One day, a Youth stood in front of King Arthur with eight covered containers, looking around the court with a careful eye. Arthur raised an eye and leaned back.

“Your Majesty, several weeks ago you told me to go into the Forest of Wonders and find the Greatest Wonder.” The boy said. Several knights raised their eyebrows at this.

“Indeed.” Arthur said, smiling. “You are no knight, so I knew that too much trouble would not befall you. What have you found?” the youth smiled.

“Two days after I entered the forest, I came upon an old woman. When she did not ask me for help, I asked her what the Greatest Wonder was and where I could find it. The Old Woman brought me to a large spring, where to my astonishment she bent down, drank, and transformed into a much younger woman.” He pulled off the cover of the first container and set it on the table in front of King Arthur. Inside was a glass of what looked to be water. “She then told me that the Greatest Wonder was the Spring of Life, and after asking if it were okay, I took a little so I could bring it back.”

“Impressive.” Arthur said, nodding. The boy moved over to the next container.

“I traveled for a few more days, not wanting to have asked only one person what the Greatest Wonder was. It was then that I came upon a mother dragon, who was teaching her young to fly.” Several knights inhaled sharply. “I announced my presence, feeling that she would understand me. Not only that, but she did. The lady dragon did not seem particularly hostile, so I asked her what the Greatest Wonder was. Smiling, she gestured to her children and told me that the Greatest Wonder was not material; it was the joy of her children.” He pulled the second container’s cover off, revealing an incredible painting of a mother dragon and seven babies, and set the painting on the table so all could see.

“Very interesting…” King Arthur said.

“I thanked her for her time, and after sharing a little meat with the dragon kits, I began to leave. However, liking the fact that I was not hostile and even fed her children, the mother dragon gave me a map where she told me I would find a great treasure, though it would not be the sort I was expecting. I thanked her again and took my leave. Several days after that, I came upon a group of dwarves and a large mine. I asked them my question; What is the Greatest Wonder? Laughing, each of the dwarves pointed below. I looked, and found an endless pile of treasure below me. The dwarves explained that all that treasure was the Greatest Wonder, for the mine was a pit of infinite wealth.”

The youth pulled the cover off of the third container, which was a good deal larger, to reveal a chest. Opening it, he showed the court an incredible display of treasure. Most of the Knights, as well as the King, stared as the youth and a number of servants set the chest on the table.

“They were very nice, and had this sent here for me when I told them that I was on a mission for the King. They especially believed me because I didn’t ask them to send too much, just enough to be a good example. I continued forward, and the next day I met the mother dragon again, this time at her nest. Observing that her store of treasure was a bit low, I gave her some directions to the Mine of Wealth. Laughing, the dragon gave me a shimmering key, and said that it would unlock the door to the treasure she had given me a map for.”

The Youth chuckled.

“That was three Greatest Wonders I had found. Still not satisfied, I moved further through the forest, eventually coming upon a peasant family. Though poor, they invited me in for the night, and I accepted. After dinner, I asked them what the Greatest Wonder was. The old man of the family smiled and pointed outside, to where a tree was growing.” The boy took the cover off of the fourth container, revealing a bountiful harvest of fruit, which was also set on the table. “They told me that fruit borne by that tree would never rot, and it had everything one needed to survive, and it could even cure diseases. It bore every type of fruit imaginable, and its seeds could be planted to make a great harvest with no effort. That was the fourth Greatest Wonder that I found.”

Several of the Knights looked at the four the boy had already found, wondering what could possibly be next.

“I took some fruit from the tree, after asking permission, and after another week or so, I came upon the mother dragon once again. She had fallen ill from drinking from a spring she did not know had been poisoned somehow, and was near death. I gave her a piece of the fruit from the farmer’s lands, and immediately she was restored to health. After looking at me, the dragon smiled very widely and said that three times I had helped her, so a third reward was required. I told her that she didn’t need to bother, but she explained to me that dragons placed very high regard on properly rewarding those who deserved it.” The boy reached into his shirt, and pulled out a flute. “She gave me this, and said that when I played it dragons would surely come to help me with whatever it was I needed. I was also asked to not use it too often, and to that I readily agreed.” He put the flute back into his shirt, for it was hanging on a chain.

The knights waited patiently.

“As for the fifth Greatest Wonder, I learned of its location from a hermit who was living in the woods. He was neither old nor young, but looked to be wise, so I followed his advice and found a large castle. Inside was a woman of unimaginable beauty, who was sitting in a flower garden and tending the flowers. When I asked her where in the castle the Greatest Wonder was, she told me that it was her, and that her name was Beauty.” The boy pulled off the cover of the fifth container to reveal a bouquet of flowers, and set that on the table as well. “I thanked her for her time and asked that she send a few of these flowers to Camelot, my home, so that I could show my King. She agreed pleasantly, and I spent the night in her castle, where my every need was attended to by maidens who were very pleased to help me.”

The boy suddenly laughed.

“It was that night, in bed, that I opened the map the mother dragon could gave me. To my surprise, my promised treasure was located in the highest tower of that very castle. So, in the morning, I went to Beauty and asked what was in the tower. She told me that she did not know, and that the highest room was locked by a door nobody could open. I held up the key and Beauty stared, knowing that it could unlock the door. We hurried up to the tower and I carefully unlocked the door, wondering if I would find treasure, jewels, a sword, or something like that. Inside, however, was a sleeping angelic girl, who awoke as soon as I touched her. Smiling, she embraced me and said that she had been locked in there until such a time as the mother dragon who had the key found somebody who deserved her, and vice versa. Beauty smiled and left, leaving me and Sera, for that was her name, to get to know each other.”

The knights were impressed, and wondered what the other three containers had inside of them.

“I left with Sera, and traveled with her through the forest, and after a few days we came upon a fellow Knight who was cooking a meal upon a fire. He offered us some, and I accepted, though Sera did not. She had never eaten meat, nor would she, for it always tasted foul to her. She dined upon some berries and nuts instead, and seemed to relish that. Afterwards, I asked the Knight what he considered to be the Greatest Wonder. Laughing, he pointed upwards.” The boy took the cover off of the sixth container, revealing a black stone that had speckled white spots upon it, which was also set upon the table. “It was nighttime, and he told me that the heavens above us were the greatest wonder, for they were so beautiful and not of this earth. This answer, I felt, was very good, and I thanked him for telling me.”

“And what of the last two?” Arthur asked, smiling. The boy laughed.

“Sera and I took our leave the next morning, heading back to Camelot, and after a number of days we came upon the mother dragon one more time. She smiled as she saw Sera and said that surely I was indeed worthy, for the two of us had become very close. She was in no need of assistance, but kindly pointed the way to a trail for us. We thanked her many times, and proceeded to the trail. Upon it, we eventually encountered a poor man. He looked very happy, so I asked him why he was so happy, and what the Greatest Wonder was. He told me that he was happy to be alive, for the earth itself was the greatest wonder of all.” The boy pulled off the cover of the seventh container, revealing a delicately molded model of a country, complete with mountains, rivers, cities, and even miniature forests. This item was set next to the others.

“Interesting.” Arthur said, nodding. “And?”

“As Sera and I approached Camelot, I thought of the answers I had received. Life, Family, Wealth, Health, Beauty, the Heavens, and the Earth. None of these answers felt right to me, so I asked Sera what the Greatest Wonder was.” the boy pulled the cover off of the last container to reveal simply an empty container. “She told me her answer, and that one felt right to me. What she said was that many incredible things existed in this world, but the Greatest Wonder of all changed depending on who you were. The old woman considered the gift of a longer life to be greatest. The mother dragon considered her babies to be the same thing. The dwarves loved money, so wealth was to them the greatest. A poor family considered their health and happiness to be the greatest, above worldly things. The gorgeous woman believed that her beauty, and that of others, was the most important. The Knight was right too, for he thought that the sky was something nothing else could compare to. So was the poor man, who thought that our world was the greatest.”

The boy smiled.

“In the end, they were all right. Sera asked me what I thought the Greatest Wonder was, and I told her that to me, at that moment and in that place, the Greatest Wonder was being there with her. She responded by telling me that her own personal Greatest Wonder was being lucky enough to have been found by me.”

A girl in the crowd smiled slightly.

“And so your answer, my king, is that there is no Greatest Wonder”