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An old bearded man sits by a large clay barrel shielding his eyes as an armored young man stands over him.

Diogenes and the Emperor's Shadow

A bearded man roped to a ship's mast strains toward the sea while a young oarsman rows with his back turned.

Odysseus and the Sirens

An older man at a workbench holds a small glass bulb up to lamplight while a young man watches beside him.

Ten Thousand Ways That Don't Work

A teacher draws a bow to full tension while a seated young student watches the taut string.

The Arrow and the Bow

An elderly man and a child stand on a path under a tree; the child holds up a single red leaf.

The Autumn Leaves

A farmer kneels smiling beside a single green shoot breaking through the soil, a watering pail set down beside him.

The Bamboo Tree

A lone traveler sits among upright bamboo, looking toward massive oak trunks fallen in the background.

The Bamboo and the Oak

Two blindfolded men touch an elephant with their hands — one its side, the other its trunk.

The Blind Men and the Elephant

A blind man with a white cane holds onto a stranger's arm on a city street.

The Blind Traveler

A woman with red eyes stands in a lamplit doorway speaking to her bearded husband, who listens.

The Borrowed Jewels

A dying lantern maker holds out a lit lantern to a woman standing at his bedside.

The Borrowed Light

An old man lashes a plank to an unfinished rope bridge over a chasm, a lantern and staff beside him.

The Bridge Builder

A woman at a wooden table joins pieces of a ceramic vase with gold seams, holding a thin brush.

The Broken Vase

A violinist plays with eyes closed under a stage light, one string hanging broken from the violin

The Broken Violin

A commander in armor stands on a beach at dusk watching his ships burn on the water

The Burning Ships

A man sits on a mat at dawn, a butterfly resting on his hand, his face calm and quietly puzzled.

The Butterfly Dream

A man helps a butterfly emerge from its cocoon on a branch, his face gentle and caring.

The Butterfly Struggle

A young boy carries a newborn calf across his shoulders through a farmyard at sunrise.

The Calf and the Bull

A merchant sleeps in the sand outside his tent at dawn while his camel occupies the entire tent interior.

The Camel in the Tent

An open candle fights against the wind on the left, a steady lantern with curved glass on the right.

The Candle and the Wind

A captain stands on the ice with a hand on a seated crewman's shoulder, their half-sunken ship behind them and the crew warming by a fire.

The Captain Who Lost His Ship and Saved His Crew

A captain calmly holds the helm in a storm, a frightened sailor clutches a rope behind him.

The Captain and the Storm

A captain speaks with his adult first mate at the ship's rail, a lantern lighting both faces.

The Captain's Word

An aging carpenter stands inside an unfinished house frame holding a beam, offcuts on the floor, while his employer waits in the lit doorway holding a key.

The Carpenter's Last House

A water bearer smiles at a cracked leaking pot on his yoke; wildflowers bloom along the wet side of the path, the other side bare.

The Cracked Pot

A traveler with a bag looks down empty tracks, an elderly woman sits calmly on a bench behind him.

The Delayed Train

An older mentor holds out a lump of coal on an open palm while a tense young student looks at it.

The Diamond Under Pressure

An eaglet falls through the air, the mother eagle flies below to catch it, a nest on the cliff.

The Eagle and the Cliff

An old monk holds out a folded robe to a startled young man outside a hut at night.

The Elder Who Chased the Thief

A massive elephant with only one front leg tethered by a thin rope to a tiny wooden stake, its other legs free, as a visitor and trainer look on in a circus tent.

The Elephant and the Rope

A Zen master pours tea into an overflowing cup as a startled scholar reaches out to stop him, books stacked nearby.

The Empty Cup

A woman stands in a doorway looking down an empty hallway; a man stands a few steps behind her.

The Empty Nest

An empty throne on a stone dais with one elderly minister standing at the foot of the steps looking up at it.

The Empty Throne

A woman by a classroom window has just switched off a desk lamp, a starry night sky beyond the glass.

The Fading Star

An older man in simple farmer's clothes stands at a wooden plow in a half-plowed field, looking toward a distant city.

The Farmer Who Ruled Rome

An old man stands calmly at his wooden gate while an older male neighbor leans in with a sympathetic gesture.

The Farmer's Lost Horse

An elderly father sprints down a dusty road, arms wide open, toward his ragged, downcast son still far in the distance.

The Father Who Ran

A girl kneels unrolling a large canvas in a shaft of light from a barn's attic window.

The Forgotten Artist

A young woman traveler stands before a seated old man at a fork in the road with signposts.

The Fork in the Road

Roger Bannister breaks the finish-line tape mid-stride, head back and mouth open, as stunned officials watch with stopwatches raised.

The Four-Minute Mile

A tailless fox gestures to a crowd of foxes from a log; an old fox at the back watches with calm skepticism.

The Fox Without a Tail

A drowsy frog sits still in a steaming pot on a stove with a gas burner, eyes half-closed, unaware of the rising heat.

The Frog in the Slowly Warming Pot

A queen stands beside her gardener in a flourishing garden as he gestures toward the soil, explaining.

The Gardener's Secret

A poised cook guides a blade with ease at a block while a richly dressed prince watches in wonder.

The General and the Cook

An older general faces a bearded officer at a table with a map and lamp inside a tent.

The General's Humility

A young man in armor rests one hand on a huge tangled rope knot on a wagon and draws his sword.

The Gordian Knot

A master reveals thick roots at the base of a tree, a student watches beside her.

The Hidden Roots

A king stands looking out a tall window in a stone hall while an elderly advisor waits silently a few steps behind him.

The King Who Asked Why

An aged bearded king sits holding a plain gold ring between two fingers, looking at it with a faint smile.

The King's Ring

An attentive king leans toward a white-bearded elder who speaks to him in a quiet stone hall.

The King's Three Questions

A man carries a lit lantern at his hip down a dark street, a small figure walks behind him in its light.

The Lantern Carrier

An elderly professor lies in bed with his eyes closed, a student sits nearby on a stool among bookshelves.

The Last Lesson

A man sits on an attic floor with a box in his lap and a sheet of paper in his hands, surrounded by stacks of blank envelopes.

The Last Letter

Five frogs sit on a log by the pond.

The Leap of the Frog

An older lighthouse keeper stands alone by his lit lamp, gazing out to sea toward a distant ship in fog.

The Lighthouse Keeper

A girl kneels in an overgrown garden behind a stone wall, a bag of seeds beside her, the gate open.

The Locked Garden

A grown daughter with a travel bag stands in an open doorway at dusk, meeting her mother's gaze across the threshold.

The Long Way Home

A man searches by feel in a circle of lamplight, while the key actually lies in the dark alley nearby.

The Lost Key

A man in tattered clothing walks calmly down a mountain path with empty hands, the boulder resting far above him on the slope.

The Man Condemned to Push the Stone

An old guide stands with a young explorer at a cliff edge where the trail ends, lowering his unfolded map.

The Map and the Territory

A grandmother sits with a child at a table as a candle burns almost to its base, the child looks up at framed pictures on the wall.

The Melting Candle

A weathered traveler tears open his coat, spilling jewels onto a table before stunned Venetian relatives by candlelight.

The Merchant No One Recognized

A lone woman climber pauses on a bare mid-mountain path with a walking pole, summit faint ahead.

The Mountain Climber

A woman stands at a village doorway at dusk while an older woman in the doorway holds out an empty open palm.

The Mustard Seed

A man crouches touching the smooth blank surface of an old headstone in a cemetery, with newer carved stones behind him.

The Name Carved in Stone

A male traveler on an open road loosens his heavy cloak under warm sunlight, eyes half closed.

The North Wind and the Sun

A grey-bearded man sits alone at a table by a window holding an open newspaper with blank, unprinted pages.

The Obituary Read Too Soon

A grieving woman clenches a stone in her fist with tears in her eyes, a sage beside her offers an open hand.

The Open Hand

A conductor stands on a podium, arms raised and eyes closed, surrounded by the shadowed silhouettes of musicians playing around him.

The Orchestra Conductor

An instructor checks a student's gear before a skydive, inside the plane.

The Parachute

A young man stands in the boat gazing into dark water while an old merchant sits behind him with the oars.

The Pearl at the Bottom of the Sea

An old woman by a well offers a clay cup of water to a dusty pilgrim on the road.

The Pilgrim and the Dust

A potter works at a wheel; on a shelf behind him a single cracked bowl stands apart from the others.

The Potter's Wheel

A weary traveler with a worn suitcase stands looking lost on a village lane, an elderly woman watches from a stone wall.

The Returning Traveler

A man wades through a fast river, chest-deep, one arm raised for balance.

The River Crossing

An old master presses a smooth river stone into a young student's open palm on a porch by a stream.

The River and the Stone

A mountain stream flows down and comes to a stop in a single wet patch of desert sand, wisps of mist rising from the water.

The River's Lesson

A river winds through a green valley past a village to the ocean, a child plays in the shallows.

The River's Purpose

An old teacher pours salt into a vast lake as a young man kneels at the water's edge to drink.

The Salt in the Water

A scorpion clings to a sinking frog's back mid-river, its stinger just struck, as both begin to go under.

The Scorpion and the Frog

The Buddha speaks to a kneeling student beneath a tree at dusk, a single arrow resting on the ground between them.

The Second Arrow

A weary man sits alone in a dim cave watching a spider climb a thread toward the rock ceiling.

The Second Try

A gardener gently presses a seed into the dark soil of a garden bed.

The Seed and the Dark

A farmer walks away from a planted field, a neighbor at the fence looking at the soil behind her.

The Seed and the Farmer

A girl on the shore reaches out after her mother, who walks into the sea carrying the sealskin.

The Selkie's Return

A king in simple clothes walks alone down a poor street between modest houses.

The Shepherd Who Became King

A lone man stands barefoot at the ocean's edge at dawn, gazing at the horizon, a small boat on the sand behind him.

The Shore and the Deep

An old sculptor rests a hand on a huge half-buried stone giant emerging from a grassy field.

The Sleeping Giant

A child throws a starfish toward the waves as a man stands behind on a beach covered with stranded starfish.

The Starfish Thrower

A stonecutter stands with empty hands, his chisel on the ground, a curious female traveler with a staff leans in beside him.

The Stonecutters

A young man stands alone on a rocky shore facing breaking waves, his mouth open and one hand raised.

The Stutterer's Pebbles

A young samurai bows his head, sword sheathed, before a seated old monk speaking calmly.

The Sword of Discernment

An older man in a robe raises a sword overhead while a younger samurai lowers his own sword and bows his head.

The Tea Master and the Ronin

A young woman at a dark stone doorway holds one end of a thread as a young man walks into the passage.

The Thread Through the Labyrinth

A tightrope walker pushes an empty wheelbarrow across a rope over Niagara Falls, the crowd blurred far below.

The Tightrope Walker

A tightrope walker balances on the rope, a safety net stretched below.

The Tightrope and the Net

An old bearded man seated on a stone step raises one hand while a younger man leans toward him mid-stride.

The Triple Filter

A man holds the handle of a worn door, a woman waits patiently behind him in the corridor.

The Two Doors

A small closed seed lies in the soil on the left, a just-sprouted shoot with a couple of leaves on the right against a sunrise.

The Two Seeds

A grandfather and grandson sit by a campfire as two wolf spirits — one snarling, one calm — rise from the flames between them.

The Two Wolves

Two bridge arches almost meet over a river, leaving a narrow gap; a man looks toward the other side.

The Unfinished Bridge

A painter holds a brush at her side, looking at a half-finished canvas in her studio.

The Unfinished Painting

A woman holds a dress just lifted from a box of tissue paper, a tag hanging from it on a thread.

The Unopened Gift

A male carpenter and his young male apprentice stand beneath a huge old tree with a gnarled trunk and twisted branches.

The Useless Tree

A woman draws water from a village well, surrounded by cracked, dry ground.

The Village Well

A woman looks up at a starry night sky with the Milky Way, an old man with a telescope sits nearby on a rock.

The Wanderer and the Stars

An old wanderer leans toward a small child asking him a question, distant mountains and coastline fading behind them.

The Wanderer's Question

A teacher holds up a heavy bag of potatoes before weary students clutching their own sagging bags.

The Weight of Resentment

A willow stands at a swollen river, its branches trailing in the water, a farmer stands ankle-deep in mud looking up at it.

The Willow Tree

A startled woodcutter sits under a tree with his axe on his lap, one hand raised, as a dark-cloaked figure of Death stands silently before him.

The Woodcutter's Wish

A male traveler at a mosque doorway holds a slack rope while an untied camel stands behind him.

Tie Your Camel

An older monk carries a young woman across a fast river toward a sunlit bank.

Two Monks and a River

An older man sits on the floor with both palms on an upturned clay basin as another man watches from a doorway.

Zhuangzi's Drum