The-Slight-Edge

18 The Slight Edge
The second boy looked up with a start. “Money? Is the second gift money?”
It was indeed. For some, it never runs out, while for others, it constantly runs out.
“And the third?”
Impossible to give, can only be gained ...
This time both boys remained buried in thought. Neither could come up
with an answer.
The father smiled again, a little sadly this time. He lifted a beautiful lacquer
box from the bedside table onto his lap, opened it and looked inside.
“I offer you both a choice.”
He beckoned the boys to move closer.
“One month from today, you both will turn twenty-one. I will no longer be
with you, for my life has run its course. On that day, thirty-one days from now, I
have instructed my most trusted advisor to execute a document that will bequeath
my home, my treasury, my estate—all that I possess—to the good people of this
land, who have treated me with kindness all these years. This place, which has
been our home together for these twenty-one years, will become a public trust. I
will be well on my way to the next world, and the two of you will set off to make
your way in this one.
“Yet I do not wish you to set foot on this journey empty-handed. My last gift
to you, on the day of your departure, will be a purse to finance your adventures.
“What goes into each purse is your choice.”
He reached both hands inside the box, and then held them out to the boys.
In one hand, he held a sheaf of one thousand crisp, new $1,000 bills. One million
dollars. Cash. In the other hand, he held a shiny new copper penny.
“If you take the million in cash, you may take it with you or leave it in your
purse for safe-keeping until the day of your journey; your purse will be held by
my treasury director.
“If you take the penny, you may also take it with you or leave it in your
purse. However, if you choose the penny, my treasury director has instructions
to double the contents of your purse every day.”
He took out another lacquer box, identical to the first, opened it, and took
out another stack of $1,000 bills and another penny.
“Here is one million; here is one penny. You each have the same choice to
make. Whatever you do not take, I will return to my treasury to add to my estate.
“Now, go, rest, and think. Tomorrow morning, come back and tell me
your choice.”
All night, the first boy lay in bed thinking, What should I do? Which should
I take? What is the lesson? The second boy lay awake, too, but he asked himself