Helping Others Brings Happiness

There was once a boy who was very rich and clever. He had practically everything a boy could ever want, so he was only interested in the rare objects. This happened to him in relation to a very old mirror, and he convinced his parents to buy it from a mysterious old man. When the mirror arrived home, the boy went to see his reflection in it. His face looked very sad indeed. He tried smiling and making funny faces, but his reflections continued with sad expressions. Surprised, the boy went off to buy sweets. He came home, as happy as he could be, to look in the mirror, but his image was still sad-looking. He bought all kinds of toys, but forever looked sad in that mirror. Angrily, the boy put the mirror in a corner. “What a terrible mirror! It’s the first time that I’ve seen a mirror that didn’t work properly!” he said. That same afternoon he went into the street to play and buy a few toys, but on his way to the park he saw a little boy who was crying his heart out. The little boy was crying so much, and looked so lonely that the rich boy went over to help him and see what had happened. The little boy told him that he had lost his parents. Together the two boys set off in search of them. As the little boy wouldn’t stop crying, the rich boy spent money on buying him sweets to cheer him up. Finally, after much walking, they found the little boy’s parents who were out looking for him, very worried. The rich boy said goodbye and walked off towards the park. But it was getting late, so he decided to turn and head for home, without having been able to play, without toys, and without money. At home, he went to his room and noticed a shining light in the corner; the same corner he had left the mirror in. Seeing this, he went over to the mirror and realised that the light was coming from his own body, so radiant with happiness he had become. Now, he understood the mystery of the old mirror, which could faithfully reflect the true joy of its owner. He realised that it was true; and he felt genuinely happy at having helped that little boy. Since then, each morning when he looked in that mirror and failed to see a special shine, he knew how to bring it back.