There once was a king who offered a
prize to the artist who would paint
the best picture of peace. Many
artists tried. The king looked at all
the pictures. But therewere only two
he really liked, and he had to choose
between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The
lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful
towering mountains all around it.
Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy
white clouds. All who saw this
picture thought that it was a perfect
picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains,
too. But these were rugged and
bare. Above was an angry sky, from
which rain fell and in which lightning
played. Down the side of the
mountain tumbled a foaming
waterfall. This did not look peaceful
at all.
But when the king looked closely, he
saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush
growing in a crack in the rock. In the
bush a mother bird had built her
nest. There, in the midst of the rush
of angry water, sat the mother bird
on her nest - in perfect peace.
Which picture do you think won the
prize? The king chose the second
picture. Do you know why?
"Because," explained the king,
"peace does not mean to be in a
place where there is no noise,
trouble, or hard work. Peace means
to be in the midst of all those things
and still be calm in your heart. That is
the real meaning of peace.