If You Want It, You Can Move a Mountain

A poor widow worked day and night—she really wanted her only son to go to school and become a learned man. While the boy was young, he studied eagerly. He loved reading books and read them attentively. His mother was delighted that her son was hardworking, diligent, and smart.

But as the boy grew older, he became arrogant. "I already know everything, and there's no need to study anymore," he decided. He became lazy, stopped going to school, and instead of attending classes, he would go somewhere to wander around. He hid from his mother that he had dropped out of school.

One day, while wandering, he saw a huge stone by the road. On the stone sat a very old woman, grinding a thick iron rod against the stone with all her might. The boy found this amusing and asked the old woman:

"Why are you grinding that rod against the stone?"
"I want to make a thin needle out of this rod," replied the old woman.
"Out of such a big rod, you want to make a needle?" the boy exclaimed in surprise and laughed. "Can you really do that? You're already old, and your life won't be enough for this."
"Though my rod is big, my strong will is even bigger," said the old woman. "Today I grind this rod, tomorrow I will grind it again, and the day will come when I will indeed make a needle out of it. After all, it's not for nothing that they say, 'If you want it badly enough, you can move a mountain!' But you, I know, are lazy. You don't want to study; you want to get by with your small mind. And you even deceive your mother. She, poor thing, works without rest, just so you can study. Aren't you ashamed of being idle?"

The boy blushed with shame. He bowed to the old woman, thanked her for her advice, returned to school, and began to study even more diligently.

When the boy grew up, he became a famous scholar.

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If You Want It, You Can Move a Mountain

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