There once was a king who offered a,
prize to the artist who would paint,
the best picture of peace...
Many artists tried
The king looked at all the pictures.
But there were only two he really liked,
and he had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm lake.
The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful,
towering mountians all around it.
Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white,
clouds, All who saw this picture thought that,
it was a perfect picture of peace,
The other picture had mountains, too
But these were rugged and bare.
Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell
and in which lightring played.
Down the side of the mountain tumble a foaming,
waterfall, This did not look peaceful ar all.
But when the king looked closely
he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing.
in a crack in the rock.
In the bush a mother bird had built her nest.
There in the midst of the rush of angry water,
sat the mother bird on her nest - in perfect peace.
Which picture do you think won the prize?
The king chose the second picture.
Do you know why ?
"Because ". explained the king, "peace does not,
mean to be in a place where there is no noise,
trouble, or hard work.
Peace means to be in the midst of all those
things and still be calm in your heart.
That is the real meaning of peace"
