The Stonecutter
A Japanese Folktale
Summary
The Stonecutter was happy with his life until he saw a house that was bigger and better than his. Then he wished for a nicer house. When he got his wish, he continued to want more. Then he wished to be powerful like the sun, mighty like a cloud, and strong like a mountain. He was granted all the wishes, but in the end, was lonely and wished to be back to his old self. Once he became a man again, he never wished to be someone or something else ever again!
Characters
In this story, the Stonecutter was a round character because he changed throughout the story. In the beginning, he was content and happy with what he had. Then we wanted more and more and became very greedy and selfish. At the end of the story, he returned to his content self because he realized that riches and power don't bring happiness!
Problem and Solution
Even though the Stonecutter was granted all his wishes, he was lonely. So, in the end he wished to be himself again and was happy.
Lesson or Theme
It is better to be happy with who you are than to wish to be something else or someone else.
What would you change in the story?
I would change...
If I could change something in this story, I would change the setting. I would make the setting be in a modern day city. This would change the story because maybe instead of wanting the be a cloud or the sun, the Stonecutter would want to have technological devices or a really fancy car. I would want to make this change because then I think children who read the story would connect to it and see that material objects don't bring happiness.