<p>A woman who was travelling alone in the mountains found a precious
stone in a stream. </p>

<p>The next day she met another traveller who was hungry, the woman
opened her bag to share her food. </p>

<p>The hungry traveller saw the precious stone and asked the woman
to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. </p>

<p>The traveller left, rejoicing in his great fortune. He knew
the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. </p>

<p>But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the
woman. </p>

<p>”I’ve been thinking,” he said, “I know how valuable the stone
is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something
even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled
you to give me the stone.” </p>

<p>The woman smiled and said simply, “The joy of giving!” </p>