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Sivu's Six Wishes

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As a talented stonemason, Sivu carved marvelous pieces out of stone that garnered much praise, but he earned very little money. He could not help but notice the extravagant lifestyle of one of his customers, a wealthy businessman, and Sivu -- out of frustration and envy -- wished he could become the businessman. Incredibly his wish was granted, but it did not take long before Sivu wanted more power, so he wished to become the mayor. And so his desires and wishes continued, six times in all, until he became a rock. What could be more powerful than an enormous rock?

This simple tale presents an interesting opportunity to talk economics with children, especially the notion that people cannot have everything they want and there are tradeoffs associated with choices. The subtle acrylic illustrations add an African dimension to this modern interpretation of an old Taoist folk story.

"Sivu's Six Wishes" is an illustrated children's book of an ancient Taoist tale for children ages 6-10, retold and illustrated with South African influences by Jude Daly, an award -winning children's author who lives in Cape Town, South Africa. Sivu is a simple stonemason who carves wonderful life-like sculptures from stone. Because Sivu worked hard and made little money, he was discontented with his life. He is somehow magically granted a number of wishes to improve his life, and his choices for wishes are very interesting. The sequence of wishes takes Sivu higher and higher up what may be imagined as the divine chain of command in creation, until finally he wishes to be the great stone mountain, solid rock. Then he feels something banging, pounding, and altering his great stone shape. What is it? A stonemason! Other versions of the tale have Sivu wish to return to his life as a stonemason, and he is thereafter content with his life despite its hardships. "Sivu's Six Wishes" stops short of this final wish, perhaps honoring other traditions and choices. Either way, "Sivu's Six Wishes" is a fine teaching tale that communicates much about the three jewels of Taoism, which are compassion, moderation, and humility. The vivid South African colors and images in the illustrations also breathe new life into this ancient teaching tale.