Once upon a time, a king offered a prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace. The king received thousands of paintings from many artists. He studied each one carefully and finally decided upon two that he really liked. He now had to choose between them.

The first was a painting of a beautiful calm lake with clear water. It was surrounded (包围) by green forests and high mountains. Overhead, the sky was blue with clouds.

The other painting had mountains too, but these mountains were rugged (崎岖的). A huge waterfall fell down one side of the mountain. Above them was an angry sky, lit by lightning (闪电), from which heavy rain fell.

Most people agreed that the first painting clearly showed a place of perfect peace. However, when the king looked at the second painting more closely, he found a tiny bush(灌木丛) growing behind the waterfall. There, in the small bush, a mother bird had built her nest. In the middle of the rush of angry water, in the wind and the noise, the mother bird sat still on her nest—in perfect peace.

The king chose the second painting. When being asked why, he said, "Peace does not mean being in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. Peace means being in the middle of all of these things and yet still being able to stay calm and quiet in your heart, and carry on with your life. This is the true meaning for peace."