There was once three neighbors, their names were Fear, Wisdom and Deception. Every day, each would wake up, and have a conversation with someone walking by, trying to get them to come inside, but each would say something different. Fear would come first, and call out, “come in here, and be safe, you have no idea what is coming ahead, you could trip and die, or break a leg.” Next came out wisdom who would say, “Come in, and eat something, and sit down for a second, that you may be prepared for the journey ahead.” Finally came out Deception, who would declare, “Enter into my house, and have riches for the rest of your life, and rule over the land, never having to return to work, and never falling ill.” Almost every body would stop, at one house or another, but only the ones who came to the house of Wisdom left truly happy.

Some might think it was foolish for Deception to speak only after the others had already spoken. After all, those who succumbed to their fears would never be willing to enter a stranger's house in the first place, and the wise were too enlightened to fall for an offer too good to be true.

The truth was, the other two houses thinned the crowd. Anyone who wasn't enticed by the other two was sure to fall prey to Deception's offer, and so they came inside with smiles and huge, greedy eyes to take the promised riches.

For a little while, some even attained those riches. Deception's tricks had many layers, and it didn't always become clear they were tricks until weeks or months later, when the lucky travelers realized their promised fortunes were nothing but fool's gold and worthless contracts. But no matter what the specifics of the trick, those who entered Deception's house were never happy, because happiness requires truth. Deception loved wiping the smiles off the faces of those travelers who fell victim to her tricks. She considered it payback for their own greed, laziness, and apathy.

Only once did Deception give a traveler something real. This traveler was Katarin, a young girl who came down the road on the way to her family in a distant city. She had been told of the three houses, and her father had warned her to avoid Fear and Deception and enter the home of Wisdom. "You will know Wisdom by the light in her fireplace, which is the brightest on that road," he said. "She keeps it lit all day and night, because wisdom is like a fire: it must be fed and rekindled constantly."

When Katarin came down the road, she saw Fear's house, which was small and cozy, a comfortable place for those who lived within their comfort zones. But Wisdom's house was dark on that day, surrounded by a thick bank of fog. And so, when she came to Deception's house, she found it to be the brightest on the road.

Deception had no time to make her usual promises. Before she could say a word, Katarin ran inside, sitting down by the fireplace and asking for food and advice to make her wiser for her journey.

At first, Deception was amused at the misunderstanding. She offered the girl tea and told her about the great riches that would befall her if she never worked another day in her life. Then she told stories of the great cities in the west, which were looking for rulers, and promised Katarin that she could be ruler of a city if she, too, headed in that direction. All lies, of course. The cities of the west had fallen centuries ago.

Katarin just kept sipping her tea. "But I don't know how to rule a city, Wisdom," she protested. "How can I rule a city if I'm not wise?" At that moment, Deception realized the girl was beginning to see through her facade.

She also realized something else. She had no idea how to act as Wisdom, even falsely. Because, although she was clever, she was not wise.

Thrown by this sudden revelation, Deception dropped all pretenses. "I am not Wisdom," she admitted, "as I never claimed to be. I am Deception, who brings travelers to my house through false promises of wealth. But I made no promise to draw you here--you came through innocence and an honest mistake, not greed and laziness. I have nothing real to give you."

Katarin's face fell, and it seemed as though she was about to cry. Then she looked down at the porcelain cup she held, painted with designs of mockingbirds and snake scales. "Not nothing," she said. "That was good tea."

Deception smiled. She was not used to travelers speaking the truth in her house. "I am sorry you did not achieve wisdom here," she said. "But you may keep this teacup, as a reminder of the day you entered the house of Deception without being deceived."

It is said that the family of Katarin still has Deception's teacup, and that those who drink from it are unable to tell a lie until the next dawn.