This Too Shall Pass...
First, let me tell you a story. Once, there was a great king who was very powerful. He held sway over many thousands of subjects, and his every wish was granted in the instant that he wished it. His many subjects loved and respected him, and no one would dare to disobey him. One day, the king summoned his wisest and most trusted advisers and charged them thus: "Go out into my kingdom, and find me someone who can make me a ring that will transform great sadness into great happiness." The advisers were puzzled, but immediately did as the king had instructed and began their search. After days of fruitless searching, they had still not succeeded in finding such a talisman. They asked healers, and magicians, and jewelry makers, but none had ever heard of such a ring. "This must be very powerful magic indeed!" they mused. On the fifth day of their search, in the very farthest reaches of the kingdom, they came to the hut of the kingdom's oldest resident. The...