The Man couldn’t help but take notice of a particular stall in the market. He approached the Merchant, a man with long brown hair and a distinguished beard. Despite the amount of dirt and filth that covered everything else, the Merchant was clean and wore spotless white robes. The Merchant’s eyes seemed to pierce right into the Man’s very soul.
The table was covered with dozens of beautiful and precious stones. There were sparkling rubies, glowing emeralds, flawless diamonds, iridescent pearls, pieces of carved jade, polished river rocks, entrancing geodes, and just about every other kind of stone; all of them beautiful. The Man picked up one of the stones and examined it for a long moment.
“That is not the one for you.” The Merchant told him with a voice that reverberated through the Man’s bones.
The Man looked closer at the stone and realized that the Merchant was right. The stone was returned to the table. The Man picked up several more stones that were pleasing to his eyes. Each was only examined for a short moment before the Merchant bade him to return them to the table, saying only, “That is not the one for you.” No explanation was given as to why, but the Man complied and returned each stone in turn. The Man looked over all the striking stones, but each time his hand reached forward to examine one, the Merchant stopped him with that same phrase.
As the Man was denied stone after stone he grew angry with the Merchant. Having been denied almost every stone on the table, the Man became discouraged and looked at the table dejectedly. That’s when he took an interest in one of the items that he had noticed previously but not examined.
In the back corner of the table, almost obscured by all the other beautiful stones, sat a rock; a plain and ordinary rock that looked like any other the Man had seen on the road on his way into town. Not wanting to leave the Merchant’s stall empty handed, the Man cautiously reached out for the rock, closely watching the Merchant and waiting for that irritating phrase to be spoken again. The Merchant remained oddly silent as the Man reached out and grasped the rock. When he brought it closer to examine it, he found nothing special about it.
The Merchant spoke again, “That… is the one for you.” He said with a smile and a glint in his eye.
The Man placed the rock in his pocket and left. The walk out of town and along the coast to his small home was slow. The Man was slightly disappointed not to have received one of the precious gems that he admired so, but he was happy that the Merchant would choose to give him one of his stones at all. As he walked, he decided that even though his rock was not as pleasing to the eye, or as precious as the other gems he’d seen at the table, he would care for it the way he would have cared for one of them.
That night the Man grabbed a cloth and some water and began rubbing the rock, hoping to at least give it a nice polish. He polished the rock for a time, and before retiring for the night the rock was placed on the mantle above the fireplace. Each evening the Man would care for the rock before retiring. As the days passed, the rock slowly took on a polish and the Man started to become quite pleased by it. Every night it was set in a place of honor on the mantle.
One day as the Man was polishing his rock, he noticed something. A small piece of the stone seemed to have changed. He looked closer and realized that there was a very smooth, hard surface beneath the dirt removed by his polishing. The Man resumed polishing with more fervor. He continued long after the sun had set and the stars had come out. As the sun started to rise again and brilliant light streamed in through the window, the Man set down the cloth to examine what he had uncovered.
In his hands, previously hidden by the dirt, the Man held a large diamond. The diamond was exceedingly beautiful and far more exquisite than any that had been on the Merchant’s table. As the rays of sunshine hit the many facets of the gem, the diamond sparkled dazzlingly and radiated a beautiful light from within. Tears welled up in the Man’s eyes as he finally realized why the Merchant had denied him all those other stones. For some reason the Man didn’t fully understand, the Merchant thought he deserved the most exquisite gem. Maybe part of it was that the gem needed a man who would treat it like the precious diamond it was, rather than just another rock in order to uncover its true beauty and worth.
Every morning now, the Man makes the journey into town just to thank the Merchant for giving him such a priceless gift. Then each night he polishes and cares for the diamond before returning it to its spot of honor on the mantle, where the gem will remain for all of eternity.
The table was covered with dozens of beautiful and precious stones. There were sparkling rubies, glowing emeralds, flawless diamonds, iridescent pearls, pieces of carved jade, polished river rocks, entrancing geodes, and just about every other kind of stone; all of them beautiful. The Man picked up one of the stones and examined it for a long moment.
“That is not the one for you.” The Merchant told him with a voice that reverberated through the Man’s bones.
The Man looked closer at the stone and realized that the Merchant was right. The stone was returned to the table. The Man picked up several more stones that were pleasing to his eyes. Each was only examined for a short moment before the Merchant bade him to return them to the table, saying only, “That is not the one for you.” No explanation was given as to why, but the Man complied and returned each stone in turn. The Man looked over all the striking stones, but each time his hand reached forward to examine one, the Merchant stopped him with that same phrase.
As the Man was denied stone after stone he grew angry with the Merchant. Having been denied almost every stone on the table, the Man became discouraged and looked at the table dejectedly. That’s when he took an interest in one of the items that he had noticed previously but not examined.
In the back corner of the table, almost obscured by all the other beautiful stones, sat a rock; a plain and ordinary rock that looked like any other the Man had seen on the road on his way into town. Not wanting to leave the Merchant’s stall empty handed, the Man cautiously reached out for the rock, closely watching the Merchant and waiting for that irritating phrase to be spoken again. The Merchant remained oddly silent as the Man reached out and grasped the rock. When he brought it closer to examine it, he found nothing special about it.
The Merchant spoke again, “That… is the one for you.” He said with a smile and a glint in his eye.
The Man placed the rock in his pocket and left. The walk out of town and along the coast to his small home was slow. The Man was slightly disappointed not to have received one of the precious gems that he admired so, but he was happy that the Merchant would choose to give him one of his stones at all. As he walked, he decided that even though his rock was not as pleasing to the eye, or as precious as the other gems he’d seen at the table, he would care for it the way he would have cared for one of them.
That night the Man grabbed a cloth and some water and began rubbing the rock, hoping to at least give it a nice polish. He polished the rock for a time, and before retiring for the night the rock was placed on the mantle above the fireplace. Each evening the Man would care for the rock before retiring. As the days passed, the rock slowly took on a polish and the Man started to become quite pleased by it. Every night it was set in a place of honor on the mantle.
One day as the Man was polishing his rock, he noticed something. A small piece of the stone seemed to have changed. He looked closer and realized that there was a very smooth, hard surface beneath the dirt removed by his polishing. The Man resumed polishing with more fervor. He continued long after the sun had set and the stars had come out. As the sun started to rise again and brilliant light streamed in through the window, the Man set down the cloth to examine what he had uncovered.
In his hands, previously hidden by the dirt, the Man held a large diamond. The diamond was exceedingly beautiful and far more exquisite than any that had been on the Merchant’s table. As the rays of sunshine hit the many facets of the gem, the diamond sparkled dazzlingly and radiated a beautiful light from within. Tears welled up in the Man’s eyes as he finally realized why the Merchant had denied him all those other stones. For some reason the Man didn’t fully understand, the Merchant thought he deserved the most exquisite gem. Maybe part of it was that the gem needed a man who would treat it like the precious diamond it was, rather than just another rock in order to uncover its true beauty and worth.
Every morning now, the Man makes the journey into town just to thank the Merchant for giving him such a priceless gift. Then each night he polishes and cares for the diamond before returning it to its spot of honor on the mantle, where the gem will remain for all of eternity.