Life's Touchstone

When the ancient library in the capital was destroyed by fire, all it left was a book which had not much academic value. The government decided to auction it.

As everyone knew that this book had no academic value, there was no bidder. Finally a very poor scholar bought it with 3 pence.

Not only it had no academic value, the book was also very boring. Since the scholar had no other book to read, he still frequently read it. In the end the book was worn due to his frequent turning of the pages. From the binding part of the book fell out a slip of paper on which a line was written :"The secret of touchstone. It is a type of pebble which will turn any metal into pure gold. It looks like any ordinary pebble, lying quietly on the beach. However the ordinary pebble is cold while the touchstone is warm to touch."

The scholar was thrilled when he learned this secret. Immediately he went to the beach to look for the touchstone. He confidently picked the pebbles but all were cold to touch. Gradually he became very disappointed. He threw the pebbles with all his might back to the sea.

Many years later, one day he picked up a warm pebble. But due to his habit of throwing away the pebbles over the years, the legendary touchstone was already thrown back into the deep blue sea. Resentfully he dived into the sea trying to look for it. After many days of searching he still could not find it.

The poor scholar gave up hope and he went back to the capital. At that time the town was celebrating 100 years of nation building. The King was very happy. He wanted to find the strongest man in the country. The winner would be bestowed the title of baron, with many gold bullions and fields as rewards. The scholar thought that with his years of throwing pebbles knew that his opportunity had arrived.

He looked at those contestants who tried their luck, but none was as strong as him. He went up the stage and outfought them one by one. He became the champion and was rewarded by the King. He was now a rich man and a baron.

The scholar was thankful to the book which brought him good luck. He decided to rebind the book. While he was doing it, he discovered that there was another slip of paper inside the backbone of the book. It said:"There is no touchstone in this world. Your attitude towards life is your touchstone. When you grumble that you have no chance, when it comes to you, you will not be able to hold it in your hand."