In the south of Italy, there was a little town whose people were very happy.
The children used to play under the shades of trees in the gardens of their houses.
A young shepherd boy named Nasir used to live near the village with his dad, mom, and grandma.
Each morning, he used to take his herd of goats up the hills to locate a suitable location for them to gaze.
In the afternoon, he would return with them to the village. Each night, his grandma would tell him a story of fairy tales.
Nasir used to enjoy it and was interested in listening to fairy tales.
One afternoon, as Nasir was watching his herd of goats and was playing his flute, he suddenly saw a great light behind a flowering shrub.
He saw a glittering and precious crystal ball when he approached the shrub.
The crystal ball was shining like a vibrant rainbow. Nasir carefully took it in his hand and turned it around.
All of a sudden, he was really surprised when he listened to a weak voice coming from the crystal ball.
It says, “You can make a wish that your heart wants, and I will fulfil it.”
Nasir might not believe that he had listened to a voice.
He was baffled when he ensured he had undoubtedly heard that voice from the crystal ball only.
He had a lot of wishes that he might have yet to decide upon one specific wish. He said to himself, ‘If I put off till tomorrow, I will remember several things. Then I will make my wish.’
He set the crystal ball in a bag and started collecting the herd, gladly returning to his town. He chose not to tell anyone about the crystal ball.
The following day, Nasir could not decide what to wish for since he had everything he needed.
The days passed as usual; however, Nasir was still unable to make his wish. Yet he appeared to be very cheerful. The people around him were surprised to see the change in his disposition.
One day, a child followed Nasir and his herd and hid behind a tree.
Nasir, as usual, sat beneath a tree in one corner, took out his crystal ball and looked at it for a moment. The boy waited for the moment when Nasir may go to sleep.
When Nasir did fall asleep after a few moments, the young boy took the crystal ball and ran away.
When he reached the village, he called out to everyone and revealed the crystal ball he had taken away from Nasir.
The village people took the crystal ball in their hands and turned it around in surprise. Instantly, they listened to a voice inside the crystal ball, saying, “Make one wish from your heart, and I will fulfil it.”
One person took the ball and yelled, “I want one bag filled with gold.” Another took the crystal ball and shouted, “I want two chests loaded with jewelry.”Â
Some wished they would have their palace with a magnificent door made from pure gold instead of their old houses.
Some others desired bags loaded with jewelry.
All their wishes were fulfilled, but the village’s people still needed to be satisfied.
They were jealous because the person with a palace had no gold, and the person with the gold had no palace.
Therefore, the town residents started envying each other and quit speaking to each other.
The gardens in the village where children used to play disappeared. There were royal residences as well as gold everywhere. The kids ended up being extremely unhappy.
Just Nasir and his family were more than happy and satisfied as usual.
Every morning and afternoon, he would play his flute.
One day, the town’s children took the crystal ball to Nasir. The children told Nasir, “When we had a small village, most of us were happy and joyful.” Our parents also used to talk to each other.
They said, “But now everybody is behaving miserably and are unhappy. The glamorous palaces and precious jewelry bought us a lot of pain.”
When Nasir saw that people were now regretful, he said, “Even though the crystal ball asked me to desire something, I have refrained from doing it until now. However, if you all wish for every little thing to return to its place, I will certainly wish for it.”
Everyone happily agreed to it. Nasir took the crystal ball in his hand, turned it around and desired that the village would certainly become the same as before.
In just a moment, the royal palaces vanished, the green yards reappeared, and the same old village loaded with trees was back.
Once again, people began to live happily, and children played under the shade of trees. Nasir continued his happy life daily, playing his flute at sunset. Again, his sweet flute sound was heard throughout the beautiful green village.
Moral: We should never be greedy and need to be happy with whatever we have.
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