Hope
There are many stories of hope, because it is one of the most enduring and wide spread of all of the traits. Of all of these stories, I think the one of Pandora is the one most recognized.
Do you remember that story you heard long ago - the one of the box that was given into the care of the first Woman of Greek Mythology?
For a long time there were only men on this Earth. Seeing the lack Zeus called for this woman to be created. He told all the gods to line up to give this first woman the very best thing each of them could give.
Hermes carried this wondrous woman of the most perfect traits down to the home of Epimetheus who immediately fell in love with this woman. Hermes had also brought a large box "bound with ropes and locked with locks". This he put in the keeping of Pandora, with the instructions to never open the box because horrible things would happen.
For a long while Pandora was able to resist the temptation. Finally, overcome with curiosity she untied the ropes. Then she found a hard rock to break the rocks. Throwing open the top to the box she almost fell into the box trying to see what was there.
She was thrown back by the rush of the awful things living in that box. Just as each god had given her a gift, so too had they put the worst thing they could think of in that box.
Out came Greed and Pestilence and Hatred, and Jealousy, and Sickness and Suffering, and many more horrible things. Pandora tried to slam the box closed again, but she was too late. All had escaped and would be loosed forever upon mankind.
She gasped in horror at all the things that she had seen. She looked back down into the box and saw that not every thing had left, for there she saw something down inside the box, barely glowing. She bent down and picked it up and realized as she was releasing it that its name was Hope.
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