A beautiful short story of Hermann Hesse. A woman is pregnant and an old wise man tells her that she may have one wish granted in respect to her child. She wishes that her child be loved by all. This wish is fulfilled, and although the young boy is bad, he is loved by everyone. By the time he has become a young man, he has everything around him that he ever wants.
But he is so unhappy that he wants to commit suicide. However, the old wise man reappears and indicates that he can have one wish.
The young man wishes to be able to love everyone rather than be loved by everyone. His wish is fulfilled. His beautiful face becomes old and ugly, and the whole town turns against him. He is stoned and can find no food or clothes. But he is overflowing with love, and every small thing in life becomes a love affair.
He decides to go on a pilgrimage, and one cold night he encounters the same old wise man, who receives him with tremendous love. The pilgrim relaxes into the old sage and becomes an innocent child again.
