LAZIRICH, THE BOY WITH THE GOLDEN TOUCH
Lazirich was a very lazy boy. His parents were rice farmers. He saw his parents work in the rice field everyday. It took months before they could harvest rice. The long process was too much for him. He would rather sleep and daydream at home. He wished that he could meet a fairy someday. He then would ask for a “golden touch” spell. It would enable him to touch things and turn them to gold. He then could become rich without hard work. “Son, good things don’t come that way. Good things only come from real efforts.” His parents said. “When I get the golden touch spell, they will.” He replied defending his laziness. His parents were sad. There was nothing they could do.
One night as he was sitting on the porch. He looked up the starry night daydreaming. An old lady passed by. “I can make your dream come true! I can make your dream come true!” She shouted loudly. “Grandma! I want “golden touch” spell. Can you make it come true?” Lazirich shouted approaching the old lady. “I sure can. There is one condition though.” She said smilingly. “What is it?” Lazirich was eager. “You need to attend spell-practicing school.” She said. “Is it hard? How long will it take?” He asked. “It is easy. You get the spell the instant you attend school.” She replied. “So the spell-practicing school is …?” He was curious. “For practicing the spell until you are really good at it.” She explained still with a smiling face. “Wow! At last my dream can come true! Can you take me there please, grandma?” He kind of pleaded. “Of course, whenever you are ready.” She smiled. “Can we go now?” He got very excited. “Ok.” She drew a circle with her right palm.
Lazirich found himself standing in a room of bright light. In front of him there were 2 doors. The left door had “Noneffort” written on it, the right “Witheffort”. The old lady suddenly appeared next to him. “The words are the mantras.” She explained to Lazirich. “The left door opens the instant way of your dream. Get in there, say the mantra and practice well. Say ‘out’ to come back here when you become really good.” “Ok.” He rushed to open the left door and said “Noneffort.”
Lazirich found himself in the market of a magical village. Fresh apples were piled up. Fresh breads were piled up. So were many other fresh things. He felt like eating apple. He put out his right hand to grab one. “Zap!” His hand was blocked by invisible screen. An old man showed up from behind. “First you pay, then you take. One piece of gold for one apple.” “But I don’t have gold.” Lazirich said. “Use your hand to create one.” He replied. “Of course! I have to use the golden touch. The old lady said I should practice.” Lazirich began to understand. There was a stone near his feet. He picked it up. “Zing!” The stone became gold. “Wow!” Lazirich got very excited. “Here is my pay, old man.” He handed the old man the gold. “Throw it to what you want. That’s how you pay.” The old man told him. He was puzzled. He did it anyway. “Zoom!” The gold vanished as it touched the apples. “Now you can take one.” The old man said with a smile. Lazirich took one. “Zing!” The apple became apple gold. He bit it, it was solid gold! He could not eat it. He tried to pick another apple. “Zap!” Again his hand was blocked. “To get another, you have to pay again.” The old man explained. “But I can’t eat this apple.” He said handing the apple to the old man. The old man took it. The apple became a normal apple. The old man crunched it and said :“This apple is delicious.” Lazirich was completely puzzled. “I touched your hand when I gave you my apple gold. How come you didn’t become gold? How come my apple gold turned back to normal apple in your hand?” “I have found the secret. You haven’t.” The old man smiled then walked away. “Secret? What secret?” He asked, but the old man kept going.
There was a girl passing by. She picked up a stone. It turned to gold. She threw it to the apples. The stone vanished. She then took one apple and ate it. Lazirich saw the whole process. The apple didn’t become gold in her hand. She was crunching it enjoyably. He approached the girl :”Excuse me, can I have a bite of your apple please?” “Sure.” The girl handed her apple to him. Their hands touched. “Zing!” The apple became gold in his hand. The girl was not affected. “I see you haven’t found the secret yet.” The girl smiled at him. “I guess not. Can you tell me where to find the secret, please?” Lazirich asked. “You are now in the left door. The secret is in the right door.” The girl took back her apple. She bit it and walked away.
Lazirich was getting hungry. There was nothing he could eat here. The food just turned to gold in his hand. He could only eat real food, not gold. He began to feel desperate. “Out!” He shouted. “Woosh!” He was back with the old magic lady. “Grandma, there is a secret I must find in the right door.” He said. The old lady smiled :”Go find your secret then.” “I will.” He opened the right door and said “Witheffort.”.
Lazirich found himself back in the same magical village. “What is going on?” He was shocked. The apples were still there. He grabbed one of them. “Zap!” The invisible screen blocked his hand. He forgot that he had to pay with gold. He then picked up a stone. He threw it to the apples. “Zap!” The stone was blocked by the invisible screen. Strange, the stone didn’t change to gold in his hand. In his confusion, the old man appeared : “You want to eat apple, don’t you?” “Yes, but I still haven’t found the secret yet.” He said to the old man. “You see the big sack there?” The old man pointed to a big sack in the field nearby. “Yes, is the secret there?” He asked. “Inside the sack you’ll find apple seeds. Sow them evenly as much as you can in the field. I will wait for you here.” Said the old man.
Lazirich was hungry. He didn’t know what else to do. He thus followed the old man’s instruction. He hated sowing seeds. He did it anyway. He came back to the old man and said :”Done!” The old man looked at Lazirich’s sweating face :”Try touch the stone again.” He picked up a stone again. “Zing!” It became gold in his hand. He was pleasantly surprised. “You can pay for your apple now.” The old man said. Lazirich threw the gold to the apples. It vanished. His payment was accepted. He then took the biggest fresh apple. He was worried that it would become gold. It didn’t. However the big fresh apple shrank into a small apple! Lazirich was completely puzzled. The old man laughed :”You get what you deserve. You only did a little work in the field, so you only get a small apple.”
Lazirich quickly ate up the small apple. He picked up another stone. He was hoping it to become gold. It didn’t. The only way to get the golden touch was by sowing seeds again. So he did again. This time he grabbed more seeds to sow. It was quite a while before he came back to the old man and said :”Done!”. This time the old man was not alone. The little girl and the old lady were also there. They were chatting and laughing. “Go use your golden touch again.” The little girl said to him. He did and managed to get a big fresh apple. He ate up the apple. He still felt hungry and wanted to eat bread. He tried to pick up another stone. It became gold in his hand! He threw the gold to the bread. It vanished, his payment was accepted. He got a big bread. The old man was right. He got what he deserved. He put more work and effort the second time. It was thus natural he got rewarded more. He suddenly remembered what his parents had kept telling him :”Good things only come from real efforts.” He felt so bad about himself. The old lady came to him. She tapped his shoulder :”You have just found the secret. All you need now is practice, practice and practice.”
“Grandma, I want to go home now.” Lazirich said to the old lady. “Ok.” She drew a circle with her left palm. He was back sitting on the porch. He rushed into the house. He knocked on his parents bedroom. “It’s open.” It was his father’s voice. He opened the door and said :”Father, I want to help you in the farm.” His parents were astonished. “That’s good, son. You look pale, are you alright?” His mother asked. “Yes, never better.” He answered. “Ok, sleep well tonight. You have a long day tomorrow.” His father said. He felt tremendous happiness in the air. "I will, good night." Lazirich went to his bed. Lazirich had become a hard working boy ever since.
One night as he was sitting on the porch. He looked up the starry night daydreaming. An old lady passed by. “I can make your dream come true! I can make your dream come true!” She shouted loudly. “Grandma! I want “golden touch” spell. Can you make it come true?” Lazirich shouted approaching the old lady. “I sure can. There is one condition though.” She said smilingly. “What is it?” Lazirich was eager. “You need to attend spell-practicing school.” She said. “Is it hard? How long will it take?” He asked. “It is easy. You get the spell the instant you attend school.” She replied. “So the spell-practicing school is …?” He was curious. “For practicing the spell until you are really good at it.” She explained still with a smiling face. “Wow! At last my dream can come true! Can you take me there please, grandma?” He kind of pleaded. “Of course, whenever you are ready.” She smiled. “Can we go now?” He got very excited. “Ok.” She drew a circle with her right palm.
Lazirich found himself standing in a room of bright light. In front of him there were 2 doors. The left door had “Noneffort” written on it, the right “Witheffort”. The old lady suddenly appeared next to him. “The words are the mantras.” She explained to Lazirich. “The left door opens the instant way of your dream. Get in there, say the mantra and practice well. Say ‘out’ to come back here when you become really good.” “Ok.” He rushed to open the left door and said “Noneffort.”
Lazirich found himself in the market of a magical village. Fresh apples were piled up. Fresh breads were piled up. So were many other fresh things. He felt like eating apple. He put out his right hand to grab one. “Zap!” His hand was blocked by invisible screen. An old man showed up from behind. “First you pay, then you take. One piece of gold for one apple.” “But I don’t have gold.” Lazirich said. “Use your hand to create one.” He replied. “Of course! I have to use the golden touch. The old lady said I should practice.” Lazirich began to understand. There was a stone near his feet. He picked it up. “Zing!” The stone became gold. “Wow!” Lazirich got very excited. “Here is my pay, old man.” He handed the old man the gold. “Throw it to what you want. That’s how you pay.” The old man told him. He was puzzled. He did it anyway. “Zoom!” The gold vanished as it touched the apples. “Now you can take one.” The old man said with a smile. Lazirich took one. “Zing!” The apple became apple gold. He bit it, it was solid gold! He could not eat it. He tried to pick another apple. “Zap!” Again his hand was blocked. “To get another, you have to pay again.” The old man explained. “But I can’t eat this apple.” He said handing the apple to the old man. The old man took it. The apple became a normal apple. The old man crunched it and said :“This apple is delicious.” Lazirich was completely puzzled. “I touched your hand when I gave you my apple gold. How come you didn’t become gold? How come my apple gold turned back to normal apple in your hand?” “I have found the secret. You haven’t.” The old man smiled then walked away. “Secret? What secret?” He asked, but the old man kept going.
There was a girl passing by. She picked up a stone. It turned to gold. She threw it to the apples. The stone vanished. She then took one apple and ate it. Lazirich saw the whole process. The apple didn’t become gold in her hand. She was crunching it enjoyably. He approached the girl :”Excuse me, can I have a bite of your apple please?” “Sure.” The girl handed her apple to him. Their hands touched. “Zing!” The apple became gold in his hand. The girl was not affected. “I see you haven’t found the secret yet.” The girl smiled at him. “I guess not. Can you tell me where to find the secret, please?” Lazirich asked. “You are now in the left door. The secret is in the right door.” The girl took back her apple. She bit it and walked away.
Lazirich was getting hungry. There was nothing he could eat here. The food just turned to gold in his hand. He could only eat real food, not gold. He began to feel desperate. “Out!” He shouted. “Woosh!” He was back with the old magic lady. “Grandma, there is a secret I must find in the right door.” He said. The old lady smiled :”Go find your secret then.” “I will.” He opened the right door and said “Witheffort.”.
Lazirich found himself back in the same magical village. “What is going on?” He was shocked. The apples were still there. He grabbed one of them. “Zap!” The invisible screen blocked his hand. He forgot that he had to pay with gold. He then picked up a stone. He threw it to the apples. “Zap!” The stone was blocked by the invisible screen. Strange, the stone didn’t change to gold in his hand. In his confusion, the old man appeared : “You want to eat apple, don’t you?” “Yes, but I still haven’t found the secret yet.” He said to the old man. “You see the big sack there?” The old man pointed to a big sack in the field nearby. “Yes, is the secret there?” He asked. “Inside the sack you’ll find apple seeds. Sow them evenly as much as you can in the field. I will wait for you here.” Said the old man.
Lazirich was hungry. He didn’t know what else to do. He thus followed the old man’s instruction. He hated sowing seeds. He did it anyway. He came back to the old man and said :”Done!” The old man looked at Lazirich’s sweating face :”Try touch the stone again.” He picked up a stone again. “Zing!” It became gold in his hand. He was pleasantly surprised. “You can pay for your apple now.” The old man said. Lazirich threw the gold to the apples. It vanished. His payment was accepted. He then took the biggest fresh apple. He was worried that it would become gold. It didn’t. However the big fresh apple shrank into a small apple! Lazirich was completely puzzled. The old man laughed :”You get what you deserve. You only did a little work in the field, so you only get a small apple.”
Lazirich quickly ate up the small apple. He picked up another stone. He was hoping it to become gold. It didn’t. The only way to get the golden touch was by sowing seeds again. So he did again. This time he grabbed more seeds to sow. It was quite a while before he came back to the old man and said :”Done!”. This time the old man was not alone. The little girl and the old lady were also there. They were chatting and laughing. “Go use your golden touch again.” The little girl said to him. He did and managed to get a big fresh apple. He ate up the apple. He still felt hungry and wanted to eat bread. He tried to pick up another stone. It became gold in his hand! He threw the gold to the bread. It vanished, his payment was accepted. He got a big bread. The old man was right. He got what he deserved. He put more work and effort the second time. It was thus natural he got rewarded more. He suddenly remembered what his parents had kept telling him :”Good things only come from real efforts.” He felt so bad about himself. The old lady came to him. She tapped his shoulder :”You have just found the secret. All you need now is practice, practice and practice.”
“Grandma, I want to go home now.” Lazirich said to the old lady. “Ok.” She drew a circle with her left palm. He was back sitting on the porch. He rushed into the house. He knocked on his parents bedroom. “It’s open.” It was his father’s voice. He opened the door and said :”Father, I want to help you in the farm.” His parents were astonished. “That’s good, son. You look pale, are you alright?” His mother asked. “Yes, never better.” He answered. “Ok, sleep well tonight. You have a long day tomorrow.” His father said. He felt tremendous happiness in the air. "I will, good night." Lazirich went to his bed. Lazirich had become a hard working boy ever since.
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5:55 AM
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