Brother Thistle sat down beside Mr. Gold, his kind eyes looking at him with gentle understanding. He picked up the small, grey pot and held it in his hands. 'This pot, my dear Mr. Gold,' he began, his voice soft and clear, 'is made of something very special indeed. It is not made of clay or metal, but of… ambition and aspiration.'
Mr. Gold looked utterly bewildered. 'Ambition? Aspiration? What are those, Brother Thistle?'
'They are the feelings in our hearts, Mr. Gold, that always want more,' explained the monk. 'Ambition is the strong wish to achieve things, to have more, to be bigger, to be grander. Aspiration is the hope for something better, something new. These are good feelings when they help us grow and do kind things. But when they are only about wanting more and more for ourselves, they can be like this pot.'
'Like this pot?' Mr. Gold repeated, still puzzled, but listening with all his heart.