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Together Forever

The story about the magician who didn't want to be alone

Do you know why old folks are the best tellers of legends?

It’s because a legend is the cleverest thing on earth!

Everything in the world changes, but true legends always stay.

 

Legends are filled with so much wisdom, that to tell them,

a person needs to see things that others miss.

It takes a long, long time to gain

so much wisdom,

and that’s why older folks often

tell legends better than anyone else!

 

As it is written in the greatest,

most ancient magical book,

The Book of Zohar,

“An old person is one who has acquired wisdom.”

Children love to listen to legends

because their imaginations can open them

up to wonderful new ideas and truths.

Sometimes they might not have known these ideas

without hearing about them in legends.

 

And children who grow up

and continue to see what others cannot,

acquire more and more wisdom.

Such people always remain like children, “wise children,” even as grownups.

This is what The Book of Zohar teaches us.

There once was

a great magician,

kind, generous,

and goodhearted.

 

But unlike all other good

magicians in children’s legends,

this magician was so very kind,

he missed

having someone to share

his goodness with.

 

He had no one to love or care for,

and no one to play with,

to be with,

or to think about.

 

Besides,

he longed for someone

to know him and to care about him…

...because it’s very sad to be alone.

So what did he do?

 

He thought to himself:

“I know! I’ll make a pebble,

a tiny one, but very beautiful.

I will gently hold it and stroke it,

and feel it always by my side.

And we will be together, the pebble and I, because…

it’s very sad to be alone.”

 

He waved his magic stick, and CHACK!,

a pretty little pebble rested in the good magician’s hand.

He stroked the smooth little pebble

and wrapped it lovingly in his warm palm.

He spoke lovingly to it,

but the stone didn’t answer.

It just lay there in his hand,

motionless and silent.

And worst of all,

it did not return his love.

 

No matter what he did to it,

the stone would not become friendly,

or even react at all.

 

He thought, “Is this the way to treat a good magician?

How come the sweet-looking pebble isn’t responding?

Maybe there is something wrong with it?

Perhaps I should make more pebbles,

and maybe they will be friendlier

and return my friendship?”

So the magician made

more pebbles,

then larger stones: rocks, hills, mountains, the Earth,

and even the whole universe.

 

But they were all like the first pebble:

they didn’t move,

didn’t speak, and just

didn’t respond at all.

 

And once again he felt

how sad it was to be alone.

 

In his sadness he wondered,

“Perhaps I should make a plant instead?

Yes, a very beautiful flower!

 

I’ll water it, give it lots of fresh air,

beam down warm sunshine,

and play sweet music to it.

 

The plant will be so happy,

and then we’ll both be happy because…

 

it’s very sad to be alone.”

The good magician waved his magic stick again, and CHACK!

a pretty little flower appeared right

next to his chair. With its rosy petals

and long and gentle leaves, the flower

looked exactly as he pictured it.

 

The magician was so excited he began

to skip and hop around it, and sang

the most cheerful songs he knew. But

the plant wouldn’t dance with him; it

wouldn’t sing, either. All it did was

grow when he watered it, and shrivel

when he didn’t.

 

This was not nearly enough

for such a goodhearted magician, who

wanted to give his heart and soul to

his friend, the flower.

 

Again, the magician wondered,

“Is this the way to treat a good magician?

How come this pretty little flower

isn’t responding?

Perhaps I should make more flowers?

Perhaps they will return

my friendship”?

 

So the magician made all kinds of plants:

meadows with carpets of red, yellow, and

blue flowers, groves and forests,

vast savannas, and dense jungles.

But no matter what kind of plant

he made, they all behaved just

like the very first flower.

 

Once again, the good magician

was alone, and sad.

 

Realizing that the situation

called for special action,

the magician sat on his magic thinking rock.

He thought,

and thought,

and thought some more,

until he had a wonderful idea:

“I know,” he said out loud,

“I’ll make an animal!

But… what kind of animal?

 

Perhaps a dog?

 

Yes, a dog!

I’ll make a cute little pup that

will always be with me.

 

I’ll take it for walks,

play with it,

and when I return

to my castle,

the dog will jump for joy

and wiggle its tail

to greet me.

 

“Yes!” the magician

smiled to himself, “the dog

and I will be very happy

together…

 

because it’s very sad to be alone.”

 

Hopeful, the magician waved his magic stick, and CHACK!

a cute little puppy

rested in his hands, exactly as he

had pictured it.

The good magician was elated; he fed the dog,

cuddled and caressed its soft, curly fur. He took it

on walks and even gave it bubble baths. For sure,

this was the most spoiled pup ever.

 

But after some time, the magician realized

that a dog’s love was not the kind of love he wanted.

A dog just wants to sit next to its owner and obey its owner.

 

The magician was very sad to see that even such

a cute little pup that played so cheerfully and followed

him wherever he went, still couldn’t return all the

goodheartedness that he wanted to give it.

He realized that a dog

just couldn’t be the kind of friend

that he was looking for.

 

It couldn’t understand

the things he did for it,

how he cared for his dog,

and how he troubled

with the food and games

he had made for it.

 

The dog

could not appreciate all that,

and this was

what the magician

really needed,

a friend who would

appreciate his kindness

and good heart.

 

As with the pebble and the flower,

the magician made many other kinds of animals:

beetles, fish, snakes, monkeys, birds, and bears.

Still, not a single animal could understand

him and be the friend he was seeking.

 

Again, the magician was sad,

and very much alone.

 

And once again, the magician turned to his thinking rock,

to determine what to do.

He thought, and thought,

and thought really hard.

This time, he had a whole plan worked out:

he realized that a true friend must be someone

who would search for him as much as he was searching,

someone who would want to find him as much as he

wanted to find his friend.

 

Then, after some more thinking,

he said to himself:

“A friend must be

someone like me,

who does what I do, and loves the way I love.

That’s the only way he could really understand me.

 

But, to be like me he would have to

understand and appreciate

what I am giving him.

This way, he could return my love

and do for me what I will do for him.

 

Then, we would both be happy.”

 

For three days and three nights

the magician sat on his magic rock

and thought about his next creation.

 

Finally, he had a brilliant idea!

“Why don’t I make a man?

Yes, what a great idea!

He could be my true friend!

He could be just like me!

 

If I make him just right,

he will love what I love,

and appreciate what I will give him.

He’ll just need a little bit of help

and then we will be

very happy

because we’ll never be alone.”

But to be happy, the

magician knew,

his friend would first need

to feel what it was like

being alone and

without a friend.

Actually, he would

have to feel what it was

like being without the

magician’s

friendship.

With new hope in his heart,

the magician waved his magic stick

for the fourth, and last time, and CHACK!...

 

But this time, two things

happened: a man was made, but

he was made in a very

far away land.

So far away was that land,

the man didn’t even know

about the magician.

He saw the mountains, the stars,

the trees, the flowers, the fish,

and the animals, but he didn’t

know that it was the magician

who made them. He didn’t even know

there was a magician!

 

But the magician did not stop there.

He made a computer, football,

basketball, and all kinds of games so the man,

his new friend, would enjoy himself.

But all the while, the magician was

still alone and very sad

because his friend didn’t know

about him.

 

The man didn’t know that there was a

magician who had made him, who loved him,

and waited for him.

He didn’t know that the magician was

whispering, “Come, join me,

we can be happy together,

because it’s truly very sad to be alone.”

But how can someone who

doesn’t know the magician, and

has a computer, football, and

all kinds of fun things to do,

suddenly want to find him?

How can someone like that even

want to know and love him?

Can such a person be the

magician’s true friend,

and tell him,

“Come, my good magician, let’s

be together and happy, because

I know how sad it is to be alone”?

 

The man knew only what

he saw around him.

He wanted to have what

others had, do what others

did, and talk about what

others talked about.

He didn’t know that

somewhere out there was a

good magician, who was sad

to be alone.

 

Well, our magician is a clever one;

he had a plan in mind.

In fact, he’d had it all along and he

was only waiting for the right moment

to carry it out.

 

And one sunny day,

the right moment came:

the magician stood very far from

his friend, and very softly whispered

straight into his friend’s

heart: CHACK!

 

He touched his heart with his magic

stick, CHACK! And once again…

A voice was calling in the

man’s heart.

 

And when the magician “Chack’d”

with his magic stick once more,

the man began to think,

“Hah, there is a magician!

Hmmm… very interesting,

I wonder what he’s like.”

 

All of a sudden, the man began to think

that perhaps it wasn’t that much fun being

without a magician in his life, that he would

actually be much happier with him.

 

Then the magician “Chack’d” again

and the man suddenly felt that somewhere, very far away, there was a land.

And in that land was a tower filled with treasures.

And in that tower sat a wise and kind magician, just waiting for him.

And the magician was whispering, “Hello, friend, I am waiting for you;

together, we will be happy, and alone we will be sad.”

 

But the man didn’t know where to find the land with the tower in it.

He didn’t even know which way to look for it.

The man was sad and confused; he wondered,

 

“How do I find the magician?”

And all the while that gentle tap was

patting in his heart:

CHACK! CHACK!

 

He couldn’t sleep,

he couldn’t eat, and

he couldn’t stop imagining

that tall tower in his mind.

 

That’s what happens when

you search for something

really hard but can’t find it.

It can make you very sad

to be alone.

For the man to be as wise as

the magician, as powerful and

goodhearted, the magician had

to teach him how to do the same

wonders he himself could do.

 

To help him, the magician gently

and secretly led him to

an ancient magical book,

called The Book of Zohar.

This book taught the man

the way to the high tower in the

faraway land.

 

Following the instructions in the

book, the man rushed to meet

his friend, the magician.

He wanted to tell him,

“Hello!

I’ve come to be with you;

I know we will be happy

together.”

But when the man reached the tower, he

discovered that all around it was a high wall,

surrounded by scary guards. They pushed

him away every time he tried to approach

and wouldn’t let the man and the magician

meet, much less be together.

 

And the more the man insisted, the

tougher and more forceful the guards

became. They had no mercy.

 

The man was in despair. His

dear friend, the magician, was

hidden in the tower, the gates

were locked, the wall was

high, and the mean guards

kept pushing him away. No

one could enter and no one

could leave the tower.

 

The man thought,

“What am I going to do?

If we cannot be together,

how will we ever be happy?”

 

But every time he was about

to give up, he felt a gentle Chack!

in his heart.

 

Then, he would again

feel hopeful, searching for a way past the

guards and the great wall.

 

And if he weakened,

and there was

no Chack! in his heart,

he would cry out

to the magician,

“Why are you calling me in vain?

Where are you?

Can’t you see

that I’m alone?”

 

Yet, if a person is patient and endures the beating

of the guards, he becomes stronger, braver,

and wiser. Instead of growing weaker, he learns to

do his own magic, his own wonders,

like only a magician can.

And this is what the man did, too.

 

Finally, after all that

had happened, there was

nothing the man wanted

more than to be with his

friend, the magician.

All he now wanted was

to see his friend, because

he was still alone.

 

And just when he felt he couldn’t bear being alone for even one

more minute, the gates of the tower suddenly opened. And yes, the

great magician, his goodhearted, kind friend, came to meet him, and

said, “Come, let’s be together, because it’s very sad to be alone.”

 

And ever since that day, they have been the best of friends,

together forever. There is no greater joy than the joy of

their friendship.

 

And the wonder of their love is eternal;

it lives forever, and ever, and ever.

And they are so happy being together, that they

don’t even remember, not even sometimes, how

sad it was to be alone.

So if you ever feel a gentle “Chack!” deep in your

heart, know that there is a kind and wise magician

calling you, because he wants to be your friend.

 

After all, it can be very sad to be alone.

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