Week 7 Story: Finding His Happiness

In the distant past, there once lived a stonecutter. He was a well-renowned craftsman who knew exactly what was needed for certain items. Although he worked day and night t gain the reputation he had, he went to bed every night with a certain emptiness to him. 

One morning as he was chiseling away at the mountain for stones, he overheard two weary travelers talking. One said to the other that there was a ancient spirit that lived in the form of a woman. She lived atop the very mountain the stonecutter had been chiseling away at! She granted the wishes and brings happiness to anyone who seeks her help. When the stonecutter had heard of this he immediately gathered his belongings and started traveling up the mountain in search of filling his empty void. 

Eventually the stonecutter reached the top of the mountain. There lied a cave and inside was the very woman that the travelers were speaking of. The stonecutter introduced himself and asked the spirit to become a rich prince who had everything in the world. Alas, the spirit made the man a rich prince and when he returned home he returned to a castle as high as the skies with everything he could imagine. 

One day, the sun above scorched the lands he lived in. It was so hot and bright that the stonecutter reused to go outside and stored himself away in the depths of the castle. Every day he would look outside to see people up and about, embracing the heat. This made him yearn to become the sun, so he trekked back up the mountain and asked the spirit to make him the sun. And so he became the sun above all. 

His happiness soon faded when the day came where the clouds hid the suns rays. He had begun to become very bored of shining down on the lands, so when the clouds came to hid his might he became very upset. He cried from above to the spirit to make him a cloud, so that he may always be seen in the sky. The spirit below heard his cries from above and granted his wish and so he became the clouds.

Days and weeks went by and the man became weary again. Becoming the clouds between the lands and sun was not enough for him again. He became sad and rain poured down on the land for days. Towns and villages were destroyed by his unhappiness. When he looked down and saw that the mountains held their shape through all this rain, he began to wonder. He wondered if the immovable, strong, and calm mountain was the key to his happiness. And once again he begged the spirit to become the mountain below him. Once more the spirit turned him into a mountain. 

He stood tall and mighty every day. The sun and and rain could not move him one bit! And so he finally found his true happiness... but not for long. One day as the sun was bright the man heard something beneath him. He looked down and saw the very man he used to be: a stonecutter. He then began to realize that nothing he wished for would bring him true happiness because the stonecutting man was the key to his happiness. He took for granted his occupation and life and never appreciated what he had. Although he knew that he had asked so much from the spirit, he tried once more and asked to be reverted back to the man he once was. The spirit having realized that he discovered his true happiness, turned him back to a stonecutter in an instant. 

The stonecutter awoke back inside his household. Everything was the same as it used to be, as if nothing had changed except one thing: his happiness. He felt very grateful and in debt to the spirit, so he traveled once more to the top of the mountain. When he reached the top he expressed his gratitude and thanks to the woman. She was happy to help the man find his true happiness and disappeared back into the mountain in the form of a spirit and the man lived his days in eternal happiness. 

(The Stonecutter, Source: Pinterest)

Author's Notes:

The original story was very similar to my own. There was a stonecutter who also wanted to be something more. At first he wanted to be rich, then a prince, then the sun, the clouds, the mountain, and finally back to being a stonecutter. The spirit of the mountain granted him his wishes and turned him into whatever he desired. In the original, the stonecutter felt very selfish and didn't appreciate what the spirit had done for him, so I changed that in my own story. Also I gave the spirit a physical form and gave it a place atop the mountain. This rendition was more about finding the stonecutter's true happiness and provided a more detailed background and ending for the reader. 

Bibliography: "The Stonecutter" by Andrew Lang. Web Source