Let’s Shake on It

Please consider a voluntary pledge of support

The story is told of the burning down of the ancient Great Library of Alexandria …

Only one book survived the inferno. It was quite an ordinary book, dull and uninteresting — or so it seemed. It was sold to a man for just a few pennies, but he soon discovered that it was probably the most valuable book in the world, for on the inside of the back cover a few sentences had been written revealing the secret of the “Touchstone” — a pebble that could change anything it touched into gold.

The inscription said that this “pebble of great price” could be found somewhere along the shore of the Black Sea among the countless other similar pebbles. However, there was one difference: all the pebbles were cold to the touch, except the Touchstone, which was warm to the touch (as though it were alive).

Rejoicing in his good fortune, the man sold all his possessions,…