The Ruined Man Who Became Rich Again Through a Dream An adaptation of a story from 1,001 Arabian Nights Once there lived in the city of Chongqing a very wealthy man who lost all his belongings and his treasures and became very poor. He was so poor that he could only earn his living by laboring day and night. One night, extremely late, he lay down to rest. He was exhausted, dejected, and sick at heart. He fell into a deep sleep and dreamt that a wise old soul came to him and said, "Your fortune is in the city of Beijing; go there and seek it." The next day, he set out for Beijing. He arrived there deep into the night and he lay down to sleep for a bit in a hostel. Presently, as fate would have it, a company of thieves entered the hostel. They made their way into the house that adjoined the hostel. Soon, the people of the house, aroused by the noise, awoke and cried out, "thieves, thieves!" An alarm was raised and the chief of the police came to their aid with his officers. The robbers made off; but the police entered the hostel and found the man from Chongqing asleep there. They cast him into prison, where they kept him for three days. The chief of police sent for him and said, "Where did you come from?" "From Chongqing," whispered the man. "And what brought you to Beijing?" asked the chief. "I saw in a dream an old soul who said to me, 'Thy fortune is at Beijing; go there at once to find it.' But, when I came here, the fortune that I was promised proved to be an arrest and a jail stay." The chief of the police laughed until he showed his white, wide, broad teeth. He said to the man from Chongqing, "O man of little wit! Three times have I seen an old soul in a dream who said to me, 'There is a fashionable house in Chongqing, with a fountain in the front garden. Under the fountain there is buried treasure— a great sum of money. Go there and take it.' Of course I did not go. You, on the other hand, you of little wit, have journeyed from place to place, on the faith of a dream, which was but an illusion of sleep." Then the chief of police gave the man from Chongqing money, saying, "This is to help you get back to your native land." Now, the house that the chief described was the man's very own house in Chongqing! When he traveled home, he immediately dug underneath the fountain in his garden and discovered a great treasure! He received an abundant fortune in his own yard! Based on what you have read about the events in the story and how the characters have dealt with conflict, choose the best sentence that states the theme and not an opinion for this story. Dreams only come true for some people. People can only be rich once. Sometimes we can find the greatest treasures in our own yards. If you journey from place to place looking for fortune, you are not very smart.