Once there was an old woman renowned for her ability as a healer. A young man traveled many miles to seek from her a cure for the blindness in his right eye; he came by bus, for he could not see well enough to drive.
The woman sat him in a chair, knelt next to him, and was silent for a moment. Then she reached over and touched his eye, and instantly his vision was restored.
“How much should I pay you?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“I would feel badly if I didn’t reward you in some way. May I take you out to dinner?”
“All right,” said the old woman, “but on one condition: if any question occurs to you, you must ask me.”
While they were eating, the young man suddenly asked: “What gives you your power?”
“I sweep my house three times a day,” said the woman. She paused. “Sometimes four.”
He raised an eyebrow. “How does that give you the ability to heal?”
“When my floors are clean, I never hesitate to kneel on them.”
Sara Bickley lives, writes, and attends college in Dayton, Ohio.