Part I summary (p.3 - 47)
The story began with a young shepherded travelling in the desert with his troops, and every once in a while, he visits the city to sell his sheep there. At that moment, he began to remember that four days later, it’s the anniversary of his meeting with a merchant’s daughter. Therefore, he remembered what the merchant said; he has to leave some of his sheep with him to collect the wool, and then come back later, when one year have passed. However, just four days before the due date, he began to have a weird dream. Therefore, he decided that on his way to the merchant’s place, he’ll pass by a gypsy to explain his dream to him. When arrived to the gypsy, she explained that he has to visit the pyramids where ever they are, and he’ll find a treasure there, however she didn’t add any new knowledge to what he already knew, just that if he found the treasure, he has to give 10% of it to that woman.
On his way to the merchant, he bumped into an old man, who kept talking with him and opening conversations. That man knew what the boy was thinking about, which was giving up on his dream. Consequently, the old man tried to convince him, and when he did, he told him to give him 10% of his sheep if the shepherd wants to know where he could find the treasure. For the rest of the day he kept thinking about the idea, and then came to the answer that he would listen to the old man.
The next day the boy went to the old man and accepted the deal. For that reason, the man told the story of a boy who wants to know the secret of happiness, therefore went to the happiest man on earth to ask him. The man asked the boy to hold a spoon with two drops of oil and never let them fall, in the same time watch all the marvels in his castle. The boy took care of the oil but never remarked the marvels. He was asked to do the same thing but taking consideration to look at the marvels. The boy did so but forgot the oil drops. The moral of the story is that for being happy, one must balance between the important stuff he have to take care of, and the things he likes and makes him drool.
The next thing was asking for the price of the train ticket, to be prepared for it. Later on that day, he sold all of his sheep and prepared himself for his journey. When arrived to Africa, he entered a bar and ordered a drink. There, he met a guy who helped him escape the bar tender who wanted to rip him off. The truth was that the same guy also wanted his money, and ran away from him when found the chance. The boy, now poor, walked in the desert hoping to find anyone to help him, when he saw a crystal store with an old man taking care of it. The shepherded decided to work for him after explaining what happened, and he got the job.
