A wise old woman traveling in the mountains by herself, found a precious stone in a stream and put it in her bag. The next day she met a huge, heavily muscled warrior who was hungry. The old woman pitied him and opened her bag to share her food. When the hungry warrior saw the large precious stone in the bag, he asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The warrior left without eating, rejoicing at his good fortune, for he knew a stone of its value would give him security for a lifetime.
But, a few days later he returned the valuable stone to the woman. “I’ve been thinking,” he said, “I realize the value the stone, but I return it to you with the hope that you will give me something far more precious, that which you have within you, that enabled you to give me the stone.”
The woman smiled at the handsome young man and said, “You have now become a true warrior, son, and now possess that which you seek.”
