nd wait for a moment while he looked for something special amongst the shelves. a few moments later, he returned with a couple of old books under his arms and set them on the table. he then sat down beside me and spoke. he started with a few statements that were very special and that changed my life. he said, "there are two things that i want to teach you, young man, and they are these:

　　"number one is to never judge a book by its cover, for a cover can fool you. "he followed with, "i bet you think i`m a bum, don`t you, young man?"i said, "well, uh, yes, i guess so, sir. ""well, young man, i`ve got a little surprise for you. i am one of the wealthiest men in the world. i have probably everything any man could ever want. i originally come from the northeast and have all the things that money can buy. but a year ago, my wife passed away, bless her soul, and since then i have been deeply reflecting upon life. i realized there were certain things i had not yet experienced in life,one of which was what it would be like to live like a bum on the streets. i made a commitment to myself to do exactly that for one year. for the past year, i have been going from city to city doing just that. so, you see, don`t ever judge a book by its cover, for a cover can fool you.

　　"number two is to learn how to read, my boy. for there is only one thing that people can t take away from you, and that is your wisdom. " at that moment, he reached forward, grabbed my right hand in his and put them upon the books he`d pulled from the shelves. they were the writings of plato and aristotle-immortal classics from ancient times.

　　the bum then led me back past the smiling old woman near the entrance, down the steps and back on the streets near where we first met. his parting request was for me to never forget what he taught me.