THE BOULDER

A king had a boulder placed on a road. He hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of his wealthiest merchants and courtiers came and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting it out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. He tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much effort, he succeeded. As he picked up his vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. It contained many gold coins and a note from the king saying that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. Every obstacle in life presents an opportunity to improve one’s condition.