Once an old man wanted his son to learn about secret of happiness so he sent his son far away to meet a man who was known for being wisest man. Son obeyed his father. it took him weeks to reach that place. There young man saw a very big and beautiful castle on mountain top.
After entering castle, while moving toward the main hall of castle he saw lots of people. some were tradesmen, some playing soft music, some were conversing in the corner, and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world.
The wise man conversed with everyone who came to meet him, and the boy had to wait for hours before it was his turn to be given the man’s attention. The wise man listened attentively to the boy’s explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn’t time just then to explain the secret of happiness. The wise man listened to him and said : "I will answer you later ... Meanwhile you look around castle and return after 3 hours."
At the same time, the Wise man handed the boy a teaspoon with some of drops of oil in it and said : "As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without dropping or spillinig any oil from spoon."
The boy agreed and began climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was. "Well" asked the wise man, "Did you see the Persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall ? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create ? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library ?" . The boy was embarrassed, and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him. "Then go back and observe the marvels of my world." said the wise man.
Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the tasted with which everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he related in detail everything he had seen.
"But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you ?" asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone.
The wisest of wise said to the boy : "Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you. The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon."
In a clearer way, the lesson that we can deduce from this short story is that the secret of happiness is to enjoy life but never to forget our responsibility.
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