-4-

Our Lady, with the infant Jesus in her arms, came down to earth to visit a monastery. In their joy, the padres stood in line to pay their respects: one of them recited poetry, another showed Her illuminated images for the Bible, another recited the names of all of the saints.
At the end of the line was a humble padre who had never had the chance to learn from the wise men of his time. His parents were simple people who worked in a traveling circus. When his turn came, the monks wanted to end the payment of respects, fearful that he would damage their image.
But he, too, wanted to show his love for the Virgin. Embarrassed, and sensing the disapproval of the brothers, he took some oranges from his pocket and began to toss them in the air -- juggling as his parents with the circus had taught him.
It was only then that the infant Jesus smiled and clapped his hands with joy. And it was only to the humble monk that the Virgin held out her arms, allowing him to hold her Son for a while.

-5-

It spends most of his life on the ground, envying the birds and indignant at its fate and its shape. ''I am the most disliked of all the creatures,'' it thinks. ''Ugly, repulsive, and condemned to crawl along the ground.''
One day, though, Mother Nature asks the lizard to make a cocoon. The lizard is startled -- it has never made a cocoon before. He thinks that he is building his tomb, and prepares to die. Although unhappy with the life he has led up until then, he complains to God: ''Just when I finally became accustomed to things, Lord, you take away what little I have.'' In desperation, he locks himself into the cocoon and awaits the end.
Some days later, he finds that he has been transformed into a beautiful butterfly. He is able to fly to the sky, and he is greatly admired. He is surprised at the meaning of life and God's designs

-6-

In ancient Rome, a group of soothsayers known as the Sybils wrote nine books that forecasted the future of the Roman empire. They took the books to Tiberius.
"How much do they cost?" asked the Roman emperor.
"One hundred pieces of gold," answered the Sybils.
Tiberius angrily banished them from his sight.
The Sybils bumed three of the books, and retumed. "They still cost one hundred pieces of gold," they told Tiberius.
Tiberius laughed and refused: why would he pay for six books what nine of them had cost?
The Sybils bumed three more books, and retumed with the remaining three. "The price is still one hundred pieces of gold," they said.
Tiberius, consumed with curiosity, decided to pay. But he was able to read only a part of the future of his empire.
The master says:
"It is an important part of living not to bargain when presented with opportunities."