The people in the little town were all talking about one thing. A beautiful sound, like a giant church bell, seemed to float down from the deep, green forest. "Where is it coming from?" everyone wondered. It sounded so lovely, especially in the quiet evenings.

Some brave folks said, "Let's go find it!" So off they went into the forest. But the forest was big, and the path was twisty. Soon, some found a lovely spot with sweet berries and stopped to eat. "Mmm, these are good!" they said, and forgot all about the bell. Others saw pretty butterflies and chased after them, giggling.

One sunny afternoon, a group of young people, who had just had a special day at church, decided they would find the bell. "We are clever!" they thought. "We will surely find it!"
As they walked, they came to a part of the forest where a funny man was making delicious-looking pancakes with syrup. "Oh, just one pancake!" said one of the young people. Soon, most of them were sitting around, eating sticky pancakes, and the sound of the bell seemed far away.

But two boys kept going. One was a poor boy, with patched clothes but bright eyes. The other was a king's son, a prince, dressed in fine silks. They didn't start together, but they both really, really wanted to find that beautiful bell sound.

The poor boy took a narrow, winding path. He had to climb over mossy rocks and duck under low branches. He saw flowers that seemed to glow with their own light, and a little stream that sang a bubbly song as it hurried past. "This is so beautiful," he thought. "It feels like the bell is all around me here!" He felt very happy.

The prince took a path that was a bit wider, but still not easy. He pushed aside thick leaves and listened carefully. He, too, saw the tall trees reaching for the sky and heard the birds singing their sweet songs. He kept his ears open for the bell, feeling it was getting closer.

Suddenly, the poor boy and the prince came out into an open space at the same time! They stood on a high cliff, and right in front of them, the sun was beginning to set. It painted the whole sky in amazing colors – orange, pink, and gold.

And then, they understood. There wasn't a real metal bell hanging from a tower. The whole forest, the wide sky, the setting sun – it was all like one giant, wonderful church. The beautiful sound they heard was the sound of nature itself. The setting sun, big and round and golden, was like the most important part of the bell, and all the sounds of the forest – the wind whispering in the trees, the birds singing their goodnight songs, the distant murmur of the stream – made up its wonderful music.

The poor boy and the prince looked at each other and smiled. They didn't need to say anything. They felt so peaceful and happy. They had found the bell, not a bell made by hands, but the great, beautiful bell of nature and everything good in the world.

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