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Chapter 1

'the gift'

Once upon a time there was a little girl that lived in a far, far away land with her father who was the King. The little girls name was Sulamet and she was very beautiful. She was also very obedient and loving. Her smile was as if a light had been turned on when she entered a room. Its brightness illuminated everyone's heart and made people happy.

As she grew up the time came that she was to leave her home and was to be send out on a quest into the world. Her father called her and asked her to sit down and listen. He gave her instructions as what the task was she had to accomplish. "I am giving you three boxes. Each contain a precious jewel. You are to give these boxes to three people that you think are worthy of receiving them. It will not be an easy task, but it will be for your learning", he told Sulamet. " But why do you say that this would not be easy," asked Sulamet? "I cannot tell you now because you will have to learn this for yourself," answered the King. "Just remember that I love you and that you will return to me, don't let anyone steal your smile." Sulamet smiled and said: "Father, I know you always love me, no matter what, how could I forget that?" The King looked at his daughter in a strange and knowing gaze, then he hugged Sulamet for a long time. "I love you too, father," whispered Sulamet in his ear, "but where are the boxes with the jewels?" The King called a servant who bought three beautiful boxes into the room and placed them on a table before them.

Honesty

The first box was of a bright and red color. It looked pretty. "Can I open it," asked Sulamet. "No, you can not open any of the boxes, the person that you find first worthy of a jewel should get this box," replied the King. "What makes this first person worthy to receive it thought," asked Sulamet a little puzzled. "It is honesty, that makes a person worthy to receive this first gift," said the King, " you must determine this for yourself and judge it for yourself." Sulamet thought about this for a while and then smiled. " I know what how to figure out whether someone is honest or not. I think I will find someone that is honest."

Loyalty

"The second box you will have to give to a person that you will find to be loyal," explained the King to Sulamet. She looked at the shiny box and smiled. "That, I think will be easy too, I think that this will be a short quest and I will be home soon and get an other one of your bear hugs, Dad." "We'll see, it might take longer than you think. I want you to be careful who you give these boxes too. Often things only appear to be right and they are not. It will take time for you to determine whether a person is worthy to receive those gifts or not," warned the King. "What if I make a mistake." asked Sulamet? "I don't think you will make a mistake, my lovely, precious girl," said the King and smiled at her. Somehow Sulamet thought that he looked sad, despite the smile.

Love

The last box was to be given to a person that truly loved. It looked slightly different than the other two boxes and its color was purple. "Why is this a purple color," asked Sulamet? "It is because purple is the color of royalty and love is being royal," answered the King. Sulamet did not seem to quite understand this last statement but she didn't say anything. She just looked at that box, wondering what would be inside and how that jewel must look. "I want you to be very, very careful with this last box, my child. If you cannot find anyone to give it too, you must bring it back home," said the King with a stern look in his eyes now. "Why would it be so difficult to give this one away," asked Sulamet in surprise. "I cannot tell you now, the quest is for you to find out." Then the King bend down and kissed his daughter on the forehead. "Take care my child, don't forget, I always love you." Sulamet hugged her father and then took the boxes and started her way out into the world.

Chapter 2

Sulamet's Journey: Part one

Honesty

Sulamet went out into the world, carrying the boxes in a satchel on her back. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly and the grass in the pastures she passed through were deep green. Its grasses waving in the soft breeze, making it look like an ocean. Soon she came to a little village and since she was hungry, this was a welcome sight to her. As she entered the village she saw people running down a street, all in a hurry to get somewhere. It looked as if the whole town was going to be in meeting in one place. She asked a woman, that came running behind her: "What is going on, is there a fair somewhere?" The woman hardly stopped and almost out of breath from running she said: "No, not a fair, there is a hanging today." "A hanging? That is bad, hangings should not be allowed," said Sulamet and her heart seemed to break. "Why are you doing this? What has some one done so bad as to be hanged?" The woman stopped and looked at her: " You are a stranger, what do you know about what is right and what is wrong," she yelled at Sulamet. " The man that we are going to watch hang today is a liar and a thief! He deserves to be hanged!" And off the woman run not to miss the hanging of the liar and thief. Sulamet hurried behind her, she wanted to find out more. She thought to herself, that liars and thieves certainly should not deserve such harsh punishment and wondered if she could do something to help this poor fellow.

As she arrived at the market place where the gallows had been erected, she pushed her way through the crowd and then up to the platform on which the man stood that was accused to be a liar and a thief. He was in chains and the hangman was getting ready to put the noose of the rope around his neck as Sulamet stopped him. "No, you must wait, I am the daughter of the King and I want to know what terrible thing this man has done to be hanged by all of you and for all of you to stand around here and gawk," she said to the hangman. The hangman stopped what he was doing and bowed before Sulamet, " if you wish, I will stop until you know the story." "And where is the judge," asked Sulamet? "There is no judge here, we are the ones that judge the things that are right and wrong," someone yelled from the crowd. " No judge? This is not right, I will be the judge this day," exclaimed Sulamet now really upset. She asked the hangman to free the liar and thief of his shackles and to take his blindfolds off. The hangman obeyed immediately. Sulamet looked into the eyes of the young man that stood before her and she saw how much afraid he was. "What have you done to deserve this," she asked him. The young man looked at the floor beneath him and now he looked more sad than afraid. " I have done nothing but good to these people here but they do not believe me. I tried to help them, but they wont let me. I am a stranger in this town and these people think that I have nothing to do with them and should stay out of their business. All I tried to do was to safe this town from destruction." he spoke very quietly and because of this, the people had become very quite too so they could hear what was said. " He is a liar, he stole the church bell," someone yelled in the crowd! " Let him speak first," demanded Sulamet, he is not finished yet with his story. Go on, young man, I beg you to tell me all." The young man looked at Sulamet and then he said: " I took the church bell in the forest in order to make so much noise as to chase a dragon away from the town, what on earth would I want with a bell for myself? Its too heavy to hang in my little hut and too loud to listen too." Sulamet turned to the crowd saying: " I believe him, he is telling the truth, you should be grateful to him that he has done such a deed and saved you all from destruction. He is right, would you want a church bell in your house? For what and why? I declare this young man to be honest to the bone and you should be ashamed for falsely accusing him and wanting to hang him." Then she turned and opened her satchel and took the box out that was to be given to the one that she found honest. She handed it to the young man and asked him to open it. The young man looked at the box and then he opened it. In it he saw the gleaming jewel and he kneeled before Sulamet and

thanking her for saving his life. The people around the platform were in awe and somewhat seemed ashamed, including the hangman. Sulamet told the young man that there were instructions with this jewel and to read them to all. So he took the parchment out of the box and started to read. " This jewel is for the ones that speak the truth and are honest. It will reward only those that are deserving of it. You can make three wishes and they will become true." Now everyone was saying ah and oh... they were curious what this young man would wish for himself. Sulamet looked at him and told him to be careful for what he wished because he would have to live with his fulfilled wishes all his life. The young man thought for a while and then closed his eyes and said: " My first wish is for this dragon to disappear from the forest and from this town all together and never to return again. My second wish is for friendship with everyone who lives in this town. My third wish is for my happiness for the rest of my life." With this the people all cheered and soon they started to celebrate with a feast and musicians came to play happy tune and all where dancing. They voted the young man to be their major and the celebration went on throughout the night until the next morning. Sulamet rested as the morning came in the little hut in which the young man used to live and now had moved into the majors house. 'This was an easy task, she thought, I just am just still a little angry about the people having being so judgmental. Why did my father allow such things to happen?'

Chapter 3

Sulamet's Journey: Part two

Loyalty

The next day Sulamet continued her journey through the world outside of her home. She walked for a long time and it became dark and there was no place in sight that would offer shelter for her. She was also getting hungry. Still thinking about what she had encountered the day before in that village, she sighted. How could such things happen in the world? Why are people so eager to administer punishment without even trying to find out the truth and how could her father allow such things to happen? After all, he was King, was he not? Sulamet sat down under a tree and looked through her little satchel. There was nothing to eat in it. Why hadn't she thought of taking something along on her journey? Her father had not thought about it either. Maybe there was something close by that could be eaten? She looked around and across from the tree she saw what looked like an orchard. She stood up and walked across the field and inspected the trees. Yes, those were peach trees! She started to pluck some of the peaches and ate. They were so good and sweet but she wished she had some bread with it as well, not really filling those peaches, especially not after a long days journey. She kept walking in the hopes that there would be a town or a farmhouse in sight. There was none and it was getting dark. She found a brook and settled by it, washing her hands and drinking the clean, clear water. Then she laid down and fell asleep. She had been very tired from the days journey.

Someone tugged on her sleeves that caused her to wake up. As she looked up, she saw a big man that was very fat standing over her. He looked at her with a wired smile and said: " Ah, stealing my peaches, ha? What on earth are you doing in this orchard of mine that early in the morning?" Sulamet told him that she was on a journey and had been hungry and she apologized for having taken some of his peaches. The man offered her to work for him, so she could eat and have a place to stay. Sulamet accepted. "What is your name," she asked him? " My name is Slick", said the man and yours? "Sulamet," she replied. he took her in his horse cart to his home and showed her a place in which she could stay. It was a tiny room in the basement of the house and had a straw matt to sleep on, a box to put her things in and nothing else. This would do for a while she thought to herself. "Well, get ready for work", Slick said, I have a lot of things for you to do. Sulamet put the satchel into the box and followed Slick. He made her clean the house which was filthy and sticky with unspeakable things. Sulamet went to work straight away. She cleaned as hard as she could, carrying buckets full of water to scrub the floors and clean off everything that needed to be done. Slick had told her that she would receive good pay and it would be plenty for her to sustain her through the rest of her journey. It took Sulamet six weeks to make that house look nice and clean from the bottom to the top. After she was done, she went to Slick and asked to be paid. "Oh' yes I will, in a little bit, after I take you to the next town, so you will have a place you can stay. You wouldn't want to walk now? " So Sulamet went to get her satchel and Slick harnessed the horse to the wagon and off they went to the town that was several miles away. As they drove into town, Slick let Sulamet off the wagon in front of a hostel. "Are you going to give me my wages now," asked Sulamet? "Your wages, what wages? You stole my peaches and it deserved you right to work for them, you have received your wages," and with that, he snapped the whip at the horse and let Sulamet stand in the street alone. Sulamet started to cry. How could she have trusted this man? Now she had worked so hard and there was no reward for the work. No money to buy a stay at the hostel and no money for the rest of the journey for her to eat.

"Why are you crying", she heard some say behind her. Sulamet turned around and there was a woman with a kind face looking at her. Sulamet told her the story about Slick having made her work so hard and not having paid her for it. "Ah, Slick, yes I know him, he is not a honest man, he takes advantage of others all the time. he has done this to me as well. I worked for him for a long time and I was loyal to him because I thought he needed someone that cared. When I finally asked him to pay me because I had to go and help some one in my family he did just what he did to you today." "How long did you work for him," asked Sulamet? "I worked for him for thirty years," answered the woman. " Thirty years and you have not been paid for any of it?" Sulamet was now really surprised. "Yes, thirty years, its been almost a life time, but now I have a better boss, he is kind to me and I do not count my losses, otherwise I would be a bitter, old hag and forget to smile," said the woman. Sulamet reached into her satchel, telling the woman why she was on this journey and that she had to find someone that had been loyal to a master in order to hand over the gift. "You are a loyal woman, and you are not even complaining, I think, you of all people should have the box."

Sulamet gave the woman the box and as she watched her opening it, she saw how much joy this woman had. "You are to make three wishes now that will come true, be careful though and take your time with what you wish for yourself," she told the woman. The woman smiled at her and thanked her. I think I know what I am going to wish for all ready. I have had often thought about what I would like to wish for, if I had a chance to them be fulfilled." "And what are those wishes," asked Sulamet? The woman looked at her so kindly and then she said: " I wish that I will never have a heart full of bitterness but full of joy and compassion. I also wish that I will have plenty to live on for the rest of my life and to be able to give some of it away. The third wish is that I will stay healthy all my life." "Those are good wishes and you will have them fulfilled," said Sulamet now very thoughtful. What the woman had said made her think. She had been angry because of the injustice and she had been hurt deeply because of what Slick had done to her. It was hard for her to think forgiveness now. She wanted Slick to be punished, not just for what he had done to her, but also for what he had done to the woman in front of her and most likely to every one else that ever worked for him. How could her father allow such things to happen? Yes, she was angry with her father too. Looking at the happy woman though made her feel ashamed of what she felt in her heart.

The woman offered Sulamet to stay at her home until she was rested and ready to continue with her last part of her journey. Sulamet gladly accepted that offer and went with the woman to her home.

Chapter 4

Sulamet's Journey: Part three

Love

Sulamet stood with the woman for a while and helped her with her chores. Then she felt that it was time for her to continue on her journey to find someone to give this last gift to. She wandered far and wide and she could not find anyone that would have been worthy of this gift. There were some people that she thought they should deserve it but they turned it down. Looking at the box that in time had become tattered and old made them laugh at her. "What could be in an ugly box like this," some were taunting her. So she found that even if she offered to give this gift away that no one really wanted it. She became more and more saddened by this impossible feat. Often she wept bitter tears. She wanted to go home but she knew that she had to give this gift to someone before she was allowed to return.

One day she encountered a happy musician walking down the street. He was a good looking, young man with a big smile on his face and he carried a guitar with him. He joined Sulamet on her journey for a while. His laughter and his way of speaking made her happy. She loved to be in his company. He seemed to carefree all the time. Somehow Sulamet forgotten why she was on that journey because of the musician's company. He played and sang for her in the evenings and as she listened it seemed that he had magic in his voice. She closed her eyes to listen and she started seeing such beautiful places, oceans with mighty waves, forests so green with a soft floor of pine needles beneath her feet. Majestic mountains and wide open spaces. His music indeed carried all of her worries away. One day she offered him the box and he looked at it. "You really think I should take such precious gift from you," he asked her? "Yes, you deserve it more than anyone I know," Sulamet urged him, " I know that you are filled with love and I do love you too." The musician opened the box and looked at the gleaming jewel.

"The jewel looks so rare and precious," he said looking at her in astonishment. " Yes it is precious, its color is purple because this is the gift of royalty," explained Sulamet." Then I truly am not deserving of this, I cannot accept such gift from you I am not of royal blood like you but I am deeply honored that you have offered me such precious gift," answered the musician and bowed before her. Sulamet would not quit asking him to take the gift but each time the musician refused. One morning Sulamet awoke and the musician was gone. She looked for him, she called for him, there was no answer. There was no note anywhere for her as to why he had left, no sign anywhere as to why. Sulamet now really cried. Her heart was broken. If only he would have told her why. If only he would have let her know in advance. She stopped her journey and started to build a little lean-too in order to wait for him to return. She wished so much that he would, somehow she believed that one day he surely would return and then he would tell her why he had left without a word of explanation. Sulamet waited for years but never did she hear again from the musician. Her heart had become empty and her loneliness piercing. Somehow over the years, Sulamet had aged. Her eyes looked sad, so sad that people saw it and remarked about it. Sulamet had no more tears left either. She thought that she had cried them all away. That there was a well in her heart that had run dry because no rain had been fallen in a long, long time.

One day a young lad came by her lean-too and started talking to her. He wanted to know her story and so she told him. The young lad had listened patiently and when she was finished telling him all, he said: " I think you should take the box with the jewel back to your father and get out of this lonely and god forsaken place here. You need to forget what happened and tell your father that you could not complete your task. By the way, just sitting here and waiting for something that is not going to happen in the first place, is not helping to get rid of the box in your hands either." Sulamet looked at him and started smiling just a little bit. " I think you are right, father had said that this one would be the hardest task of all. I think I am going home and tell him that it was in vain."

Chapter 5

reunion

Sulamet went on her way to go back home. She was a little ashamed at her tattered looking clothing she wore and the way she looked. She had not had been able to take proper care of herself. She wondered if the people in the castle would even recognize her and let her through the gates? All she could think off now was that her father had told her not to forget that he loved her all the time and would never stop loving her, no matter what. Somehow this thought helped her to keep on going all the way back home. As she arrived at the gates of her castle, she was greeted with shouts by the guards. The started sounding the fanfares and all the servants came rushing into the court yard to great her. "Sulamet is back," they shouted with joy and then she saw her father come running down the stairs. His arms open wide and before she knew it, he had wrapped those arms around her with such a bear hug that she seemed to drown in it. She wanted to drown in that hug for ever and ever. Then the tears started coming like a flood. It was as if her father's love had filled that dry well in her heart. She sobbed and cried for a long, long time and it felt good to do so, almost as if she was letting out all the pain inside her heart and there was plenty of it inside. Her father let her cry, just holding her and softly stroking her hair.

After a while, Sulamet was able to talk. The tears had ceased and she told her father about the journey and about the last gift that she could not give away. She told him how sorry she was that she had failed the last part of her assignment. Her father looked her in compassion and tears in his own eyes. "I want you to open the box and look at the jewel yourself," he told her. Sulamet took the box out of the satchel and did what her father had been telling her. As she opened it there was a glow that become brighter and brighter and then she saw to her utter surprise that the jewel was no longer there, but the it had turned into a heart that was crowned by a tear. Puzzled she looked up to her father who smiled at her. "This has been your own heart you have taken with you on your journey, you are the one that had carried love all the time with you. You are the only one that deserves to receive this gift on your journey." Sulamet again looked and then she noticed that it was the tear that had emanated the glow from this jewel as she had opened the box. The tear itself was a precious jewel. "And now you may also make three wishes my child, " her father said, "but be careful what you wish for." It sounded almost as if he was teasing her. Sulamet thought about those three wishes the woman had made such long time ago. She wished now for almost the same things. Sulamet carefully wished that she would be able to forgive. She wished that she would be able to always love and then she thought about her third wish. It was hard to do. She knew that her greatest wish was for the musician to be back and to tell her why he had left her without a word or a 'good bye'. She then thought that if the musician had decided that he did not want to be any longer with her, then it would be not right for her to wish him back against her will. Sulamet shared those thoughts with her father and he nodded: "That is a very wise decision my child, take your time for this last wish and don't be hasty with it." So Sulamet waited to make that last wish. She waited a long time and many years.

One day she heard someone singing in the court yard, there was guitar music and it sounded so familiar. As she looked out of her window into the court yard with a pounding heart. And sure enough, it was the musician that plaid and sung those familiar tunes. He had come to offer his services to the King and wanted to entertain the court. Sulamet run down the steps and into the courtyard, full with joy and approached the musician. As the musician saw her, he fell on his knees before her asking her to forgive him and not to harm him. Sulamet made him stand up and then she gave him the biggest hug she had ever given anyone. "I knew that some day I would see you again, come with me into the small court yard, there is a bench, we will sit there and talk." The musician followed her and she noticed that he had tears in his eyes. After they sat down together, he begun to tell her why he had left without a word. He told her, that he thought that she was not worthy of a simple commoner that was not royalty and he left because he did not want to argue with her. He left because he did not want to inflict more pain on her. Sulamet listened and then she took out the box with the jewel in it that she had bought along because somehow she knew that she might need to make the third wish now. She told the musician about how the jewel had belonged to her in the first place and that it had not been possible for her to give this gift away. She showed him the heart with the tear and told him that she had one more wish left. "Would it be all right if I share this jewel with you," she asked? And the musician answered: " I would love to do this, but I have something to share with you as well." With this he pulled out a box of his knapsack and opened it. In it was a heart that looked exactly the same as hers. "I too have one more wish left," he said with a smile, "and my wish is to share my heart with you for ever and an eternity." Sulamet's heart pounded with joy as she said: " This is my wish as well, I want to share my heart with you for ever and an eternity." And so it was that the third wish had been fulfilled for both of them forever and an eternity.

the end

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