A certain land had a king who was famous for his wealth. In his treasury he had more gold coins than anyone could count, and this was in addition to many other riches. The kingdom had been at piece for many years. The king decided to outfit a ship and visit some other lands.

Only a few days out to sea, a fierce storm caught the ship and tossed it about. Everyone, including the king, wanted to turn back for the safety of home. The howling winds, towering waves, and heavy rain threatened to sink the ship. The king stood on the deck and prayed aloud that if God would return them home safely, he would weigh the first thing he saw and give that much gold to help the poor.

Instantly the storm stopped. Although the days and winds were perfect on the journey home, the king did not forget his promise. He was the first to come ashore. After thanking God, he walked the beach, looking for something to weigh other than sand. There were no rocks, logs, or even a tree in sight. Then his foot hit something hard in the sand. Digging it up, he found a round, hollow object that looked like a deep bowl.

It was not very heavy but it was truly the first thing he saw. He carried the object to his palace and ommediately called for a set of scales and a bag of gold coins. The bag of coins was much heavier than the bowl. He put the object on one scale and the bag of gold on the other, intending to remove coins from the bag until the weights were equal. To the king's surprise, the entire bag did not weigh enough. He took the object from the scale and held it in one hand. Then he held the bag in the other hand. The bag seemed much heavier, but on the scales the object was heavier. He called for more bags of gold and kept adding them to the scales until the scales could hold no more gold. This was still not enough gold.

The king was not greedy. He intended to keep his promise no matter how much gold it took. He kept trying larger scales until not even the largest scales in the kingdom could hold enough gold to outweigh the round object.

Frustrated, the king called his wise men for counsel. No one could solve the mystery, but they told him of a hermit who lived somewhere high in the mountains who had more learning than anyone else. Determined to get an answer if possible, the king himself rode into the mountains with the object and searched until he found the hermit who was praying.

He told the hermit all that had happened. The hermit examined the object and said, "The bones of the face are broken off, but this is a human skull."

"Is it magical?" asked the king. "Why does it weigh more than so much gold?"

"It is not magical," answered the hermit. "A human skull has so much greed in it that all the gold in the world will not be enough for it."

"How, then, may I keep my promise?" asked the king.

"Greed does not leave the skull until it is buried. Then the skull is empty. Bring it back to your palace along with some sand. Put the skull on the scale and cover it with sand. Then add your coins."

The king thanked the hermit and offered to build him a place of worship. The hermit pointed at the mountains all around them and the skies above. "This is my place of worship," he declared. "Can you build a more magnificent one?"

The king humbly replied that he could not. Again he thanked the hermit. Returning home, he did as he had been told. This time only a few coins were needed, enough to balance the weight of the sand.

The king never forgot the lesson of the skull. He spent the rest of his years in peace, using all of his uncountable wealth to help the poor and needy. Soon he was as famous for his wisdom and kindness as he was for his riches.