The Wish-Fulfilling Tree by MSI

One day, while trekking through one of the more heavily forested areas of India, a man was suddenly overcome by fatigue due to his arduous efforts to reach the next town by sunset. It was mostly the intense heat that had caused him the most trouble, so he decided to find a shady spot away from the scorching sun. As he looked around for such a place, he noticed a beautiful, grassy area beneath a huge, old tree which looked most inviting, so he kicked off his sandals and sat down to recuperate.

As he was sitting there, he realized that he had not had a drink for hours and was beginning to feel somewhat dehydrated. He turned his head to search for a stream or perhaps even a puddle to sip from, and noticed a shell filled with fresh cold water. Although he had not noticed it before he sat down, he gave it no thought and proceeded to gulp it down. It was the freshest and purest water he had ever tasted in his entire life, and as he drank it he noticed that there was no end to the supply.

“How wonderful!” he thought. “If only food were so plentiful in this forest.”

Almost before the thought left his mind, a huge table appeared before him, filled with every delicacy imaginable. A king could not have manifested a more splendid feast. The man was astonished by his beautiful creation and realized that he must be sitting under the wish-fulfilling tree which had been spoken of in the ancient myths of his people.

With that realization, the man decided to test his good fortune and wished for more wealth than the richest man in all of India. Before him there appeared more gold coins than he knew existed in the world.

The man was overcome by excitement which quickly turned to fear as he noticed that the day had almost ended and he was all alone in the jungle.

“It’s getting a little spooky,” the man thought. “I hope a tiger doesn’t come by and eat me.”

Unfortunately for the man, nobody told him that desires must be stated clearly; that nature is trying to fulfill every desire. It is important to state what we WANT, and not what we DON’T WANT. The universe does not hear negatives, and so, based on this reality, a tiger came by and ate the man for dinner.