The Child Questions The Scale

A child stood before a weigh scale,
Its balance poised, its needle still.
"What does it weigh?" the child asked,
Their eyes wide with wonder.

The shopkeeper smiled.
"It weighs your dreams," he said.
"And your fears.
And your hopes.
And your regrets."

The child's brow furrowed.
"But I can't see them," they said.

"No," the shopkeeper replied.
"But they are there, all the same.
And the weigh scale measures them all."

The child stood silent for a moment,
Contemplating the shopkeeper's words.
Then, they turned and walked away,
A little wiser than before.