I don't remember this story exactly, so I made this one up.
Once upon a time there lived a king. Brave, strong, smart and witty. One day, the king was feeling very depressed. Out of the blue, he announced that if anyone in his empire made something for the king that would make him happy when he is sad and make him sad when he was happy, they would win a very special prize. The king would usually say "A prize shall be awarded" and awarded really good prizes to the winners. It was usually a lot of money. Enough for a poor person to live the rest of his life peacefully. So when the king said "special prize", everyone went crazy. Within a few hours, the king started receiving tons of gifts. The king went through each one of them but nothing felt that special. While going through his gifts, he saw the smallest and ugliest looking gift. A piece of wood with some words carved onto it and a thick woolen thread passing through the top of it. It was a locket. The ugliest locket he'd seen in his entire life. When he looked at the carvings on the wood carefully, he saw the words more clearly. 'This too shall pass' it said. The king immediately felt better. Less depressed and all. The king called the man who had collected all the gifts and asked him who had submitted that particular one. The man said, "He didn't tell me his name and after looking at what he was giving, I thought there wouldn't be a point anyway". The king was desperate to know who the person was. He asked a few of his soldiers to find out who this. He called another one of his soldiers and said, "Take this locket. I want the wood polished and the thread replaced with a silver chain. Also, the carvings should be made clearer. I want it placed by my bed when I wake up tomorrow morning". The next morning, he woke up and found the locket, now looking much better, placed by his bed. He put it on and ever since then, every time he felt low, he'd look at it and feel better and that made him happy. Also, when he was feeling cocky and proud, he'd look at the locket and suddenly feel understand how his victories won't last forever. When he was happy, he'd look at it. It would remind him that these happy moments don't last for ever and he'd enjoy those moments of happiness to the best.
Finally, a few months later, a soldier came up to him and told him that they'd found the person. The king put a lot of gold coins in a grape basket and covered it with a piece of cloth. He himself, along with a few guards, walked all the way to the person's house. The person was an old skinny man. He lived in a house that would collapse at anytime-cracks and leaks everywhere, the paint on the walls had come off and there was moss in the corners of the walls. The man, though, didn't look like he cared about the looks of his house. He didn't seem even slightly troubled. Calm and cool like as if he were richer than the king and had no problems in life, he bowed to the king. The king felt really bad for the old man though.
The king said, "I'm sorry you've had to live like this. It must be terrible. How could you have lived through such bad times?"
"The answer is in the piece of wood I gave you. I knew this phase of my life would come to an end soon. The thought made me happy and today, that phase of my life came to an end." the old man replied.
The king was surprised by this answer.
Still surprised, he asked the old man, "Why didn't you tell the guards your name while handing over this piece of wood. Did you not want the prize?".
The old man smiled and said, "I didn't really expect to win a gift. I'm sorry but I never thought you'd understand what it meant. Not because you aren't smart enough, its too deep, what it says on that piece of wood. I didn't think a king would ever think into something so deeply. I was expecting someone else to profit by it. I'd expected you to dump it in the trash and expected someone else to pick it up. His life would've changed if he understood it. Besides, if I'd have given my, I wouldn't have saved myself a trip."
King was confused "What trip?" he asked.
"The trip of walking all the way to your castle to collect the prize." The king laughed. This had been a very memorable day for the king. This man's words had made a huge impact in the King's life.
So, all of you out there who are going through some really hard time, don't give up on your dreams, don't give up on life, it will pass.. and those of you who are going through some happy times, enjoy them to its most cuz NOTHING lasts forever.