There was once a stonecutter who was dissatisfied with his life and position.
One day, passing a wealthy merchant's house, he saw fine possessions and important visitors through the open gateway. "How powerful that merchant must be!" he thought, filled with envy. He wished to be like the merchant and escape his life as a mere stonecutter.
To his surprise, he suddenly became the merchant, enjoying luxuries and power beyond his dreams, envied and detested by those less wealthy. Soon, a high official passed by in a sedan chair, escorted by soldiers beating gongs. Everyone, regardless of wealth, had to bow. "How powerful that official is!" he thought. "I wish I could be a high official!"
Then he became the official, carried in his embroidered sedan chair, feared and hated by all who bowed before him. On a hot day, uncomfortable in the sticky chair, he looked up at the sun shining proudly, unaffected by his presence. "How powerful the sun is!" he thought. "I wish I could be the sun!"
He became the sun, shining fiercely, scorching the fields, and cursed by farmers and laborers. But a huge black cloud moved between him and the earth, blocking his light. "How powerful that cloud is!" he thought. "I wish I could be a cloud!"
He became the cloud, flooding fields and villages, shouted at by everyone. Soon, he was pushed away by a great force—the wind. "How powerful the wind is!" he thought. "I wish I could be the wind!"
He became the wind, blowing tiles off roofs and uprooting trees, hated and feared by all below. But then he met an immovable object: a huge, towering stone. "How powerful that stone is!" he thought. "I wish I could be a stone!"
He became the stone, more powerful than anything on earth. But as he stood there, he heard the sound of a hammer pounding a chisel into the solid rock and felt himself being changed. "What could be more powerful than I, the stone?" he wondered.
He looked down and saw far below him the figure of a stonecutter.