Once upon a time, there was a beautiful quiet village full of vegetable fields,  and all the poor villagers strive for life by growing vegetables all over in their compounds and in their fields.

In the heart of the village was the poor old village school which all the farmers living in the village sent their children to be educated. One evening after school, a little boy of a poor farmer came to their little hut,after playing and washing the buffalos that belong to the field owner, in the river that flows across the fields.

The boy for some reason wasn’t happy that day and soon as he went home he asked his father who was tired after having a long day in the vegetable field,

“ My father, what is the value of my life father”?

The father was thinking and thinking as to what to say to his son, then he recalled that he had a unique rare stone that he unexpectedly saw and picked while bathing in the river years back and kept safe in a cupboard.

After recalling this the father of this son told his son “you go and have your dinner and do your homework and go to bed tomorrow morning as it is a Saturday I will tell you what is the value of your life”. The son did as the father directed him and went to bed.

In the meantime, while the son was asleep the father went to the cupboard and checked whether the uncommon unique stone was there. He was pleased and kept it as it is and had supper and went to bed.

The following morning as soon as the little poor boy woke up he was so eager to find out the answer to his question ‘what’s the value of his life’?  So as soon as he woke up ran in search of his father.

“Father, Father, today is Saturday we don’t have school so please tell me what’s the value of my life?

Father took the rare, uncommon stone and gave it to the son and told him to take it to the market and if someone asks the price don’t reply but raise two fingers.

Without questioning this and that, the boy went to the market and was going all over keeping the stone in his palm.

He was waiting and waiting until suddenly an old lady approached and asked “Dear boy, how much is this?” asked the old lady. The little boy didn’t utter a word but raised two fingers.

Then the lady questioned the boy “ 2 dollars I will take it”. The boy didn’t show any emotion but soon ran home in search of the father. and he unveiled what happened.

Then the boys’ father says to his son, now take a break, let’s have a cup of tea and you go to the museum in the city.

The boy took his bicycle and paddle to the city museum, he parked it and was going all over the museum with the stone on his palm.

A middle aged man in a suit saw this poor boy coming in and approached the boy and asked “how much is this” he once again didn’t say a word but raised two fingers.

Then the man in a suit said is it 200 dollars? The boy had a subtle smile but did nothing but rode his bicycle home to disclose what happened at the museum to his father.

Once the little boy said everything to his father, the father told him, “that’s ok don’t worry you are getting there please now go to the precious stone shop in the handicraft town. The obedient boy again took his bicycle and rode towards the precious stone shop.

The old shopkeeper who was at the entrance door of the precious stone shop gazed at what was on the little boy’s palm and abruptly told the little boy, I have been waiting all my years looking for this sort of stone.

What do you want for this? How much is it?  Asked the old man.

Once again the little boy raised two fingers and didn’t utter a word. Then the old man asked if it was 200,000 dollars. I desperately want this as I have been seeking it for ages.

This time he felt awesome and soon rode the bicycle home and unveiled what occurred at the precious stone shop to his father. This time the boy realized the value of life. Once you get connected to the right place you are valued on the other hand once you get connected to the wrong place you will be suppressed.

In life, there are some people who love you a lot and adore you a lot. For such you are very precious and you are everything. On the other hand, some will use you only as a commodity. For such you are worth nothing. So we have to decide with whom to be connected as this would bring an everlasting bond which would be worth abundant for life, that goes beyond mundane activities.

The story highlights the importance of finding the right place or environment where one’s value can be recognized and appreciated. The value of the little boy’s life was only realized when he was in the right environment where his unique stone was valued.

The story suggests that one’s value is not always defined by external factors, but rather it can be discovered in the right setting. Therefore, the advice is to seek out an environment where one’s strengths, skills, and talents can be recognized and appreciated then we can live a life beyond goals.