I Found a Treasure

Anything Hidden in Your Backyard?

I grew up close to the sea. Sand between my toes. Salt in the air. Seagulls flying overhead. Mermaids on the shore in the early morning mist.

Why would you ever leave such a place?

And yet, I did.

Recently, I moved back after 20 years.

Being back reminds me of this story.

For three nights in a row, a poor bloke dreams about finding a treasure at a far, far away famous bridge.

When at last he travels to this bridge, a pompous merchant chides him for taking his dreams seriously.

“Dreams are for fools. I recently dreamt about…”

The merchant ends up describing a treasure buried at the home of the poor bloke.

Rushing home, he finds his treasure. It was there all along, hidden in his own backyard.

This story is told in many countries in many different ways.

Yesterday, when I stood on the beach, listening to and watching the waves of the sea break on the shore, I felt grateful.

Grateful for finding this treasure that was there all along, hidden in my backyard when I grew up.

There might be treasures hidden in your backyard, too.

Helpful links

• You can find many (20+) variants of this story on the website of Prof. D. L. Ashliman. I would love to hear it if you know/tell a local version of this story.