High on a hill stood an old brass bell. Every morning the temple priest rang it three times for the morning prayers. Three loud rings, then silence. The bell was proud of its loud sound, but it hated the silence in between. "I am only beautiful when I ring," it grumbled. "The silence wastes me." One day a young child climbed the hill and stood listening. After each ring, the child closed her eyes and smiled at the silence that followed. "Why do you smile when there is no sound?" the bell asked her. "Because that is when I hear what the bell is really saying," the child replied. "The ring wakes me up. The silence lets the prayer reach my heart." The bell never grumbled at silence again.