The Crystal Ball

In the south of Spain, there was a small village whose people were very joyful and lucky. The children played under the shade of trees in the gardens of their home. A shepherd boy whose name was Nasir stayed near the village with his father, mother, and grandmother. Early morning each day, he takes his herd of goats up the hills to find a suitable place for them to graze. In the afternoon he would return with them to the village. At night his grandmother would tell him a story. The story of stars. This story really interested Nasir. As usual, on one of these days, as Nasir was watching his herd and playing his flute he suddenly saw a wonderful light behind the flower bush. When he came towards the branches he saw a transparent and most beautiful crystal ball.

The crystal ball was glittering like a colorful rainbow. Nasir carefully took it in his hand and turned it around. With surprise suddenly he heard a weak voice coming from the crystal ball. It said; “You can make a wish that your heart desires and I will fulfill it.” Nasir could not believe that he had actually heard a voice. But he became so engrossed in his thoughts for he had so many wishes but he must wish for something which was impossible like the wish to be able to fly. He said to himself if I wait till tomorrow I will remember many things. He put the crystal ball in a bag and gathered the herd, happily returned back to the village. He decided that he would not tell anyone about the crystal ball. On the following day also, Nasir could not decide what to wish for, because he really had everything he needed.

The days passed as usual, and Nasir appeared to be very cheerful that the people around him were amazed to see his cheerful disposition. One day a boy followed Nasir and his herd and hid behind a tree. Nasir as usual sat in one corner, took out the crystal ball, and for a few moments looked at it. The boy waited for the moment when Nasir would go to sleep. Then he took the crystal ball and ran away. When he arrived in the village, he called all the people and showed them the crystal ball. The citizens of that village took the crystal ball in their hands and turned it around with surprise. Suddenly they heard a voice from inside the crystal ball, which says, “I can fulfill your wish.” One person took the ball and screamed, “I want one bag full of gold.” Another took the ball and said loudly, “I want two chests full of jewelry.”

Some of them wished that they would have their own palace with a grand door made from pure gold instead of their old houses. Some also wished for bags full of jewelry, but nobody asked for gardens in their palaces. All their wishes were fulfilled but still, the citizens of the village were not happy. They were jealous because the person that had a palace had no gold and the person that had the gold had no palace. For this reason, the citizens of the village were angry and were not speaking to each other. There was not even one garden which existed in the village where the children could play. The patience of the children was running out and they were uncomfortable. Nasir and his family were happy and pleased. Every morning and afternoon he would play the flute.

The children could not wait anymore and decided to return the crystal ball to Nasir. The parents and neighbors went to him. The children said to Nasir; “When we had a small village we all were happy and joyful.” The parent also spoke. In one way or another nobody is happy. The expensive palaces and jewelry only bring us pain. When Nasir saw that the people were really regretful, he said I have not wished till now, if you really want everything to return to its own place, then I will wish for it. Everyone happily agreed. Nasir took the crystal ball in his hand turned around and wished that the village become the same as it was before. Everyone quickly turned towards the village and saw it became the same old village with gardens full of trees and fruits.

Once again the people started to live happily and the children played under the shade of trees. From the next day and every day at sunset, the sound of Nasir’s flute could be heard in the village.

This story teaches us that we should be happy with whatever we have and not to be greedy.