The five children wandered together through the forest walking paths. They had taken this route many times before yet today something about the place felt entirely different to each and every one of them. The boy in the front ran ahead then stumbled over a tree root as he rounded a corner in the trail. Upon rounding the corner he stopped dead in his tracks. The other four children immediately caught up to him and they too stopped dead in their tracks upon rounding the corner. The sight was nothing unusual per se yet there was something very unusual about this particular man who sat cross-legged underneath a large redwood tree.
Upon seeing the children he motioned for them to come and sit down with him. As if drawn by a magnetic force the children continued in the man’s direction and sat down at his feet.
The man’s eyes sparkled like diamonds. His forehead was high and strong, his chin sharp and rugged. The man had unusually pronounced features. He gazed the children over first one by one then as a group. These were the three boys and two girls that he had been expecting. He immediately recognized the exceptional one.
“Since you have come to me at this hour,” the man spoke in a calm and comforting yet somehow commanding voice,
“I will grant each of you any one wish that you desire. You may make your wish and in the morning it will be granted to you.” The man gazed intently at the first boy, the one who had been in the lead and who had first seen the man.
“Young man, what is it that your heart desires?” The boy pondered the man’s question for a moment then a cool and sweet temptation came over him,
“I really like ice cream,” the boy hesitated momentarily, “I wish for an ice cream cone.”
The man smiled as he spoke, “Your wish is granted. In the morning you will receive the most delicious ice cream cone that you have ever tasted.”
The man then turned to the girl who had been the second one to see him. “And you, my darling, what is it that you would like to wish for?”
The girl pondered for several moments before speaking, “Well I really like ice cream too, but I want to be able to have ice cream whenever I want and however much I want. What I really wish for is an ice cream factory! That way I can have as much ice cream as I want, whenever I want to have it.”
The man smiled again, “Your wish is granted. In the morning you will have the largest ice cream factory in the free world and they will produce the finest quality of ice cream ever tasted.”
The girl could hardly contain herself. She leaped joyously at the thought of owning her very own ice cream factory.The eyes of the mysterious man then fell upon the boy who had been the third child to see him.
“My young friend, what is it that your heart desires?”
The boy had heard the wishes of the first two children. True, ice cream was very nice and desirable but what about chocolate, and candy, and toys? Were they not equally desirable? Surely, one must be able to have all of these wonderful things.
The boy gazed momentarily at the man before making his request, “I really like ice cream too but I also like chocolate, and candy, and toys. What I wish for is a billion dollars. With a billion dollars I can buy an ice cream factory, a chocolate factory, a candy factory, and a toy factory.”
The man raised his eyebrows at the boy’s clever request. “Consider your wish granted. In the morning you will wake up with a billion dollars.” The boy was elated and the first two children admired the boy’s ingenuity.
The man’s eyes fell upon the girl who was the fourth child to have seen the man.
“And you my dear, what is it that you would like to wish for?”
The girl had already made her decision. After hearing the wishes of the other children she already knew what it was that she desired.
“I wish,” she paused momentarily to gather her thoughts, “I wish for three wishes. With my first wish I would like to wish for an ice cream factory, with my second wish I would like to wish for a billion dollars and with my third wish I would like to wish for three more wishes again. With my third wish I will always wish for three more wishes, again and again and again.” The girl smiled with triumphant pride as she made this request. The first three children were in awe of this brilliant girl that sat among them. A horror stricken look came over the face of the wish granter.
“Are you absolutely certain that this is your wish? This is a very, very dangerous thing to wish for. The outcome of such a wish can be perilous!”
“I’m certain!” exclaimed the girl.
“Very well then your wish is granted. In the morning you will wake up with three wishes. With the first you will receive an ice cream factory, with the second a billion dollars, and then you will receive three more wishes again. Like this you may continue to keep wishing as long as you like.”
His eyes then fell on the fifth and final child. This boy was resting with his eyes slightly closed and listening to the wishes of his companions. This boy understood deep within himself why the man had said that the previous girl’s wish could be perilous.
“And you, my silent and noble friend, what would you like to wish for?”
The boy slightly opened his eyes, gazing directly into the eyes of the man before speaking in a soft and carefully measured voice, “What I wish for,” he paused mindfully, “is that I never need to wish for anything in my life. I wish that I will never wish for or desire anything ever again.”
The eyes of the man glowed with pleasure as he placed his hands together in front of his chest and bowed humbly and reverently before the enlightened boy that sat before him. “It is with great honour that I grant your wish. In the morning you will be free from the self-perpetuating cycle of wishes and desires. You will be granted the liberation from suffering and the enlightenment that naturally accompany such a wish.”
