The poor woman bought a beautiful picture that caught her eye in the market place and her youngest son makes a life-changing suggestion.

Gazing at her newly purchased picture the widow sighed, “Oh, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we lived in such a place!”

The two elder sons school their heads and laughed.

“My dear mother, that’s only an idle dream,” said the eldest.

“Perhaps it might happen in the next world,” agreed the second son, “but not in this one.”

Only the youngest one comforted her.

“Why don’t you weave a copy of the picture into a brocade?” he suggested. With a gentle smile on his face, he added, “That will be nearly as good as living in it.”

This thought made the mother very happy. Right away she went out and bought all the colored silk yarns she needed. Then she set up her loom and began to weave the design of the painting into the brocade.

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“She Worked as If Possessed”

Once upon a time in China, there lived a poor woman who was famous for the brocades she made.

One day the widow had to go into the market place to sell some cloth she had just finished. It took her no time at all to get rid of it, for everyone was anxious to buy her work.

When she had completed her business she strolled among the stalls, looking at all the interesting objects for sale. Suddenly her glance was caught by a beautiful picture and she paused. In the painting was a marvelous white house surrounded by vast fields and grand walks which led to glorious gardens bursting with fruit and flowers. Between the stately trees in the background could be glimpsed some smaller  buildings, and among the fluttering leaves flew rare brightly plumed birds of all kinds.

Instantly the widow fell in love with the picture and bought it. When she got home she showed it to her three sons, who also thought it was very beautiful.

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Next time: The Youngest Son’s Suggestion

Our dreams can terrify us or empower us to reach our full potential. Travel with me to the land of China and enter the story of the Magic Brocade as I unfold it over the coming posts. What dreams of yours are stirred by this story? What will you do with the stirrings within you?

Once upon a time, long, long ago, there lived in a small village in the southern part of China a mother and her three sons. Since the poor woman was a widow, she had to support her family as best she could. Fortunately she was very skilled at weaving fine brocade. This material was a specialty of the Chuang area where they and it was made of rich fabric with designs of silver, gold, and silk woven upon it.

The widow was quite famous in the surrounding countryside for her brocades, as she had a special talent for making the birds and other animals and flowers that she wove into her cloth appear life-like. Some people even said that her flowers and animals and birds were even more beautiful than real ones.

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Next Time: The Picture