"We have learned that across the desert there are bags of gold in a field awaiting us," the wise men said. БWｗw。fAｉｒｙ－ｔＡｌe.INFo/Вㄙbīε

"Hooray!" the Chelmites shouted, and at once they began to dream of the fortune that would soon be theirs.

They all agreed that all the young, strong men of Chelm must travel to fetch their treasure. They also agreed that they would take one wise man along, for the people of Chelm always relied upon the wisdom of their wise men. ｗｗw．ＦAｉRｙ-taLｅ。ＩNｆoむヴ

They departed at once, and at long last they arrived at a field, and sure enough, there lay bags and bags brimming with gold.

БWｗw。fAｉｒｙ－ｔＡｌe.INFo/Вㄙbīε

"Astounding," Shlomo cried.

WＷw.FAＩｒＹ－ｔａｌE。ｉnfｏ

"Remarkable, and ours!" Moishe agreed.

The men sang joyfully as they loaded the bags upon their backs.

Now the men could barely move, but their heads were filled with images of all the pleasure the gold would bring, and so they found the energy to walk. *wwＷ.FａIｒY-ＴAlｅ。IＮＦOㄑīの◎ω≌

But under the heat of the desert sun, some men began to complain. "I can't do this," Shlomo gasped. YkｗWｗ．ＦaＩrｙ－tAｌＥ．InｆＯヴЕ

"Please slow down," cried Moishe,

üサwWW。ｆaｉｒＹ-TＡｌe.ＩｎFo€ィíAヰ

By nightfall, all the men were pleading with their wise man to find some way to ease their burden.

At dawn the wise man awoke and called everyone to his tent. "Our feet are sore, our backs are weak, but if we use our gold to purchase horses and wagons, we will no longer have to carry our riches. Instead, our riches shall carry us!" ゑ3ＷｗＷ。Ｆａｉrｙ-ｔａＬＥ．IＮfＯJ

The men cheered, and so they carried the gold into a nearby village and there they purchased horses and wagons. せwWw．ｆAＩＲY-ＴａＬｅ.iｎfｏīτVメn

Now their feet were not sore, and they traveled on. Then one day the horses stopped.

"Our horses are starving," Moishe said. "They'll never make it back to Chelm." ì∈∧WWw。ＦａIｒy－tＡＬE。ＩｎｆＯㄠZ

"We must sell our horses for food," Shlomo said. "Food is always valuable, and surely our horses and wagons are worth many bushels of food."

κЗネ|ترwWW。ｆAiRＹ-ｔaLｅ．iｎｆＯ

But the wise man said, "Food is heavier than gold. And food spoils. Trading horses for food makes no sense. Instead, we'll trade our horses and wagons for feathers. Nothing is lighter and easier to transport than feathers." 々WWW。fＡＩＲy－tＡＬE.inＦＯfㄈㄋ

They found a feather merchant who happily agreed to the trade.

ηㄚǜ‖ＷＷｗ.ｆａIＲY－TAＬＥ.ｉｎｆO

When the men of Chelm saw the thousands of bags of feathers, their mouths dropped open. "How will we carry all these bags?" Simon groaned. MWＷW.ＦａｉＲＹ－ｔAＬE.iＮfｏはまL

Again the wise man smiled. "Watch," he said, and he opened one of the bags.

ゃＷww.ｆAＩRY-ＴａLE.IｎFｏぇ_ЩUv1E

At once the brisk wind lifted the feathers and carried them into the air. "Now tell me," said the wise man. "What direction are those feathers blowing?" "

East!" they shouted. "They are blowing east toward Chelm!"

"Exactly," said the wise man. "God's wind will carry our feathers for us." MWＷW.ＦａｉＲＹ－ｔAＬE.iＮfｏはまL

The men opened the bags, and soon the sky was thick with feathers. But when they reached Chelm, they found the village exactly as it always had been. カ&ㄛǘkＷWｗ．ｆaＩrＹ－tａｌｅ。iNfoW*ヴモpv

The women and children said, "We've seen no feathers."

αュㄜWww.ＦＡirｙ－ｔａlＥ．iＮfＯ∽◎P)も$

"We've lost everything!" the men sobbed. "We're ruined!" But the wise man said, "You must have patience and you must have faith. One day the sky will be thick with our feathers, and at long last our town will be filled with the treasure we so richly deserve."

ХWｗｗ.FＡiry-TａＬＥ.IＮFＯrㄤترǜìもυ

And ever since that day, every Chelmite has walked around looking up at the sky, for they all know that one day their fortune will float down from the sky. ㄆЫㄌㄦǔｗWｗ.ｆａｉRy-taＬe.ＩnｆoH