There once was a stone cutter who was dissatisfied with himself and with his position in life. One day he passed a wealthy merchant's house. Through the open gateway he saw many fine possessions and important visitors. "How wealthy that merchant must be!" he thought.
The stone cutter became very envious and wished he could be like the merchant. To his great surprise, he suddenly had his wish fulfilled and did indeed become the merchant, enjoying more luxuries than he had ever imagined, yet he envied and despised those less wealthy than himself.
Soon a high official passed by, carried in a sedan chair accompanied by attendants and escorted by soldiers blowing trumpets. Everyone, no matter how wealthy, had to bow low before the procession. "How powerful that official is!" he thought. "I wish I could be a high official like that."
Again his wish was granted and he became the high offcial, carried everywhere in his finely embroidered sedan chair, feared and hated by everyone. It was a hot summer day, so the official felt very uncomfortable in his sticky sedan chair. He looked up at the sun shining proudly in the sky, totally unaffected by the presence of the high official. "How majestic the sun is!" he thought. "I wish I could be the sun!"
Then he became the sun, shining fiercly down on everyone, scorching fields, cursed by farmers and laborers. But a huge black cloud moved between him and the earth, blocking his light from everything below. "How mighty that cloud is!" he thought. "I wish I could be a cloud like that."
And so he became the cloud, raining down and flooding fields and villages as everyone shook their fists and cursed at him. But soon he found that he was being pushed away by some great force, and realized it was the wind. "How peerless the wind is!" he thought. "I wish that I was the wind!"
Then he became the wind, blowing tiles off of roofs, uprooting trees, feared and detested by all. But after a while he ran against something that did not move, no matter how forcefully he blew against it. It was a huge towering rock. "How impervious that rock is! I wish I was that rock."
Then he became the rock, greater than anything else on earth. But as he stood there, he heard a tapping sound and he felt himself being changed. "What could be greater than me?" he wondered. Looking down, far below he saw the figure of a humble stone cutter, pounding at the rock with his hammer and chisel.