OceanofPDF .comCopyright © 2008 by Eckhart T olle and Robert S. Friedman
Illustrations copyright © 2008 by Frank Riccio
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this work in any form
whatsoever , without permission in writing from the publisher , except for
brief passages in connection with a review . Cover design by Bookwrights Design
Cover art by Frank Riccio
Hampton Roads Publishing Company , Inc.
1125 Stoney Ridge Road
Charlottesville, V A 22902
434-296-2772
fax: 434-296-5096
e-mail: hrpc@hrpub.com
www .hrpub.com
Co-published with
Vancouver , Canada
www .namastepublishing.com
General inquiries: 250-954-1693
If you are unable to order this book from your local bookseller , you may
order directly from the publisher . Call 1-800-766-8009, toll-free. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for . ISBN 978-1-57174-577-4
10 9 8 7 6 54 3 2 1Printed on acid-free paper in China
www .redwheelweiser .com
www .redwheelweiser .com/newsletter
OceanofPDF .comTo my childr en, Jonathan, Matthew , Mar c, and Sophia, who give me
inspiration every day . —Robert S. Friedman
for my godchildr en, Justin, Francesca, and Jackie boy
—Frank Riccio
OceanofPDF .comContents
Miltons' Secret
OceanofPDF .comBut most of all, he loved going to the ice-cream shop with his dad after
dinner to get his favorite sundae.One day at school, he was playing catch with his friend, Timmy , when a
mean-looking, much bigger boy named Carter walked over to him,
screwed up his face, and said, “Milton. What kinda name is Milton? You
weirdo.”
Suddenly , he pushed Milton so hard that he stumbled and fell to the
ground, scraping both knees.Confused and frightened, Milton fought back his tears. Just then, Mrs. Fer guson ran over and took him by the hand. “Go back to your classroom at once,” she said to Carter . While walking away , Carter glanced back at Milton, mumbling
something under his breath that sounded like, “I'll get you next time.”In the evening, his parents and his Grandpa Howard, who was visiting
with them, notic ed he wasn't the same Milton. He didn't smile  much, he
picked at his food, and he wasn't even excited about going to the ice-cream
shop after dinner . “What's the matter with you, Milton? Is something wrong?” his mother
asked. “No nothing” said Milton.”
That night, Milton couldn't get to sleep. He was thinking about what
happened-and what would  happen when he ran into Carter next time. “Why did he pick on me,” he kept thinking, over and over .“Why me!”
“What's he going to do to me next time? ”
The more he thought about all of this, the more frightened he became. He thought abou t it so much that he became more and more scared until he
completely for got that he was in a warm bed in his little room. In the morning, Milton was so tired he couldn't stop rubbing his eyes. He headed downstairs to do what he did first thing every morn ing-give
Snuggles his breakfast. But when he opened the door to the kitchen, oh
what a sight! There was Snuggles all beaten up. His right paw wasbleeding, it looked like a chunk had been taken out of his left ear, and he
was missing several patches of hair . Milton let out a scream. “Oh, poor Snuggles! What happened to you?”
He picked him up straight away and rubbed his cheeks against his furry
body . “I bet it was that Brutus. He's supposed to always be locked in his yard. Poor Snuggles.”
His parents and his grandpa, hearing Milton scream, came running to
see what was going on. “Look what happened to Snugg les!” Milton blurted out. “It must have
been Brutus.”“Who's Brutus?” asked Grandpa Howard. “He's the Doberman across the street,” Milton replied. “His owners
haven't trained him right, and he's a mean dog.”
Milton took Snuggles to the sink in the kitchen where he and his mom
washed Snuggles's wounds and band aged his ear and paw . Once Snuggles was all cleaned up, Milton carried him to the couch in
the living room to cuddle and comfort him. Grandpa Howard sat in an armchair watching Milton. In no time at all, Snuggles, resting on Milton's chest, was purring
blissfully . The purring was so strong that it made Milton feel warm and
tingly inside, all through his chest and back. This set Milton to wondering.“Grandpa,” Milton asked, “How can Snuggles be so happy just after
being beaten up?”
“Milton, cats are not like humans. Snuggles can easily let go of what
happened yesterday , and he doesn't worry about tomorrow . He lives in the
Now . That's why he's happy even though not long ago Brutus was
attacking him. Most people don't live in the Now because they think of
yesterday or tomorrow most of the time. And a lot of the time they are
unhappy .”Milton paused for a moment then asked, “The Now? What does that
mean, Grandpa? What's the Now?”
“Milton?”
“Yes, Grandpa.”
“Pay attention to what's around you. Look ... listen.”
Then, spreading his arms as wide as he could, Grandpa said, “This  is the
Now .”
“Oh, wow!” exclaimed Milton. “Wherever you are,” said Grandpa, “that's the Now . You just have to
pay attention.”
“Grandpa,” Milton asked, “Can you always live in the Now like
Snuggles?”
“Sometimes I can,” said Grandpa Howard, “But, no, not always.”
Just then, Milton's mom called from the kitchen. “Come and get your
breakfast, Milton, or you'll be late for school.”
Milton could feel the fear inside him start up again. After a while he said, “A boy in the sixth grade pushed me down in the
school yard-and just because my name is Milton. He's so big, Grandpa,
what if he tries to do it again?”
Grandpa, holding up his right hand, signaled with his index finger . “If
he ever tries to hurt you again, promise me you'll tell your mom or dad at
once, and you should also tell your teacher .”
“Okay , I promise,” said Milton. “When did this happen?” asked Grandpa. “Yesterday .”
“I see,” said Grandpa, “yesterday . That was When it happened. But it's
not happening now , is it?”
Milton, angry and frustrated, said, “Of course it's not happening now. But I'm worried he'll try to do it again.”
Grandpa replied , “If he does, it will be Then, won't it? You're worrying
about Then and thinking about  When. Aren't you forgetting something? Then and When are in your head. They are not here Now, are they?”
“I don't understand,” said Milton. “Then and When are in my head? What are you talking about?”
But Grandpa didn't respond. He just looked at him with deep
understanding, and smiled.His legs are wobbly and about to give way. Milton stops dead in his
tracks. What can he do? Just then, he looks to his right and sees a little door. It looks like the
entrance to some kind of store.He quickly opens the door and, to his surprise, finds himself inside the
ice-cream shop! “Ah, here you are. I've been waiting for you, Milton,” the ice-cream
lady says. “I'm being chased by a boy named Carter , and there is a big dog who
wants to hurt me, too,” Milton blurts out. “Nobody's chasi ng you, and there's no dog out there going to hurt you. It's all in your head.”
“No, it isn't,” says Milton. “They're out there waiting for me.”
“Sit down, honey . Let me show you something,” says the ice-cream
lady. “The new sundae-of-the-month ... choco-cadabra?”
“No, it's something even better ,” she replies. She reaches under the counter and takes out a ball of glowin g white
light on an ice-cream dish. Milton has a strange feeling that the light is
alive. “That's no ice cream,” says Milton. “What is it?”
“It's a light bubble, honey . Isn't it beautiful?”
Right then, the light bubble goes “POP” and bursts into a shower of
sparkles. Milton is left staring at the empty dish.“Oh no, it's gone,” says Milton. “No it isn't,” says the ice-cream lady. “The light just doesn't like to be
looked at, so now it's hiding. See if you can find it.”
Milton looks all around the room . But no matter how hard he looks, he
can't see any light bubble. Suddenly , he notices a strange noise like a little
electric engine. Purrr -purrr . Purrr -purrr ....
That sounds like ... Snuggles, of course! There he is, sitting on the
counter with his eyes half closed, purring blissfully . What's he doing in the
ice-cream shop anyway? For a moment, Milton thinks he sees a glow coming from  inside
Snuggles, and he asks the ice-cream lady, “Is the light bubble hiding in
Snuggles?”
“Well done,” she says. “But the light is not a bubble anymore. It's just
light. And the cat is purring because he can feel it, and it feels good. “Where else is the light hiding?” she then asks, as she smells the flower
on the counter . Milton sees a tiny glow in and around the flower . “Is it ... ?” he starts.“Yes, it is,” the ice-cream lady interrupts. “The light is in the flower ,
too. That's why it's so beautiful. Anywhere else?”
Milton looks into her big, brown eyes. “Your eyes are so bright,” he says. “I think the light is in you, too.”
“You're right, honey . You see, the light is in everything, always. It gives
life to everything.”
Milton looks down at this body . “What about me? I can't see any light
inside me.”
“No, you can't see it in yourself, but you can always feel it.”
“I can?” asks Milton. “Sure, it's easy . Let me ask you a question: Are you alive?”
“Of course, I'm alive,” says Milton. “Are you just saying that, or can you actually feel that you are alive?”
“What do you mean?” asks Milton. “Start with your hands. Can you feel the light inside them?”Milton closes his eyes for a moment. “I'm getting a tingly feeling inside
my hands.”
“That's it,” says the ice-cream lady. “You're feeling the light. Can you
feel it in your feet, too?”
“Yes, I can.”“Your arms and legs?”
“Yes.”
“Can you feel the light inside your whole body?”
“My whole body feels kind of warm and tingly .”
Milton looks around the room. “Everything looks a bit different, too. Just like when my grandpa was talking to me about the Now .”
“That's right, Milton. Grandpa showed you the outside of the Now . And
this shows you the inside.”
“The inside of the Now?” asks Milton. “Yes, when you feel the light inside your body , you are in the Now . And
you're not scared anymore. The light helps you feel strong.”
“Really?” says Milton. “That's great.”
“And now that you know what it's like, you can feel the light inside you
whenever you want to.”
“Oh, that's double great!” exclaims Milton. “Let's keep the inside of the Now a secret just between the two of us,
okay? Most people are not ready to understand this.”
“No problem,” Milton replies.“No problem. No problem,” Milton was still murmuring to himself
when he woke up from his dream and found himself in his warm bed. He opened his eyes. The half-moon was casting its pale light on his bed. The tree in the yard
outside his wind ow was very still. Only a few leaves moved in the breeze. There was the noise of a car passing by ... then it was still again. Even now he could feel the tingling inside his whole body . For no reason at all, Milton felt happy .But on the school bus that morning, Milton started thinking and
worrying again, and he felt scared of going to school. Then he remembered what the ice-cream lady had told him in the
dream. “Feel the light inside your body , and you won't be scared
anymore.”
Milton decided he had nothing to lose by trying it out. So he did. There
was that tingling  again in his hands, and then in his feet ... then he couldfeel the light inside his whole body again. Now I am in the Now , thought Milton. It feels good to be in the Now . That afternoon in class, Milton raised his hand and asked to go to the
bathroom. Mrs. Fer guson smiled and nodded her head.Milton was washing his hands in the bathroom and enjoying the feel of
the cool water when the cubicle door behind him opened, and someone
stepped out. Milton glanced in the mirror and saw the figure of a big boy
looming behind him. The boy looked at himself in the mirror for a
moment, paying no attention to Milton. How unhappy he looks, thoug ht Milton. Then suddenly , oh no! He
realized the boy was Carter . Carter gave the short hair on his head a rub with both hands, put on his
cocky face, and walked out of the bathroom. He's unhappy , so he wants to make others unhappy , too, thought  Milton. But I'm not going to be scared of him anymore. Milton felt the light in his
body . I'm not going to be scared of anything or anybody anymore. That afternoon Milton got home just in time to say goodbye to Grandpa,
who was getting ready for the drive back home.“Grandpa,” Milton said excitedly , “I'm not scared anymore-of Carter or
of anyb ody. And I know the secret of staying in the Now , just like
Snuggles.”
“What is it,” asked Grandpa? Milton got close to Grandpa and whispered in his ear, “You have to find
the inside  of the Now .”
“The inside  of the Now? Where do I find that?”
“I can't tell you. It's a secret. But I know you can find it out for
yourself.”
OceanofPDF .comOceanofPDF .com
_OceanofPDF.com_Miltons_Secret_-_Eckhart_Tolle.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        OceanofPDF. comCopyright © 2008 by Eckhart T olle and Robert S. Friedman
Illustrations copyright © 2008 by Frank Riccio
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this work in any form
whatsoever, without permission in writing from the publisher, except for
brief passages in connection with a review. Cover design by Bookwrights Design
Cover art by Frank Riccio
Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc. 1125 Stoney Ridge Road
Charlottesville, V A 22902
434-296-2772
fax: 434-296-5096
e-mail: hrpc@hrpub. com
www. hrpub. com
Co-published with
Vancouver, Canada
www. namastepublishing. com
General inquiries: 250-954-1693
If you are unable to order this book from your local bookseller, you may
order directly from the publisher. Call 1-800-766-8009, toll-free. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for. ISBN 978-1-57174-577-4
10 9 8 7 6 54 3 2 1Printed on acid-free paper in China
www. redwheelweiser.
The ice-cream lady is a character in the story who helps Milton understand the concept of the "Now".
Who is the ice-cream lady?
Snuggles was beaten up by a Doberman named Brutus.
What happened to Milton's cat, Snuggles?
The ice-cream lady teaches Milton that he can feel the light inside his body and that it makes him feel strong and helps him overcome his fears.
What is the ice-cream lady's message to Milton?
Grandpa Howard told Milton to tell his mom or dad and teacher immediately.
What did Grandpa Howard tell Milton to do if someone tries to hurt him again?
Milton realized that he can't be scared of anyone or anything and that he knows the secret of staying in the Now.
What did Milton realize after talking to the ice-cream lady?