This story is about a boy who is very rich and he thinks that money is the most important thing in his life. On his way looking for Mr. Mystery, a lot of things happen to him let him release that money is not the most important thing in his life. He asked Mr. Mystery to get his dream back and starts his new life.
Story-in-a-box
Dreamcatcher
Wenjun Wu
Once upon a time, there was a man named Jim lived in a large house alone. He was very rich because he had a magical wallet that was full of money, and the money would never be used up. He exchanged his dream for that wallet with a mystery man. Everyone called the mystery man Mr. Mystery. He lived in the forest and he was bald. He sold unusual merchandise like dream, age and health. The buyers must use their precious belongings to exchange for the things they want from Mr. Mystery. Jim wanted to be a drum player before he met Mr. Mystery. But when it came to get a really important thing from Mr. Mystery, he chose money. As an exchange, he gave his dream to Mr. Mystery. Mr. Mystery made a contract with Jim and he took out a stone seal to stamp on the contract. A few years later, Jim bought everything that he wanted. However, there was one thing he still missed, which was love. He felt lonely in his big house. One day, when he was walking down a street, he was attracted by a store in the corner. He entered the store and looked around. Suddenly, he heard a voice calling him:
"Jim!"
He looked around and asked: "Who is calling me?"
"Here! I am here!"
He looked toward the voice and he found a little carved wood head on the shelf was looking at him.
"Were you talking to me?" asked Jim.
"Yes!"
"How did you know my name?"
"I know a lot of things! Please buy me and get me out of this place! It is so boring here!"
Jim bought the wood head and took him home. Wood head told Jim that his name was Skippy and Mr. Mystery used three hard fruits, a glass bottle and six unique coins to make him. He went to a lot of places because he wanted to explore outside world. He went away from home for three years. Now, he wanted to go home. Jim decided to help Skippy find Mr. Mystery. He also wanted to buy ‘love’ from Mr. Mystery. He packed up all the things that he thought he might use on the way looking for Mr. Mystery and he left his house with Skippy.
They traveled towards the forest for ten days. They climbed three small mountains and arrived at a river. They found a canoe with no paddle, so they brought out a ruler and a plate to paddle. One night, when they were both tired and trying to find a place to sleep, suddenly, Jim found that he lost his wallet. So, they didn’t have money to sleep in a hotel. They had to sleep on the street. They used the cloth Jim brought with him to keep warm. A few days later, they became very tired and hungry. Jim realized that although money was very important to him, a useful skill is more important in the long term. He could not find a job these days because he ate on his money rather than on his work for too many years. He missed a lot of time to learn new skills. After he realized that money is not the most important thing in his life, he decided to ask Mr. Mystery to get his dream back.
Two days later, Jim and Skippy found Mr. Mystery. He was standing outside the house and waiting for them.
"My child! How are you doing?" He asked.
"Daddy!!" Skippy shouted.
"Come here and give me a hug!" Mr. Mystery smiled.
Skippy told Mr. Mystery where he went, what he learned and how he got home.
"Emm..Mr. Mystery, is that possible that I could have my dream back? ..But I lost your wallet..." Jim asked in a small voice, “But I can use other things to exchange for my dream!" Jim said.
Mr. Mystery smiled: "I am glad that you find out money is not the most important thing in your life. Don't worry; I will give your dream back."
Mr. Mystery also gave Jim some food and a bottle of water before Jim went home. On his way home, Jim thought a lot. He realized that life was like Mr. Mystery's store. We use kindness to exchange for kindness, we use hard working to exchange for money and we use heart to exchange for love.
