
High on a hilltop overlooking the beautiful city of Venice, Italy, There lived a wise old man whom people called a genius. Legend had it that he could answer any question posed him.
Two local boys decided they could fool the old man. Figuring they had a plan that was perfectly foolproof, the boys caught a small bird and headed for the hilltop. As they approached the wise old man, one of the boys held the little bird in his hands.
"Wise old man," he said. "Could you tell me if this bird in my hands is dead or alive?"
The old man sized up the two boys, and without hesitation, he answered, "Son, if i tell you that the bird is alive, you will close your hands and crush the bird to death. If i say the bird is dead, you will open your hands and he will fly away. You see, son, in your hands you hold the power of life and death."
The boys looked at one another in total amazement. This old man truly is very wise, they thought. They had not fooled him for one minute. The old man then stroked his long white beard and smiled gently. "This I say to both of you without qualification," he explained with a sincere, caring voice. "In your hands you hold the seedds of failure -- or the potential for success. Your hands are very capable, but they must be used for the right things. They must be used to reap rewards that you are capable of attaining."
As the boys descended from the wise old man's hill, a new attitude overtook them, and they eagerly freed their captive bird. As they both watched the bird flap his wings and fly to freedom, the boys realized how very precious the old man's advice really was.