A magic coin

A boy was walking along the way as he spotted a one-penny coin lying on the ground. "Well," he thought, "a penny is also money!" He took it and put it in his wallet. And then he began to think further: "What would I do if I found a thousand rubles? I would buy gifts to my father and mother!". Hardly had he thought so as he felt his wallet having grown thicker. He looked into it, and there was a thousand rubles.

"How strange,” the boy was surprised. There was one coin, and now – as much as a thousand rubles! Well, what would I do if I found ten thousand rubles? I would buy a cow and feed my parents with milk! ". He looked inside the wallet found there already ten thousand rubles! "Miracles!”, the lucky fellow was delighted. "What if I found a hundred thousand rubles?" Then I would buy a house, get married and settle in a new house with my old parents! ". Quickly did he open the wallet – and here you are – there was as much as a hundred thousand rubles!

Then he began to meditate: "Maybe I’d better not take my father and mother to the new house? My wife might not like them. May they live in their old house. And to keep a cow is troublesome. I'd better buy a goat. And I will not buy a lot of gifts: the expenditures are big, anyway."

At once he felt that his wallet had become light and airy! He got frightened, glimpsed inside it – but there's only one-penny coin there...

Read also

The Borders of Our Humanity

“True Christianity consists in the practice of the commandments of the Gospel. Where this practice is absent, there is no Christianity, whatever the outward appearance may be.” — Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov

The Wood Between the Worlds: An Interview with Nicholas Kotar

In this exclusive interview, author and Orthodox deacon Nicholas Kotar discusses tsarists, Narnia, and starting his own press.

Why Did St. Gabriel of Georgia Burn the Flag of Lenin?

Recently the Orthodox Church celebrated the feast day of St. Gabriel Urgebadze of Georgia, the fool for Christ. A hieromonk who lived during the Soviet Union, he experienced intense persecution, especially during the post Stalin era. Some mainstream liberal historians have made the Soviet Union appear to be a much nicer place after the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953, during the rise of Nikita Khrushchev and his policy of “de-Stalinization." However, this couldn’t be further from the truth, as the life of St Gabriel shows.

'Roots of Orthodoxy': A Warning

The YouTube channel Roots of Orthodoxy is run by a Roman Catholic named Jonathan Cabada, who falsely presents himself as Orthodox while promoting ecumenism, giving publicity to heterodox clergy, and attacking the Orthodox Church.

Why the Church of Greece Celebrates the Protection of the Theotokos on Oct. 28

Commemorating Prime Minister Metaxas’ historic rejection of Mussolini’s ultimatum and the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God, Greeks celebrate faith, courage, and national unity.

The Word vs. the World

There is no longer one common word or story for man to align himself with. Instead, all views and stories of our origin and purpose are accepted as equally valid. This can be seen as nothing less than a direct rejection of truth itself. We have substituted “the Truth” for “my truth.”