The Master's Hand.

There was an estate auction. Many of the items were going for a good price. Then, the auctioneer held up an old violin.
The auctioneer said, "Do I have an opening bid for this violin?"

A person from the audience shouted, "Four dollars."

A second person shouted, "Four fifty."

A third person shouted, "Four seventy five."

The first person shouted back, "Five dollars."

Auctioneer: [pause] "$5, surely this violin is worth more than that."

An old man walked up to the auctioneer. Without saying a word, he took the violin from the auctioneer. He started to play the violin. The song was quite beautiful. When we was done, he gave the violin back to the auctioneer and sat down [short pause] still with out saying a word.

The second bidder shouted, "800 dollars."

A third bidder shouted, "Eight fifty."

The first bidder shouted, "900."

The third bidder shouted, "1000 dollars."

A boy in the back row asked his father, "It's the same violin. Why is it worth so much more?"

His father replied, "The difference is the master's touch."