The Gold Box

The Gold Box - 9/91

George was a materialistic self-centered brat. His parents had spoiled him rotten, but George had always sensed something was missing. No matter how many things his parents had bought him, no matter how much money he received for his allowance, he still felt empty inside, as if there was a hole in his heart.

.....One day while looking for something expensive to buy in an old antique shop, a flicker of gold caught his eye. It was twinkling from a far corner of the store. George walked over to the musty shelf, where the glimmer had came from. Undisturbed on the shelf was a dust covered gold box. George picked it up and brushed the film off of it, making it shine and shimmer. Written on the cover in fancy letters was:

WHAT LIES INSIDE IS THE GIFT OF ALL GIFTS
BUT FIRST YOU MUST FIND THE KEY
TO FIND THE KEY YOU MUST DO THREE THINGS
OR THE GIFT WILL NEVER BE FREED

.....George thought about it for a moment and turned the box over. On the bottom of the container was a list. It read:

CLIMB THE HEIGHTS FOR THE WISE MAN
CARRY THE BURDEN ACROSS THE DISTANCE
RESCUE THE PRINCESS

.....“How strange,” George thought, “I must have it!”

.....He quickly ran to the cashier, purchased the box and ran home. Upon entering his room he grabbed the box from the store bag and began studying it under the light. “What lies inside is the gift of all gifts…hmm,” he thought.

.....On the front of the golden box was a small keyhole. “Must do three things to find the key?”

.....George pondered a bit, “I know, I’ll go to the library and see if I can find some information on antique boxes…”

.....George was off and running again towards the library.

.....Mr. Sage, the old librarian was stamping books when George approached him, yelling. “Hey, Mister! Do you have any books on antique boxes?” demanded George.

Peering from his wire-rimmed spectacles he said, “If my memory serves me right, I believe we do, way up there on the twentieth or so shelf.”

“Well, could you get it for me?” retorted George.

.....Struggling off his seat, the ancient librarian walked to the rolling ladder and and pushed it over to the area he pointed out. Poor Mr. Sage tried to climb the steps but was having difficulty carrying his arthritic body up the ladder. As George watched, a strange feeling came over him, something he just couldn’t put his finger on. Almost without realizing it, George was next to the laboring librarian, helping the old man off the ladder and politely saying that he would retrieve the book himself.

.....Finding nothing of any use, George put the book back and started for home. Passing the supermarket, he noticed a woman straggling out of the store with three grocery bags and two little kids holding onto her skirt. Doing something totally against his nature, he ran over to her and helped her with her bags, carrying the food to her car. After being thanked by the woman he continued home.

.....He was a little depressed about not having found information on the box, but not as much as he thought he would be. He ambled onward until, in the distance, he heard a faint voice calling out, “Come here my little princess, oh please, will someone save my princess?”

.....George’s eyes widened. “Princess?” he thought, recollecting the list on the box. “The Princess! I have to rescue the Princess! To get the key!”

.....At a frenzied pace, George ran to the pleading call. Upon arrival he noticed a little girl staring up into a tree. As George came closer he noticed tears in her eyes.

.....She turned her head, saw George and said, “My kitty! My little Princess! She’s caught in that nasty, old tree!”

.....George screamed, “A cat?! You made me run all this way for a stupid cat?!”

.....The little girl began to cry again, wailing loudly. George walked over to the tree and looked up. A big, white Persian was clinging frantically a few branches up. Seeing that it wasn’t a long climb, George reconsidered, climbed up and rescued the cat. After the little girl said thank you about what seemed a million times, he once again headed home.

.....Disappointed about the so called “Princess,” he almost didn’t notice the shining gold key on his doormat. He picked it up and went into his house. Entering his room he rushed over to the box, shoved the key in and turned.

.....“It fits!!” he shouted. His voice echoing through the house. Opening the box, he stood in utter horror. The box was empty. He wanted to cry, but as he stood there he began to think, reading the box cover again:

WHAT LIES INSIDE IS THE GIFT OF ALL GIFTS
BUT FIRST YOU MUST FIND THE KEY
TO FIND THE KEY YOU MUST DO THREE THINGS
OR THE GIFT WILL NEVER BE FREED

.....Maybe the writing on the box isn’t about the box,” he thought,” maybe it has something to do with me.”

.....He read the list again:

CLIMB THE HEIGHTS FOR THE WISE MAN
CARRY THE BURDEN ACROSS THE DISTANCE
RESCUE THE PRINCESS

.....“Wait a minute! I really did do these things!” George cried, “The old man in the library! The old, wise man! I climbed the heights when I climbed the ladder! I carried a burden across the distance when I helped the mother with her groceries! And of course, rescuing the cat named Princess!”

.....George sat down and thought about the gift of all gifts the box had promised. As he sat there he noticed something was different. That feeling of emptiness that he had before was gone! The missing piece had been put in place. It was a feeling of generosity. During all the years of his childhood, the only thing important in his life was himself and for the first time he had extended his kindness to others, filling the empty hole in his heart.
Having changed into a new person, George closed the box again and put it back on th shelf in the old, antique shop, hoping that one day, someone else would find the box and discover the treasure it held…inside.

THE END

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