . Any place where people help and take care of each other is the most beautiful place on earth . " Once there were two brothers who farmed together . They shared equally in all the work of the farm , the plowing , planting , watering , weeding , and harvesting . They also shared equally all the grains , fruits and vegetables that they grew . The brothers each had their own house and barn on opposite ends of the land they shared . One of the brothers was married and had a large family , the other brother lived alone . " It 's not right that my brother and I divide our crops evenly . He has many mouths to feed , while I only have one . I will help him . Tonight , when the moon is new and the night is dark , I will carry a sack of grain to his barn to help feed his family . " " It 's not right that my brother and I divide our crops evenly . I have many children who will care for me in my old age , but my brother has none . I will help him . Tonight , when the moon is new and the night is dark , I will carry a sack of grain to his barn . He can sell it and put the money aside for his old age . " Later that night both brothers carried a sack of grain to the other one 's barn . The next morning , both brothers were surprised to find that they each had just as many sacks of grain as they had the day before . Without saying a word to one another , they each decided to take yet another sack of grain to the other . Later that night they both did just that . And , of course , in the morning , once again , they each had the same number of sacks of grain they 'd had the day before . This went on , night after night , night after night - until one night , when the moon was full and lit up the fields . It so happened that on this night the brothers set out from their barns at exactly the same time , and they met in the middle of their land . Without a word being said , seeing each other with the sacks of grain , they suddenly understood what had happened . They lowered the sacks of grain to the ground and embraced . Once upon a time there were two donkeys that lived on a farm . Every day the farmer tied them together with a rope and they did the work of the farm . They pulled the plow , they pulled the wagon . . . After a while , the donkeys even learned to tie themselves together . And that 's just what they did on this fine day . They tied themselves together and pulled the plow all morning . When it was time for lunch , the farmer turned the team around and the donkeys headed back to the barn to have their lunch . When they got into the barn they noticed that there were two piles of carrots . There was a pile at one end of the barn , and there was another pile at the other end of the barn . But the rope was too short . They couldn 't reach . Now everybody knows how not so smart donkeys are , right ? It didn 't work the first time , so they tried it again . Exactly the same way . Hee Haw . Still couldn 't reach . Donkeys are not only famous for being not so smart , they 're also well known for being . . . that 's right , stubborn . Didn 't work twice in a row ? Try it again . Exactly the same way . Hee Haw . Still couldn 't reach . But now the donkeys did something unusual . . . for donkeys , that is . They did something smart . They turned to all their friends in the barn and asked them . . . " How can we get to our piles of carrots ? " And the donkeys tried that . Chomp , chomp , chomp . But the rope tasted bad , and their teeth were not sharp enough . " This won 't work either , " said the donkeys . All the animals , even the donkeys , could see that this plan would work . So that 's what they did . They walked together to one end of the barn and ate the carrots there , then together they walked to the other side and ate the rest of the carrots . One day this rooster was scratching and pecking at the dirt in the road that went by the farm , when suddenly his beak hit something hard and shiny . He pecked all around it and saw that it was a beautiful silver dollar . He picked it up in his beak , and as he was holding it , shining and sparkling in the sunlight , a car came down the road , screeched to a halt right next to him , and Mr . Stingyman got out . Now Mr . Stingyman had lots and lots of money . He had a special vault made of stone and steel 40 feet high and 40 feet wide and a 100 yards long where he kept all his money . But he was so stingy , he never gave anything to anybody . He just kept putting all his money in his money vault and by now it was almost full . But he was never satisfied , he always wanted more . And so when he saw the silver dollar he wanted it . Mr . Stingyman said , " Hey rooster , gimme that dollar . " The rooster said , " No , I won 't , I 'm taking it back to the farmer . " " No you won 't , " said Mr . Stingyman , and he grabbed the rooster by the neck , yanked the silver dollar away from him , jumped in his car and drove off . When he got home he threw the silver dollar in his money vault and locked the door again . He kept singing this over and over and over , till Mr . Stingyman got real tired of it and he called his son , whose name was Tightwad , and he said , " Tightwad ! Take that rooster and throw him in the well ! " So Tightwad grabbed the rooster and threw him in the well . Mr . Stingyman got even madder than before . He said to his son , " Tightwad ! Take that rooster and throw him in the flaming furnace ! " So Tightwad grabbed the rooster and threw him in the flaming furnace . " Hey Mr . Stingyman . . . " Now Mr . Stingyman was furious . He yelled , " Tightwad ! Take that rooster and throw him in the beehive ! " And Tightwad grabbed the rooster and threw him in the beehive . Now Mr . Stingyman was as mad as he could be ! He roared , " Tightwad ! Bring that rooster over here . I 'm going to stuff him in my baggy pants and sit on him ! " So Tightwad grabbed the rooster and brought him to Mr . Stingyman and Mr . Stingyman stuffed him in his baggy pants and sat right down on him . Buzz , Buzz , Buzz ! And the bees all came buzzing out and started biting Mr . Stingyman . " Ouch ! Ouch ! Ouch ! " He yelled and hollered and jumped up and down . " Take this rooster to the money vault and let him take his lousy silver dollar ! " Clinkclinkclink . . . and he took in all the money . Then he ran home as fast as he could and gave it all to the poor farmer . And as far as we know , they lived happily ever after ! Once upon a time , there was a donkey , who lived on a farm . For many , many years he faithfully did whatever work was asked of him , and in return his master , the farmer , fed him and cared for him . But when the donkey got old and was unable to work hard , the farmer stopped putting food in his trough . Now people think that donkeys are not very smart . That may or may not be true of donkeys in general , but it sure wasn 't true of this donkey . He could see which way the wind was blowing . " Now what do I do ? " he asked himself . So , he left . He hit the road and headed for the town of Bremen . He remembered that when he used to pull his farmer 's wagon to the market there , he always saw musicians playing in the streets . They put their cases out and people stopped , listened , and threw money . It had always looked like fun - and a way to make a living - and so now he decided that 's what he would do . He started practicing right away . ( Hee - haw ) " Oh , " said Dog , " I am old and getting weaker , and can no longer hunt . My master stopped feeding me , so I left . But now what do I do ? " " I got the same raw deal , " said Donkey . " So , I am going to Bremen to become a street musician there . Why don 't you join me ? You can bow wow . First you 'll wow ' em , then you can bow to ' em ! Dog chewed on that for a bit , decided it sounded like a much better deal than the one he had , so they set off together , practicing as they went . ( Bow - wow , Hee - haw ) " Oh , " said Cat , " I can 't put on a smiley face when my belly is empty . I am getting on in years , and can 't catch mice any more . My master stopped feeding me , so I left . But now what do I do ? " " Come with us to Bremen , " said Donkey . " You must still have some of your nine lives left . And I 'm sure you can still meow pretty well . Forget the ow . Remember the me . Join us ! " They were walking by a farm when they heard a rooster crowing loudly - in the middle of the day . " It 's noon , Rooster , " said Donkey . " Who you 're trying to wake up now ? " " I just overheard the cook say she needs some meat for tonight 's soup and that she 's sick and tired of my crowing early every morning . She plans to put me in the pot . Until then I figure I 'll just keep pestering her , if it 's the last thing I do . " " You can do better than that , Rooster , " said Donkey . We 're on our way to Bremen to sing for our supper , rather than be supper . You 're good at waking people up , and musicians always need audiences to stay awake . Come , cock - a - doodle - do with us - it 'll better than cock - a - doodle - don 't ! " They were only halfway to Bremen when it started to get dark and they found themselves near a forest . They decided to rest for the night and walked into the woods . Donkey and Dog lay down under a big tree , Cat climbed to a low branch , and Rooster flew up to the top of the tree . When he did , he saw a light in the distance . He called down to his newfound friends that there must be a house nearby . Donkey said , " Why don 't we go there . Maybe we 'll find some food . " So they set off toward the light . As they walked it got brighter and brighter and soon they came to a house . Donkey , being the tallest , went up to the window to look in . The others clustered around his legs and asked eagerly , " What do you see , Donkey ? What do you see ? " Donkey said , " I see a big table covered with good food and drink . I also see a band of rough men I recognize . They 're thieves . Everybody knows them . They rob people who travel the road to Bremen . " " Seems to me they shouldn 't get to enjoy their loot , " said Rooster . " And we 're also hungry , remember ? " chorused the others . " Let 's roust them out of here . " So , they came up with a plan . Dog clambered onto Donkey 's back , Cat crouched on Dog 's back and Rooster climbed onto Cat 's head . Then Donkey reared back on his hind legs and smashed through the window with his front hooves . And , the whole time , they made their music - loudly . ( Cock - a - doodle - do , Meeeow , Bow - wow , Hee - haw ) The robbers , scared out of their wits , jumped up , ran out of the house and into the woods . Donkey , Dog , Cat and Rooster happily sat down at the table and ate and ate and ate and ate . And in their joy they sang and sang and sang and sang . When they were done , they let the fire die down and went to sleep , sleep , sleep , sleep . Donkey , who was used to sleeping outdoors , lay down in the yard . Dog settled just inside the door . Cat curled up on the hearth , next to the warm ashes , while Rooster climbed to the peak of the roof , to be ready to catch the first glint of sunrise . The robbers meanwhile , after running deep into the woods , stopped and looked back . When they saw the lights dim in the house , their bravery returned . " We shouldn 't have let ourselves be chased off that easily , " growled their leader . They all agreed , but none of them was eager to go back . Finally , though , one volunteered and walked back to the house and crept inside . The musicians had had a long day , and a big meal . They all slept soundly . Except for Cat , who had her eyes wide open , but was perfectly still . The robber decided to light a lamp and , thinking the cat 's eyes were live coals in the fireplace , leaned down and put a match to them . Cat immediately jumped into his face , spitting , and scratching . ( Meow ! ) Ow ! screamed the robber and ran to the door . Dog woke up ( Bow - wow , bow - wow ) and bit him hard on the leg . Ow ! screamed the robber again and ran outside . Donkey gave him a good swift kick , you know where . ( Hee - hee - hee - hee , Haw - haw - haw - haw . ) Ow ! screamed the robber , and ran even faster . ) Rooster cackled at him from the roof , ( Cock - a - doodle - don 't you dare ! ) The robber ran as fast as he could back to his band and breathlessly told them what happened . " There is a horrible witch in the house . She hissed at me and clawed my face with her long fingers . And , there is a man with a knife standing by the door . He stabbed me in the leg . And , there is a four - legged monster in the yard . He whacked me hard with a wooden club . And there is a policeman with a siren on the roof screeching , " Catch that evil doer , catch that evil doer ! " Hearing this , the robbers decided they would never again go back to that house . But , our musicians liked it so much that there they stayed . And they made music every day … ( Cock - a - doodle - do , Meeeow , Bow - wow , Hee - haw ) Rosalie was a wonderful girl . She was always quiet , always sweet , always polite . Was she quiet ? Yes . Was she sweet ? Yes . Was she polite ? Yes . But you know , that very first time Rosalie played her violin , she heard something else besides those scratchy , out of tune notes . She heard something deep inside her . It wasn 't a voice really , more like a feeling , but a feeling so strong and clear it seemed as if it was speaking to her . It said , " You can do this , Rosalie . You can do it , yes . " And from then on , Rosalie knew she could play the violin . Did that mean she never made mistakes ? No . Did that mean she never got frustrated when she practiced ? No . Do you think she ever got discouraged ? Yes . But , she practiced every day , had wonderful teachers , her mom and dad always told her how much they enjoyed her playing , and so she learned quickly and very well . Learning to play baseball was just like learning to play the violin . Do you think the first time Rosalie threw a ball it went exactly where she aimed it ? No . Do you think she always caught the ball when her mom or dad tossed it to her ? No . When they pitched to her , did she hit a home run every time ? No . But , as with the violin , she learned fast . She played catch with her mom and dad , they pitched to her , and she threw pop - ups to herself for hours in her back yard . Do you think she got better ? Yes . When Rosalie was seven years old , the same year she started to play the violin , she began playing softball on a team . The first few summers she played , her team 's coach pitched to the girls . But the year Rosalie turned twelve , at the first spring practice , the coach announced , " This year , you girls will pitch to each other . " So , they began learning to pitch . Do you think Rosalie was a good pitcher right away ? No . Her first pitches were . . . well , they were like her first " Twinkle Twinkle . " But , just like the first time she played her violin , she again had that feeling , again heard that voice . " You can do this , Rosalie . You can do it , yes . " So , after practice that day , Rosalie came home very excited and said to her mom and dad , " I 'm going to be a pitcher . " Her mom and dad immediately said , " No . No , you 're not . " Her mom and dad looked at each other . Her dad cleared his throat . Finally he said , " Girls who play violin don 't pitch . Because when you pitch , you 're the player closest to the batter and . . . your fingers could get hurt . " Rosalie immediately and correctly pointed out that the player closest to the batter was the catcher . Her mom said , " Yes , but catchers wear masks and padding . Besides , we don 't want you to be a catcher either . " The truth was , Rosalie 's mom and dad weren 't really worried about her fingers . They worried that a batted ball could hurt her . They said , " You can 't do this , Rosalie . You can 't do this , no . No ! " She stamped her foot . She stamped her other foot . She marched out of the room . She stomped up the stairs . She slammed her door . Twice . ( Soloist marches off stage . ) Rosalie 's dad said , " It 's OK . She 'll forget about it by tomorrow . " Rosalie 's mom agreed , " Yeah , You 're probably right . She 'll forget about it by tomorrow . " You think Rosalie forgot ? ( Soloist returns to the stage . ) For three days Rosalie cajoled , pleaded , begged constantly and her mom and dad continued to say no . " I can do this - No you can 't ! No you can 't ! I can do this - NO ! NO ! " " I can do this - No you can 't ! No you can 't ! I can do this - NO ! NO ! " But , finally , Rosalie 's mom remembered that when she was a little girl she too played ball - with boys no less . " Yeah , I got some bumps and bruises , " she said . " I guess I survived . " " Truth is , you can get hurt in life , but you can 't let that stop you from doing the things you love . " So , they told Rosalie , " You can try it Rosalie . You can try it , Yes , Yes ! " Rosalie was ecstatic . She hugged her mom and dad , told them they were the best parents ever , and ran right outside to practice . She pitched a softball against the side of their garage over and over and over . Well , the first game rolled around . Rosalie was pretty nervous . But she wasn 't nearly as nervous as her mom and dad . Her dad kept saying , " You 'll be fine , you 'll be fine , you 'll be fine , " the whole time she was warming up . Her mom kept saying , " Just keep breathing , just keep breathing . " Rosalie stood in the pitcher 's circle as a girl from the other team stepped into the batter 's box and swung her bat a few times . Rosalie went into her windup and threw her first pitch . It was a yard behind the batter and rolled all the way to the backstop . Rosalie 's mom drew in a sharp breath and held it . Rosalie 's second pitch sailed way over the batter 's head and again rolled all the way to the backstop . Her dad groaned softly . The girls on the other team laughed and Rosalie 's teammates shouted , " Settle down , Rosie ! Settle down . " Rosalie 's third pitch flew right at the batter and the girl barely jumped out of the way . There was a lot of laughing from the other team 's bench and Rosalie 's teammates were very quiet . Rosalie 's mom let out the breath she 'd been holding . . . . phew . . . and started jumping up and down . Her dad pounded his fist into his glove and said , " I knew she could do it . I knew she could do it . " Rosalie 's teammates yelled , " Way to go , Rosie ! Way to go . " Did Rosalie strike out every batter she faced that day ? No . Did she only throw perfect pitches ? No . Did her team win the game ? YES , YES , YES , YES . For the rest of that summer , Rosalie had some good innings and some bad . Her team won some games and lost some . But Rosalie continued to learn and to improve - in baseball , the violin , and in so many other things - and she never stopped listening to that voice inside her . " You can do this , Rosalie . You can do it . Yes . Yes . You can do this , Rosalie . You can do it . YES , YES , YES . " Once upon a time there were two brothers who played music together . Both of the brothers loved to play music , but one of the brothers REALLY loved to play . He never stopped . All day long , and long into the night , with barely a break , he kept playing . He was a wonderful musician , but even a good thing can get to be too much . After awhile , it did get to be too much for his brother . They lived together in a small house and there was nowhere he could go to escape the music . He finally couldn 't stand it anymore . He went to the wisest man in the village for advice . " Rabbi , help me out , please . My brother he keeps playing music all day long , and long into the night . I can 't get any other work done , I can 't sleep . Even eating is hard . What can I do ? " Well , what could he do ? The Rabbi was a very wise man . Surely , he knew what to do . So , the man pulled his daughter from school and asked her to play too . And , of course it was wonderful . The music sounded even better . It was great . And it was terrible . Because now there was practically never a break from the music . When his brother would stop for a minute , his daughter would keep going - and vica versa . " Rabbi , Rabbi . It 's even worse now . There is not a moment of silence , not a moment of peace . What am I going to do ? " Well , what could he do ? The Rabbi was a very , very wise man . Surely , he knew what to do . So , the man asked his friend to play too . And , of course it was wonderful . The music sounded even better . It was great . And it was terrible . Because now there was practically never , NEVER a break from the music . When his brother or daughter would stop for a minute , his friend would keep going ! " Rabbi , Rabbi , Rabbi . I didn 't think it could get any worse , but it has gotten worse . There is never , never a moment of silence , never , never a moment of peace . What am I going to do ? " Well , what could he do ? The Rabbi was a very , very , very wise man . Surely , he knew what to do . So , the man invited all the villagers to come and join in the music . And they did . Ein Zvei , Drey Fir ! And , of course it was wonderful . The music was fabulous , and people had a great time dancing , clapping , singing along . But , nobody was taking care of the village . People weren 't working , people weren 't cooking , cleaning , doing the dishes . Nothing was getting done in the village . " Rabbi , Rabbi , Rabbi . I didn 't think it could get any worse , but it has really , really gotten worse . It has gotten totally out of hand . What am I going to do ? " So , the man did that . And everyone went back to living the way they had . And it was so quiet , so peaceful , so silent . Well . . . almost silent . His brother still kept playing . But now the man didn 't mind it anymore . After all that had happened , having just his brother play music seemed so sweet , so peaceful , so wonderful . Once upon a time there was a King who had three sons . They all lived together in a great palace . When the King became old he decided to make one of his sons the new King , but he didn 't know which one would make the best ruler of the land . So he decided to test them . He called for all three of them and said , " My dear sons , I have a task for you . " Pointing into the distance , beyond the forest surrounding the palace , the King continued : " At the edge of the Kingdom , there are three empty castles . I am going to give each of you a hundred dollars . With this money I want each of you to fill one of the castles . " The King replied , " That 's up to you . But spend your money wisely . I 'll come by in a week to see how you 've done . " He said to himself , " Can 't be done . You can 't get anything for a hundred dollars that would fill up a whole castle . " But then he thought about it some more … and he got an idea ! " Straw ! That 's it ! There are lots of farmers around here , and they have lots of straw . And it 's cheap . That 's what I 'll buy to fill up the castle . " So he went to the local farmers and bought a hundred dollars worth of straw . But when he spread it out in the castle , he found he only had enough to cover the floors of about half of the many , many rooms . Now , the second son also thought about it . And at first he also got discouraged . . . " Can 't be done . You can 't get anything for a hundred dollars that would fill up a whole castle . " But then he thought about it some more … and he got an idea ! " Straw ! That 's it ! There are lots of farmers around here , and they have lots of straw . And it 's cheap . That 's what I 'll buy to fill up the castle . " But then he thought about it some more and began to wonder - would a hundred dollars worth of straw really fill up a whole castle ? What if it didn 't cover the floors of all the rooms ? And besides , didn 't his father say , " Fill the castle ? " Even if it covered the floors , what about all the rest of the castle ? So he kept thinking , and thinking some more … and he got an idea ! " Feathers ! That 's it ! There are lots of farmers nearby who have chickens and geese and ducks . I bet I can get tons of feathers ! And that will surely fill up the castle ! " So he went to the local farmers and bought a hundred dollars worth of feathers . And sure enough , when he shook all the feathers out of the bags , they filled up every room in the whole castle . In fact , feathers were sticking out of every window , and every door ! Now , the third son also thought about it . . . and at first he also got discouraged . . . " Can 't be done . You can 't get anything for a hundred dollars that would fill up a whole castle . " But he didn 't give up either . He thought about it some more … and he got an idea ! " Straw ! That 's it ! There are lots of farmers around here , and they have lots of straw . And it 's cheap . That 's what I 'll buy to fill up the castle . " But then he thought about it some more and began to wonder - would a hundred dollars worth of straw really fill up a whole castle ? What if it didn 't cover the floors of all the rooms ? And besides , didn 't his father say , " Fill the castle ? " Even if it covered the floors , what about all the rest of the castle ? So he kept thinking , and thinking some more … and he got an idea ! " Feathers ! That 's it There are lots of farmers nearby who have chickens and geese and ducks . I bet I can get tons of feathers ! And that will surely fill up the castle ! " But then he stopped , and thought about it . . . " What 's a castle for ? Sure , I could fill it with feathers , but , then nobody could live there . Nobody could even get in the door ! And what good is a castle if you can 't live in it ? " So he thought about it some more , and some more , and some more . And then , he decided to ask his heart for wisdom and guidance . He asked his heart to show him the way . And finally , an answer came up from deep inside , and he knew what he could do . When the week was up , the King set out to visit the three castles . The first son stood outside the first castle , looking embarrased , knowing he had not filled it . The King rode by silently and headed for the second castle . The second son stood by it proudly and excitedly . " Look , Father , look ! I filled it ! I filled it ! " " So you have , my son , so you have . . . " sighed the King , and hurried past , sneezing and coughing from all the feathers flying around the castle . Finally , he arrived at the third castle . Even from a distance , he could see a bright , lit candle in every window . And when he entered the castle , he saw beautiful flowers on a table , and their fragrance filled the room . As the King walked around he saw that every room had candles and flowers . And in the very center of the castle , musicians were playing a lovely melody , filling every room with their music . There was light , beauty , fragrance and music , filling up the whole castle . The King lifted the crown off his head , placed it on the head of the third son , and said : " You shall rule the land my son , for you have made the best choice . May you inspire everyone to fill their minds with the best thoughts , their hearts with the sweetest feelings , and their words and actions with the highest purpose . May everyone live in light and beauty , always . " Once upon a time , in a village far away , lived a poor woodcutter named Shaya . Shaya lived in a small house with his wife , Rozsa and their eleven children . Even though both Shaya and Rozsa worked hard , they often barely had enough food to feed their large family . One night , Shaya had a dream . In the dream he saw a faint image of a bridge over a great river . And under one of the supports of the bridge he saw a box . In his dream , Shaya opened the box , and found that it was full of treasure . Now Shaya was not a man who paid much attention to his dreams . His mind was always filled with his day - to - day work , but this was such an unusual dream that over breakfast that morning he told about it to Rozsa and the children . Rozsa also was often overwhelmed by her daily work , and she just smiled at his story . But the children , who still believed in dreams , got excited . They said , " Daddy , Daddy , Daddy , go and bring the treasure back . " He put the dream out of his mind and went to work . But that night Shaya had the exact same dream , and this time the image of the bridge was clearer . And the treasure box was still there . When he woke , he had the nagging feeling that he knew where that bridge was , that he almost recognized it . Again he told Rozsa and the children about the dream , again Rozsa smiled , and again the children said , " Daddy , Daddy , Daddy , go and bring the treasure back . " That night he again had the same dream , and it was even more vivid this time . Now he could see the bridge very clearly , and also the towns on either side of the river . When he woke up , he realized he knew exactly where that bridge was . It was over the river that ran by his childhood home , the river he used to play in as a child . So Shaya set out . He traveled many days , walking , hitching rides in passing ox carts , and walking some more , until he finally arrived at the bridge . But when he got there he found that some soldiers were guarding the bridge . He didn 't dare go looking for the treasure box he 'd seen in his dreams . For three days he sat on the bank and waited to see if the soldiers would leave . Finally , on the fourth day , one of the soldiers approached him and said , " I 've been watching you for three days . You 've been sitting here looking at this bridge . What are you doing here ? What are you looking for ? " Shaya said , " Kind soldier , I 'm a poor man who lives far away . Maybe I 'm a fool , but I had a dream three nights in a row , about treasure buried under this bridge . I came to see if I could find it . " " You are a fool , " snorted the soldier . " Only fools believe in dreams . I don 't pay any attention to mine . Why just last week I dreamt that in a village far away from here , in the house of a woodcutter named Shaya , there was treasure buried under the stove . Do you think I 'm going to go all the way there just because of that crazy dream ? " Once upon a time a young man set out in search of adventure . As he roamed he began to hear stories about an incredible pearl of great beauty . The young man became fascinated by the stories of the pearl , and kept asking people , " Have you seen it ? Do you know where I can find it ? " But nobody had actually seen it , nobody could guide him to it . Finally , he met a wise old woman who told him about a cave hidden deep in a mountain far away . The young man thanked the wise woman , and began travelling to the mountain . It took a long time to find , and there were many difficulties along the way , but he finally found the cave . As he entered it , he saw a glow , a shimmering at the back of the cave . As he stepped closer , he saw the great pearl ! It was so beautiful , brilliant , and sparkling with an unearthly light ! He was about to pick up the pearl , when something moved in the shadows . There , hovering over the pearl , was an enormous dragon . The dragon hissed fiercely and flames shot out of its mouth . He went back home , found a job , got married and started a family , and began to live an ordinary life . But he could not forget the pearl . Whatever he did , whoever he was with , no matter what was happening in his life , he kept remembering the pearl . . . how magnificent it was , how lustrous , how it scintillated with a magical light . Just knowing there was something that beautiful in the world inspired him to live his life beautifully . But it had become so small ! It lay all shriveled on the ground ! And he realized he could take the pearl and the dragon couldn 't stop him . And then , to his amazement , the dragon began to speak : The man picked up the pearl . In his heart he remembered the wise old woman who had told him where to find it . He thought of all the people and all the events that had helped him learn how to be more loving . And then he raised the pearl in a gesture of gratitude , and brought it close to his heart . He knew he was home - and he was free .