There came a man who had a billion dollars in cold hard cash. He walked up to someone and offered it to that person in exchange for everything that person owned. That person immediately agreed and gave everything that person owned to the one who had a billion dollars to give away. Then, once the exchange was made, and the contract was all written out, the man said, "You'll get the money after you are dead." This bothered the person who now had nothing, and wanted everything back.

There once lived a bird not too long ago; very pretty and very cute, a bird who had a lot of beauty. One day, a five-year-old boy kicked the bird. The bird's foot became gnarled, and the bird began to walk with a limp. The bird did not know that something wrong had happened to it, so it just continued its existence as if nothing had ever happened. And the bird was still very beautiful. Another day came, and a ten-year-old girl threw a large rock at the bird. The rock hit the bird in its wing and broke the bird's left wing. The bird had trouble flying, but it didn't know that anything bad had happened to it. It just continued along with its life. The bird still had not lost its beauty. Then, one day, a group of teenagers happened to see the bird and grabbed it from the ground. The boys plucked its feathers off and squeezed the bird until it almost died. Finally, they just threw the bird down and walked away. The bird did not know that something terrible had happened to it, so it just sat at the spot where it was thrown down. The bird did not lose its beauty. Very soon after the boys left, a middle-aged man walked by the bird. He saw the condition of the bird, picked it up, and carried it to his home. He fed the bird, nursed it back to health, and mended the bird's wings. After a few months, the bird was healed and completely whole. One day, the man decided to go out of town for a while. He left some food for the bird, so it could stay nourished and full, and went on his trip. After a few hours, the bird started to worry. The bird thought that the man who healed it had left it behind forever. The bird resented the man and decided to find some way to leave. The bird found an open window, left the man's house, and left behind its beauty.

There once was a man who lived in a country under the rule of an all-powerful king. This man had a child, but the mother of the child died, leaving him alone to raise the child. The man tried to raise the child, but he didn't have the money nor the know-how to take care of his child. One day, a messenger of the king saw the child, fell in love with the child, and ran to tell the king about the child's dilemma. The messenger begged and pleaded, and finally persuaded the king to take the child as his own. The king, however, knew the child would need constant attention and constant love. He told the messenger to tell the child's father that he would trade his authority in exchange for the child. The king gave the messenger his seal, crown, and coat to give to the father to prove to the country his authority. The messenger ran to the child's father and told him the king was willing to give the man the authority and power of the king in exchange for the child. The man quickly agreed, and the child went to the king. However, one day passed, and random peasants harassed the child's father, threw rocks at him, kicked him out of every town, and even tried to kill him. The man ran to the king's palace and demanded his child back. The messenger told him that the people didn't like the king at all because all the people were wicked and the king was completely good. The messenger told the man that the king had a son once, but the people killed him. The man demanded the return of his son. The messenger went to the king and told him the man's plight. The king said, "Tell the man this: Allow this child the privilege to be hidden under my protection while he is still a child. You will have authority over this land, but you will eventually be killed by the people of this land. However, your son will live, who is a part of you. When the child is mature enough, I will send him to claim the seal, crown, and coat for himself to reign as the king. While you exercise the authority of king, tell everyone that this boy, your son and mine, will come one day to take what is rightfully his; in return, your son, who is from you, who is my son as well, shall reign as king." The king told the messenger to go with the man and help him and comfort him while the man journeys throughout the kingdom. The man agreed to the king's terms, and they went everywhere to tell the wicked peasants about the kingdom of the son. Some followed and believed, while others persecuted them. Eventually, the peasants, who were tired of hearing about the new kingdom, killed the man. Then the child, now a man in the image of his father, found the man's body, took his raiment and crown, and traveled the entire land rewarding those that submitted and beheaded those who did not submit. The new king's first decree was to honor the one who decided to give everything to his lord, to hide his child under the shadow of the king, proclaiming the coming of new king. And this they did for the rest of their lives...

There was a mechanic who wore a nice white jumpsuit while working on cars. Grease, grime, and filth covered his nice white jumpsuit, and whatever he used to try to clean it off, the jumpsuit wouldn't get clean, but would stay filthy. Eventually, he had to use white paint to cover the stains of his jumpsuit, but the paint would always wear off; not to mention the multitude of new stains that would cover the jumpsuit. One day, a salesman came to him and said, "I have something for you! A one-time deal just for you! I have something that'll wash every stain off your jumpsuit!" The mechanic, seeing the need to wash his jumpsuit, quickly agreed to pay any price for it. Then the salesman said, "However, you cannot get dirty anymore after you use this precious cleaning agent. This is a one-time deal!" The mechanic was very sad, and said, "But I'll have to give up my job! I'll lose everything!" The salesman then said, "I guess you need a new profession!"