STORY: Goodness Gives You AWAY by Tony Castle

Story title: Goodness Gives You Away
by: Tony Castle


    There is an orintal fable about a man who owned a ring set with a
beautiful jewel. Whoever wore the ring became so pleasant in character that
everyone loved him. The ring was a charm that passed down from father
to son.
    But then, there was a father with three sons, all of whom he loved
equally. So he had two other rings made which looked exactly like the magic
one. On his deathbed, he called in each son and gave him a ring. Later on,
a dispute arose about who had the charmed ring that could do so much good
ot its owner.
    So the three sons went to a wise judge to solve their problem. He
examined the rings closely and said," I can't tell which is the magic ring but
you yourselves can."
    "We?" they said in astonishment. "How?"
    "Like this," said the judge. "The magic ring is supposed to give
sweetness to the character of the person who wears it. So the only way you
can prove to the rest of us that you have the magic ring is by showing us your
sweetness of character. So, be kind and good and truthful and you will
prove you are the owner of the ring."