Once upon a time, there was a tale of two childhood friends. Aladdin came from humble beginnings and Pinocchio’s family was into the arts. The two boys enjoyed playing in Pinocchio’s family’s art studio. The boys enjoyed playing together but their true passion lied in fantasy world. Aladdin enjoyed trying to paint but never had a real gift for it and Pinocchio enjoyed storytelling but no one ever paid attention to his stories. One day, while in Pinocchio’s dad’s art studio, Aladdin found an old paint brush. The paintbrush was very dusty and its handle had beautiful engravings on it.
Aladdin was intrigued. He began to clean the brush and in doing so became overcome with the urge to paint. So he began on a blank canvas. Now Aladdin had never painted before and had no training whatsoever, so what began to appear on the canvas amazed Aladdin. Pinocchio meanwhile, found an old dusty journal. The journal had a beautiful binding on it but the pages were blank. Under the journal was an old quill pen but no ink. Pinocchio’s mind began to race with thoughts of stories to write. One story in particular made him feel funny inside.
And so feeling compelled Pinocchio picked up the pen and started to scribble. As he scribbled, he felt tingles on his head. As he turned the pages completing the sentences he noticed a feeling on his ears. It was his hair growing at an unexplainable rapid pace. The boys were so overcome with their new gifts they have forgotten about each other for awhile. Aladdin finished first and was so eager to show Pinocchio what he had done. Pinocchio was also excited to show Aladdin what he had written. The boys turned to each other at the exact same time and Aladdin was amazed by the change of Pinocchio’s appearance.
But it was what Pinocchio saw that surprised him even more. Aladdin’s painting was an exact illustration of Pinocchio’s story. The boys looked at the other ones work and were amazed. Soon the town heard of their artistic abilities and overnight they were the most saw after author and illustrator. Money and riches soon followed them and their confidence in their abilities increased. They never thought their gifts were only available through the trinkets they had found in Pinocchio’s dad art studio. So, they started to become self-absorbed and ungrateful for their gifts.
Soon they left the paintbrush and journal behind. So, believing that they were the ones with the gifts and deserving of all the praise the boys went on an expedition together to share their talents with the world. It was during this time that they were tasked with writing a new story and illustrating that story. So Aladdin had every confidence in himself that he could do it and Pinocchio of course knew his talent would come through. With that the boys were put into two different rooms and asked to demonstrate their talents. After a few hours, Aladdin was still staring at a blank canvas.
While Pinocchio had no tingling sensations in his head at this time. Still they were not discouraged, that is until they were asked to show their progress. When the boys came together in the room Aladdin had a blank canvas and Pinocchio had blank pages. Neither boy could understand why they couldn’t perform. They asked for more time and this time they asked to be in a room together. Once in the room, the boys talked. It was during this conversation that they realized their gifts were coming from the actual paintbrush, journal, and pen.
Realizing this, the boys hearts changed. Aladdin became grateful and humble once again and Pinocchio was also humbled. Once the boys gave into their gifts that were possessions not that they possessed themselves Aladdin had the urge to paint again but this time he didn’t pick up his beautiful paintbrush. This time he picked up a piece of coal and starting to sketch. As he did, Pinocchio sitting in the corner was crying and realizing his gift too had come from the journal and pen. And as his pen fell and his hair grew he felt the urge to write as well.
This time he did not pick up his old quill pen, he picked up a pencil and began to write and the words flowed so freely and beautifully and although he had a tingling sensation through his head his hair did not grow this time. The next day, the boys once again were asked to show their work. And although they had been in the same room, they were in separate areas and were being watched as to know there was no conversation or communication between them. At the nobleman request as he counted down the boys simultaneously turned to reveal their work. As they did the town gasped at the beauty they saw and the words they were hearing.
After the recognition from the crowd the boys turned to each other and realized this time the gifts were truly their own that they possessed in themselves not from their possessions, the paintbrush, the journal, and the quill. The boys both achieved fame, fortune, and happiness. And although they had once taken their gifts for granted, the realization that if you take your gifts for granted as easily bestowed upon you they can be taken away. The moral of the story is appreciate all of your gifts in life and if you believe in yourself enough, you can make your dreams come true. Pinocchio and Aladdin dreams had come true.
